Yen Bai (VNA) – A ceremony was held in SuoiGiang commune, Van Chan district, the northern mountainous province of Yen Baion September 20 to honour ancient tea tree, as part of the Muong Lo Culture andTourism Week.

Visitors had a chance to learn about the process of picking,processing and enjoying shan tuyet tea and join cultural and sport activitiessuch as pounding steamed rice cake, panpipe dancing, tug of war and paothrowing.

The annual event aimed to honour and improve the value ofSuoi Giang tea brand in domestic and foreign markets, introduce cultural characteristicsof the Mong ethnic people, attract investment to tourism and step up theconstruction of the Suoi Giang ecological tourism area, thus raising younggenerations’ awareness of protecting and developing Suoi Giang tea.

On the occasion, the Suoi Giang tea space was inaugurated.

Suoi Giang tea complex is now home to over 400 ancient shan tuyettea trees which have been recognised as Vietnam heritage trees by the VietnamAssociation for Conservation of Nature and Environment.

Locatedaround 1,200 to 2,200m above sea level, Suoi Giang commune in Van Chan districtenjoys a cool climate all year round. The favourable geography, terrain andweather conditions have been the key to the development of tea trees whichproduce the well-known shan tuyet variety.

The latest figures show that Suoi Giang ishome to 393 hectares of land for tea cultivation, three-fourths of them withancient roots./.