Chinese prints, tea charm Indians at New Delhi book fair

The organizers dressed in beautiful attire enthralled the audience with the art of the tea dance featuring the making of tea and the offering of cups on a tray.

"The tea culture is a key part of traditional Chinese culture, and the exhibition is an effort to show our culture using tea as a symbol," says Wang Xufeng, dean of the tea culture school at Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University.

Wang has written a book, titled The stories of Tea, tracing origins of the world's popular drink.

"We know India is a country of milk and sugar, and the people have the culture of mixing milk and sugar with their tea. Indian tea is heavier in taste if taken black, so we are here to showcase our tea and ask people to taste it."

At the tea exhibition stall, the organizers brought six kinds of tea.

"It is really good to have a taste of real Chinese tea. Frankly speaking, it has refreshed my taste buds," Amit Malhotra, a visitor, says.

This year, the fair's guest of honor is China, which has set up a pavilion spread over 1,200 square meters to showcase Chinese books translated into English.

More than 250 Chinese delegates, including publishers and authors, are participating in the book fair, where some 5,000 Chinese books are displayed.