Chinese Association for International Understanding

Current Location : Home -> Friendly Exchanges


China-Russia Ten-thousand-mile Tea Road


Ding Dong From November 5 to 14, 2014, a nine-member European NGO study group visited China at the invitation of CAFIU. The members of the group came from Russian and Austrian NGOs and think tanks, some of whom are senior China experts. To help them get a comprehensive idea of China’s development, in Beijing, Deputy Secretary-General Zheng Yao briefed the group on China’s national conditions and the essence of the 4th Plenum of the 18th CPC Central Committee. Representatives from CAFIU and IDCPC also discussed with the group on the building of soft power, bilateral relations and the role of NGOs in international exchanges. In addition, the group also made a field study on innovation of government administration mode and government franchise. Besides Beijing, CAFIU arranged the group to visit Hubei Province in the central part of China and Zhejiang Province in East China. In Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei, Dr. Tang Huihu, Director of Wuhan Historical and Cultural City Affairs Office gave a themed presentation for the group on China-Russia Ten-thousand-mile Tea Road and Hankou, which reviewed the history of the tea-focused trade between China and Russia since the 17th century, and elaborated in great details the story between tea merchants from Wuhan and Russia. Then the group took a walk along the Lihuangpi Street Museum and visited several well-known historical sites in the former Russian concession at Hankou. The rich Russian cultural heritage left deep and sound impressions on the group members. The Vicissitude of the Tea Road Home to tea leaves, China has always been an important producer of tea leaves in history. In the early 17th century, the Chinese tea was first imported to the Netherlands and soon got popular in Europe and America. Due to their feature, the tea leaves usually go bad or stale after maritime transportation at a distance. So the tea merchants were very eager to find a suitable road for land transportation. The China-Russia Ten-thousand-mile Tea Road which went across the Asian and European continents was initiated around the 17th century with a total length of 13,000 kilometers. Starting from Hankou, known as the tea port in the East, it went north through Henan, Shanxi and the desert to Kyakhta on the border between China and Russia, and then to Moscow and St. Petersburg. Then the tea was sold to Austria, Prussia, France, Denmark and other European countries from there. Connecting Asia with Europe, the Tea Road is another landmark international business road after the Silk Road, known as the “Great China-Russia Tea Road” in Russia. In the 20th century, the opening of the Siberian Railway offered a new route for China-Russia tea trade, and the trade centers were also shifted. The originally busy Tea Road saw less and less business. Later on, China and Russia witnessed profound changes in their domestic politics with the outbreak of the 1911 Revolution and the October Revolution 1917 which also affected the century-old tea trade. The Tea Road was gradually deserted and eventually disappeared, only lingering in memories. The Cultural Content of the Tea Road The prosperity of the China-Russia Ten-thousand-mile Tea Road not only promoted the economic and trade development of the cities and countries along the route, but also witnessed the spread and communication of Chinese and western civilizations. Although no longer an important business route in modern times, the Tea Road had been an integral channel for cultural communication in the past two centuries, leaving rich cultural heritage in the areas along the route. The Tea Road popularizes the habit of tea-drinking and the Chinese culture in Europe. China is the cradle of the tea culture. In the 17th century, the international maritime trade introduced the Chinese tea to Europe, which soon became a luxury in the upper society in Europe. The opening of the Tea Road facilitated tea trade by lowering the cost, and made tea available to the general public in Europe. Talking about this part of history, Dr. Tang showed the group some artistic pieces from Europe such as The Afternoon Tea of the Nobles, whose theme was echoed by the group members. They said that in Russia, from the President to the general public, everyone loved drinking tea. This is also one of the best ways to show friendship and sincerity. By blending the Chinese tea with the local culture, the unique Russian tea-drinking habit was developed. For example, the Russian people are quite particular about tea sets, and even invented a specific tea cooker for drinking tea. Many tea cookers are very exquisite artistic pieces with fine workmanship. In addition, in Russian cities like Kyakhta and Irkutsk, there is a rich collection of Chinese items such as tea bricks, currency, porcelain and musical instruments. They stand as the trademark of that era. The Tea Road is also a major channel for the European culture to go east. With the thriving development of the tea trade, the European merchants with the Russians as the majority came to China to open tea brick factories and do business in China. Their presence also promoted the development of relevant industries such as tea-making, transportation and modern financing, and also brought with them the European religious, artistic, educational and other cultural achievements. As one of the main trade centers along the Tea Road, Wuhan has many old buildings and cultural relics associated with tea trade. The group went to Lihuangpi Street near the former Russia concession at Hankou to look for old Russian buildings. They visited the Russo-Chinese Bank Hankou branch, Panoff’s Flat, Litvinoff’s Apartment, etc. In Hankou Russian Orthodox Church which was just renovated, a local official briefed us on the story of the church. He said that the church was first built in the 19th century, mainly for Russian merchants and their family members living in Hankou at that time. It is the earliest Orthodox Church outside Russia, a witness of the close China-Russia business ties back then. The renovation was almost completed. Inside the church there was an exhibition, showing the history of the church by photos at different times. These well-preserved typical Russian buildings deeply impressed the group. Mr. Ostrovski, Deputy-director of the Institute of Far East Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences said that it was not common to see these Russian buildings overseas. Although he had been engaged in China studies for years and had been to China many times, he did not know about the important role of Hankou in China-Russia trade history or the close ties between Wuhan and Russia. Now that China and Russia are the two largest neighboring countries and the most important partner for each other, the two newly-emerging economies should fully tap their potentials to create a bigger space for practical cooperation. The Significance of the Tea Road for the Present The China-Russia Ten-thousand-mile Tea Road in a narrow sense ended in the 1930s, yet its cultural influence can still be felt today. Nowadays, the economic ties between China and Russia are closer and are carried out in more forms, with a richer content of cultural exchanges. The change of the times calls for strengthened regional and global cooperation to tackle future challenges. It is of great significance to return to the topic of the Tea Road, to encourage relevant studies and to facilitate the implementation of relevant programs. The China-Russia Ten-thousand-mile Tea Road is a precious historical and cultural resource for countries along the route, as well as a valuable cultural heritage for the world. At the 2nd China-Mongolia-Russia Mayors’ Summit on the Ten-thousand-mile Tea Road and Urban Development in 2013, China, Mongolia and Russia made a joint proposal to apply for the list of “Intangible Cultural Heritage” for the Tea Road. At the China-Russia Ten-thousand-mile Tea Road Seminar this year, the mayors and representatives from 17 cities along the road signed Wuhan Consensus, agreeing to make joint efforts to apply for listing the Tea Road as the “World Cultural Heritage”, and initiated its official website. Mr. Sergei from the Gorchakov Foundation for Public Diplomacy said that the efforts for the application helped with the protection of the intangible cultural heritage along the route, and also attracted more attention to this Tea Road, which could promote the exchanges and cooperation among relevant cities. He expressed his readiness to introduce this Tea Road to more people when he got back home so as to advance China-Russia exchanges at the local level. Some group members also pointed out that China-Russia Ten-thousand-mile Tea Road set a good example for current trade cooperation. In recent years, the Far East and Siberia regions of Russia have set up economic cooperation mechanisms with Northeast China, which has made remarkable progress in boosting regional trade. Last year, with strong support from leaders of both countries, a bilateral cooperation mechanism was launched between the upper and middle stream of the Yangtze River and the Volga River federation region, which stands for a new mode of regional cooperation between the two countries. The century-old China-Russia Ten-thousand-mile Tea Road boosted economic development of the regions along the route in history. Now, it is hoped that China-Russia cooperation will seize the golden opportunity to strive for more achievements by drawing upon the historical concept of mutual benefits, inclusiveness and connection at the era of the Tea Road.