Honoring Vietnamese Tea Culture – The Journey from Tea Tree to Tea Cup

VHO - The program "Vietnamese Tea Culture - Journey from tea tree to tea cup" honors Vietnamese tea heritage, aiming to build a dossier to submit to UNESCO for recognition as a world heritage.

One of the program spaces "Vietnamese Tea Culture: Journey from tea tree to tea cup" at Ho Chi Minh City University of Culture

On October 17, the Tea Show – Talk Show “Vietnamese Tea Culture: Journey from tea tree to tea cup” took place at Ho Chi Minh City University of Culture. The event was organized by the University in collaboration with IMEXCO Vietnam Trading Joint Stock Company and UNESCO Office in Vietnam.

The program aims to honor, spread and promote the value of Vietnamese tea cultural heritage in contemporary life, while responding to the International Day for Intangible Cultural Heritage (October 17).

Attending the program were Mr. Baker Jonathan Wallace, UNESCO Representative in Vietnam; Ms. Pham Thi Thanh Huong, Head of Cultural Section - UNESCO Office in Hanoi; Ms. Aulia Raihan, Consul of Protocol and Consul General of the Republic of Indonesia in Ho Chi Minh City; Mr. Tran Hieu Thanh (Sonny Chen), Deputy Consul of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Ho Chi Minh City;

Associate Professor, Dr., Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Hong Son, Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh City Peace and Development Foundation; Mr. Nguyen Van Ngoc, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Thai Nguyen province; leaders of museums and many artisans, lecturers and students who love tea.

Delegates attending the event. Photo: Vo Khoa

UNESCO recognizes the "living" heritage value of Vietnamese tea culture

In his opening speech, Associate Professor Dr. Lam Nhan, Rector of Ho Chi Minh City University of Culture, expressed his thanks to the international and domestic delegates who accompanied the program.

He emphasized: “Vietnamese tea is not only an agricultural product, but also the crystallization of history, indigenous knowledge, processing craftsmanship and the art of tea tasting. In each cup of tea is the story of the tree, the land, the people, labor and emotions. Drinking tea is an art - a way for people to connect through respect and sharing.”

Mr. Baker Jonathan Wallace, UNESCO Representative in Vietnam, speaks. Photo: Vo Khoa

Associate Professor Dr. Lam Nhan added that UNESCO's cooperation with Ho Chi Minh City University of Culture and IMEXCO Vietnam Company further highlights the significance of the program in the global context of sustainable development.

“As a cultural training and research institution, we consider preserving and spreading Vietnamese cultural heritage as our core mission. We hope that through the program, students and the community will have more opportunities to access, experience and continue the quintessence of Vietnamese tea culture in a more creative, closer and modern way,” he said.

UNESCO Representative in Vietnam, Mr. Baker Jonathan Wallace, highly appreciated the efforts of partners in preserving and promoting the value of intangible cultural heritage.

“I am honored to be here today to honor Vietnamese tea culture – a living heritage that carries within it a wealth of folk knowledge, community values ​​and cultural identity passed down through many generations,” he said.

Experts share stories about the value of Vietnamese tea. Photo: Vo Khoa

According to Mr. Baker, this event is even more meaningful because it takes place on the International Day for Intangible Cultural Heritage. International Day for Intangible Cultural Heritage is an occasion to remind humanity of the connecting power of heritage, connecting generations and communities.

“Tea is not just a beverage, but also a symbol of hospitality, respect and connection. Each tea bud tells a story that reflects the creativity and resilience of local communities and their deep attachment to the land,” he shared.

On behalf of UNESCO, he thanked Ho Chi Minh City University of Culture and IMEXCO Vietnam Company for initiating this meaningful event, contributing to spreading the heritage and inspiring the young generation to continue and promote Vietnamese tea culture.

International and Vietnamese delegates enjoy Vietnamese tea

Cooperation towards the dossier to register Vietnamese Tea as a world heritage

Speaking at the program, Mr. Tran Manh Hao, General Director of IMEXCO Vietnam Trading Joint Stock Company, shared: “We operate in many fields, focusing on sustainable development and green consumption.

From the practice of cooperation with international partners and large hotels and resorts, we have seen that the trend of combining indigenous cultural values ​​in green tourism models is increasingly gaining attention.

According to Mr. Tran Manh Hao, from that need, IMEXCO approached UNESCO and was very fortunate to be encouraged and agreed by UNESCO to cooperate with IMEXCO to implement a project on enhancing community benefits through partnerships to preserve heritage and sustainable practices. In the first phase, the enterprise chose Vietnamese tea culture as the starting point of the project.

“The tea cup is a symbol of Vietnamese communication and culture. We hope to work with experts and the Ho Chi Minh City University of Culture to build a dossier to submit to UNESCO to recognize Vietnamese tea culture as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity,” he said.

Talk show "Vietnamese tea from the perspective of intangible cultural heritage" with the participation of experts, researchers, artisans and tea businesses

Mr. Tran Manh Hao shared that with the support of Lam Dong and Thai Nguyen provinces - areas with a tradition of growing and processing tea, IMEXCO is coordinating with experts, researchers and Ho Chi Minh City University of Culture to build a dossier to request UNESCO to recognize Vietnamese Tea culture as an intangible cultural heritage.

The enterprise and the school have signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation, aiming to research, complete documents and implement activities to spread tea cultural values ​​in the community.

In addition to this project, IMEXCO hopes to continue to research and create cultural and tourism products associated with green spaces and Vietnamese identity with the Ho Chi Minh City University of Culture, connecting tourism businesses, hotels and resorts nationwide to introduce the quintessence of Vietnamese culture to domestic and foreign tourists.

Journalist, anthropologist, author Do Quang Tuan Hoang shares about how to make tea. Photo: Vo Khoa

Mr. Tran Manh Hao affirmed that the development of cultural tourism products not only contributes to promoting the image of Vietnam but also creates momentum for the tourism economy - one of the key industries encouraged to develop by the Party and State in the current period.

Vietnam's tea capital aims for world heritage

On behalf of the delegation of Thai Nguyen province, Mr. Nguyen Van Ngoc, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Thai Nguyen province, shared his pride in the land of "the most famous tea" in the country.

“Thai Nguyen is a land rich in revolutionary tradition, a land of talented people, and is also the largest center of tea production and culture in Vietnam. Thai Nguyen tea products are present in many provinces and cities of Vietnam and other countries and territories around the world, many products are certified with 4-star and 5-star OCOP standards,” he said.

Delegates enjoy Vietnamese tea

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Ngoc, the knowledge of growing and processing Tan Cuong - Thai Nguyen tea has been listed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List, creating an important foundation for Vietnam to move forward with building a dossier to submit to UNESCO.

“We hope to receive deeper attention and support from international agencies, organizations and communities so that Vietnamese tea culture can soon be recognized as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity,” he said.

Representatives of Thai Nguyen's cultural sector also pledged to proactively and actively coordinate with localities, businesses and scientists to complete the dossier to submit to UNESCO in the coming time, with the goal of spreading the quintessence of Vietnamese tea to the world.

The program “Vietnamese Tea Culture – Journey from tea tree to tea cup” not only honors Vietnamese tea heritage but also opens up a space for exchange and experience for the public through a series of talk show – workshop – tea show activities.

Mr. Baker Jonathan Wallace presented gifts to students who won tea mocktail competitions - an activity within the program.

Attendees can watch artisans demonstrate traditional tea roasting techniques, enjoy the documentary History of Vietnamese Tea - Journey from folk knowledge to contemporary culture , participate in a tea mocktail mixing workshop and try their hand at the creative contest "TikTok Challenge - Vietnamese Tea".

Notably, the academic talk show “Vietnamese Tea from the perspective of intangible cultural heritage” with the participation of experts, researchers, artisans and tea businesses, provided many in-depth perspectives on the value, identity and development potential of Vietnamese tea culture in contemporary life.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/van-hoa/ton-vinh-van-hoa-tra-viet-hanh-trinh-tu-cay-che-toi-chen-tra-175393.html