Ningbo East-Asian Tea Culture Research Center was founded at the International Forum of Tea Route on the Sea held yesterday. Zhang Weiwen, former Vice Chairman of Zhejiang People's Political Consultative Conference, and other government officials Song Wei, Zhuo Xiang, Cheng Yuechong, Chen Bingshui, Chang Minyi and leaders of China International Tea Culture Research Institute attended the ceremony.

　　Ningbo's tea trade has a history of 1270 years. In the Tang Dynasty, monks and merchants took with them tea and tea culture to Japan, Korea and other southeastern countries. The tea route on the sea starting from port of Ningbo played an important role in the formation of tea culture in southeastern countries.