A scene at the tea market in Songyang county in Lishui. [Photo/WeChat account: lsnews]

The 14th China Tea Trading Fair is scheduled to open on March 27 in Songyang county -- administered by Lishui city in East China's Zhejiang province -- according to officials speaking at a news conference held by the local government on March 15.

The event, which will run until May, will be held both online and offline for the first time. On the first day, there will be an opening ceremony at a local tea plantation, livestreaming of the ceremony on mainstream platforms and a summit on the development of China's tea industry.

Four competitions and five online sales promotions will be staged during the fair.

A tea plantation in Lishui. The city now has 38,867 hectares of tea under cultivation. [Photo/WeChat account: lsnews]

Lishui is one of the main tea-producing areas in Zhejiang. Currently, there are more than 120 tea-producing towns and nearly 2,000 tea-producing villages in areas administered by the city, with an area of 38,867 hectares of tea under cultivation. The annual output of tea is reportedly more than 40,000 tons and the total output value is worth more than 5 billion yuan ($768.72 million).

As a leading county in Lishui's tea industry, Songyang has held the China Tea Trading Fair for 13 consecutive years.

The county is also committed to becoming a "China Organic Tea Town" by establishing a series of organic tea demonstration centers, developing a number of benchmark producers in the tea industry, as well as creating a range of characteristic tea products.