Taiyuan, capital city of North China's Shanxi province, became a member of China-Mongolia-Russia Tea Road city alliance, at a conference for applications for world heritage about the China-Russia Tea Road which was held in Wuhan, capital of Central China's Hubei province, on Dec 11. 

The tea road spans more than 200 cities and 13,000 kilometers -- stretching from Fujian province in South China to Russia, via Shanxi province -- and first sprang up in the 17th century when Europeans developed a taste for Chinese tea. 

Shanxi merchants active during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, who transported tea products and then other goods from South China to Mongolia and Russia, played a pivotal role in pioneering and extending the land trade route. 

At the conference, 29 cities along the Chinese section of the China-Mongolia-Russia Tea Road established an alliance of cities for China-Mongolia-Russia Tea Road Protection and Joint Application for World Cultural Heritage -- and released a plan for a joint application for UNESCO world heritage status.  

The Grand Guandi Temple was Taiyuan city's only nominated site for the joint application. Located in local Yingze district, the temple is the largest and most complete existing Guandi Temple complex. It witnessed the Shanxi merchants' beliefs in Guan Yu -- a traditional Chinese symbol of valor, loyalty, justice and virtue -- and the prosperity of the merchant groups and the ancient tea trade route.

In addition to Taiyuan, cities in Shanxi along the trade route also include Changzhi, Jinzhong, Xinzhou, Datong, Shuozhou, Jincheng and Lyuliang.