HANGZHOU -- The Fourth China International Tea Expo kicked off on Friday in Hangzhou, the capital city of East China's Zhejiang province.

Themed "Tea and the World Share Development," the expo launched in the Hangzhou International Expo Center on Friday, May 21, also observed as International Tea Day.

With an area of 70,000 square meters, the expo set up 3,423 booths and attracted more than 1,500 exhibitors and over 3,600 professional buyers from home and abroad.

On Friday, 20 countries' ambassadors to China, including Kenya, Morocco, the Netherlands, Russia, Chile, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka, as well as the United Nations resident coordinator in China, also attended the expo.

During the five-day expo, a series of activities will take place. These include a tea summit forum, tourism conference, and over 70 tea promotion events.

China is the largest tea producer and the largest tea market in the world.