Soul of Jingmai Mountain · World Tea Gathering — Philosophical Reflections Through Art and the 'Reconciliation' Between Humanity and All Things

Gathering Friends Through Tea, Cherishing Harmony Above All

During the spring tea harvest season, on the eve of World Earth Day, a major international tea culture event themed "The Coexistence of Tea and Civilisation" — the "Soul of Jingmai Mountain · World Tea Gathering" — is set to open with great ceremony. This event will bring together tea representatives, cultural scholars, and artists from around the world to advance dialogue and exchange between human civilisations, and to demonstrate the indispensable role of tea culture in modern society.

22 April is World Earth Day, coinciding with the spring tea harvest season. The international tea culture event "Soul of Jingmai Mountain · World Tea Gathering", themed around dialogue with global civilisations, will be held at Jingmai Mountain — the world's source of tea. UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, Oscar and Grammy Award winner Tan Dun, along with multiple Chinese and international academicians, cultural scholars, pioneers in science, technology and finance, tea industry opinion leaders, and over a thousand tea representatives from around the world, will converge on Jingmai Mountain. Together, they will convey the Eastern wisdom of "gathering friends through tea and cherishing harmony above all", opening a global dialogue between tea and civilisation, and exploring the future coexistence of humanity and nature, the shared landscape of nature and humankind, and the relationship between nature and the future.

Forum Highlights

13 Specially Invited Speakers

This event has specially invited practitioners from various fields of operation and development within the contemporary Chinese teahouse industry to address key challenges head-on, unpack the patterns and pain points of teahouse development, and explore a bold new future for the contemporary teahouse.

As one of the invited guests, Teacher Li will participate in this tea gathering as Hong Kong's sole representative in the field of tea arts and training, sharing her insights on cultural heritage and education.

Influential Teahouse Directors and Elites from Across the Industry

Over 150 influential representatives are gathering at Jingmai Mountain for the first time, bringing with them the collective energy of national teahouse resources, to seek out original intentions and innovation at the world's source of tea.

Playing the Chord of Nature and Civilisation Together

During the event, under the theme of "The Inaugural World Tea Gathering · Co-Creation with U-Theatre", one hundred tea masters will join hands with the renowned Taiwanese performing arts group "U-Theatre" (優人神鼓). The gathering will open with thunderous drumbeats that shake the mountains and rivers, setting the stage for four chapters: "Returning Together to the Place of Origin", "Hearing the Echo of a Thousand Peaks", "Towards the Direction of the Sea", and "Where We Shall Go". Amid the rhythm of drums, the warmth of tea, and the cadence of breath, the pioneering "theatrical-style tea ceremony" will guide guests through a philosophical journey that transcends art, seeking the "reconciliation" between humanity and all things in heaven and earth.

As one of the highlights of this grand gathering, internationally renowned conductor and composer Tan Dun will join the New York Percussion Ensemble and dancers from Yang Liping's troupe for the world premiere of the concert "World Earth Day · Soul of Jingmai Mountain". This concert is not only a feast for the arts, but also a collision of ideas, exploring the interplay of good and evil within human civilisation and the path forward for humanity's future.

The creative inspiration for the concert is drawn from the vitality and cultural heritage of the thousand-year-old tea mountains. Tan Dun will use the natural mountain winds as his score, collaborating with a host of gifted artists to produce a dazzling array of timbres and rhythms. Audiences will find themselves immersed in a symphony of harmony, experiencing the profound philosophy of all things coexisting in unity.

In the "Starlit Night Conversations" segment, a forum on the coexistence of tea and human civilisation will bring together aestheticians and tea scholars to explore the cultural significance carried by tea through the dimensions of history and philosophy. The forum will offer an in-depth analysis of how the aesthetics of tea can reveal the resonance of the human soul, and demonstrate the profound influence of tea culture in modern society.