North China's Shanxi province will host an online China-Russia youth forum on the innovation and development of the China-Russia Tea Road during the 12th Expo Central China -- to be held in the provincial capital city of Taiyuan on May 21-23. 

Dating back to the 17th century, the ancient China-Russia Tea Road -- spanning over 13,000 kilometers -- first appeared when merchants from Shanxi transported tea products and other goods from South China to Mongolia and Russia. It later developed into a vital international trading route for the three countries.

The forum will be co-sponsored by Shanxi Provincial Committee of the Communist Youth League, Shanxi Department of Commerce, Shanxi Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and Shanxi Department of Culture and Tourism. The main venues will be in Taiyuan city and in the city of St. Petersburg in Russia.

According to the organizing committee, the forum aims to focus on Shanxi herbal tea, in terms of carrying out digital protection, innovative research and technological displays of traditional tea culture. This is expected to provide international and forward-looking support and practical application approaches and to integrate them into the wider development of the Belt and Road Initiative. 

It will serve to be a platform for further mutual cultural understanding, as well as exchanges and cooperation between China and Russia. 

During the forum, the Shanxi Youth Herbal Tea Industry Alliance and the China-Russia Tea Road Youth Cultural Exchange Demonstration Base will be launched. 

Shanxi and Russia will conduct exchanges on the inheritance and innovation of traditional tea culture in the digital economy era, as well as the development direction of the China-Russia Tea Road in the new era. 

Guests from both parties are also scheduled to witness the signing of a series of cooperation agreements and the release of new herbal tea products.