Chinese tea culture was at the center of the Fujian Day at Expo Milano 2015, the ongoing world exposition in Italy, where many visitors earlier this week could taste the "special rock charm and fragrance" of Wuyi Rock Tea.

Fujian province's Wuyi Rock Tea enjoys a long history and played an important role in the tea development in China, Ma Bigang, secretary of the Wuyishan Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, told Xinhua on the sidelines of the Expo event.

The forefather of Oolong tea, Wuyi Rock Tea is well-known for its high quality derived from the green mountains and clear waters where its middle-sized or small-sized leaves grow, as well as its unique technique which was listed as China's national intangible culture heritage in 2006.

Wuyi Rock Tea was already well-known during the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420-589 AD). At the end of Ming Dynasty, in the 17th century, Ma explained, merchants from France, Holland and England came to purchase Wuyi Rock Tea and sold it to European markets, where it enjoyed a great reputation.

Wuyishan City has some 9,200 hectares of land for tea planting and is able to produce 7,300 metric tons of tea. Ma said that production value last year was around 1.5 billion yuan (242 million U.S. dollars). "We are proud of showcasing Wuyi Rock Tea here at the Milan Expo," he said.

The traditional varieties of Wuyi Rock Tea include Aijiao Oolong, Rougui, Shuixian and Wuyi Caicha. Big-Red-Robe is the most famous rare variety and is regarded as the "king" of Wuyi Rock Tea. A legend says a scholar going to Beijing for an examination during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) felt sick in Wuyi mountains. After he drank the local tea he got recovered and won the title.

"We are here today to present to more European and international friends our Wuyi Rock Tea and seize the opportunity offered by the Belt and Road initiatives -- proposed by China's government to boost exchanges between Asia, Europe and even Africa -- to bring Wuyi Rock Tea to the world," Ma said.

The Fujian delegation was accompanied by some famous tea companies with the objective to meet representatives of the local business, cultural and touristic world to explore collaboration opportunities.

In an interview with Xinhua, Marco Bertona, President of the Tea Association of Italy and National Delegate at the FAO Intergovernmental Group on Tea, said there is big potential for import of Chinese tea into Italy. "And Fujian is one of the homelands of the most delicious and famous teas in the world," he noted.

Bertona said that presently Sri Lanka is the largest importer of tea into Italy. "But interest for Chinese tea is rapidly increasing, we are just at the beginning," he added.

Bertona explained to Xinhua that like other European nationals, Italians generally have tea for breakfast or in the mid-afternoon, and like to put lemon or milk in it. But over the last 10 years, things have changed quite a lot, he said, also thanks to workshops and meetings on China's tea culture organized in Italy which have attracted a number of tea lovers.

"Many have discovered the health properties of tea as a beverage that can be consumed all day. Having a tea culture means exploring a world of aroma, taste and technique. It is something completely different from just having tea as a drink to accompany a meal or a snack," Bertona noted.

Compared to other European countries, Bertona stressed, Italy consumes less tea but cares quality much more. "Italians are in search of a tea culture, and China is the country where tea culture originated thousands of years ago. I see a bright future for Chinese tea in Italy," he said.

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