The sub-forum "Reporters and Tea" at the Third Maritime Silk Road Tea Culture Forum  in Fuding, Ningde, Fujian province kicks off on June 29. [Photo/fjsen.com]

The Third Maritime Silk Road Tea Culture Forum kicked off in Fuding, Ningde, Fujian province on June 29.

To draw prominent members of the newspaper industry to discuss tea culture and advance Fu Tea culture, the forum this year incorporated a sub-forum with the theme "Reporters and Tea".

Chinese tea has become one of the most important symbols and carriers of Chinese culture, Wang Hao, deputy director-in-chief of China Daily, said at the sub-forum. Wang is a fan of tea and he shared stories about two tea lovers at the sub-forum.

Renowned martial arts author Louis Cha Leung-yung, better known by his literary name Jin Yong, loves tea a lot and frequently reveals in public his secret to good health: a cup of tea. 

He established a tea shop in Hangzhou's West Lake and regularly drank tea with residents, which delights reporters and greatly advances tea culture. 

Tea is not only a beverage, but also a sentiment. 

Chen Shaobai, a fellow revolutionary and well-known reporter, liked to drink tea with Sun Yat-sen at Yuexiulou in Guangzhou. Later, in 1899, he founded China Daily in Hong Kong under the same name.

China Daily is a national English-language newspaper with a mission of disseminating China’s news to the outside world. "Communication requires a common language and topics of common interest. Thus, tea is the best choice," Wang added.