YANGON, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar is celebrating the Laphet (tea leaf) Festival from Wednesday to Saturday in Yangon to mark Union Day, which fell on Thursday, highlighting the cultural, historical, and symbolic significance of laphet.

The event was jointly organized by the Myanmar Cultural Heritage Trust (MCHT) and the Myanmar Tea Association.

According to the MCHT, the festival emphasized laphet as a symbol of national unity, as it combines tea leaves grown in Myanmar's hilly regions with oil and fried beans produced in the plains, representing harmony among the country's diverse regions and ethnic communities.

The festival aims to raise international recognition of Myanmar's unique laphet-so (fermented tea leaves) culture and to help people better understand, appreciate, and preserve it.

During the four-day festival, around 17 booths showcased laphet and laphet-related products from various regions and states, while about 10 additional booths featured ethnic foods.

Cultural performances, including ethnic dances, were held alongside laphet talk shows, question-and-answer sessions, laphet-eating competitions, and demonstrations of both traditional and fine-dining laphet preparation.

Win Naing, president of the Myanmar Tea Association, said the festival plays an important role in documenting laphet culture for a future United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) submission.

He explained that laphet reflects national unity by combining agricultural products from different regions and ethnic groups, describing it as a "Union food."

"Laphet is not only something we eat. It is closely linked to our lifestyle and customs," he said.

"It is used in donation ceremonies, offered as a gesture of reconciliation during conflicts, and symbolizes love and peace among people," he added.

The festival also included the signing of Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) between the Myanmar Tea Association and laphet business operators to expand market linkages with restaurants and hotels.

Ye Tun Oo, owner of Cafe Salween restaurant, said he started the business in 2017 by combining tradition and innovation through specialty coffee, heritage cuisine, and local desserts.

He noted that the restaurant is the only place offering the Burmese Imperial Menu, a rare collection of royal recipes preserved through generations.

"So, we displayed our special Imperial Laphet set with 15 types of ingredients at the event," he said.

"When foreign visitors come to my restaurant, they experience Myanmar's traditional food. In this way, we are doing cultural export," he added.

According to the Myanmar Tea Association, laphet is exported as laphet-so and laphet-chauk (dried tea leaves), mainly to Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, the United States, Thailand, and China.

Visitors also shared their experiences at the festival. Kay Zin Aung, 30, said laphet talks and quiz sessions helped her discover many new tea-leaf dishes. "Before, I only knew two kinds of tea leaf salad, but now I've seen many varieties and even drinks made from tea leaves," she said.

Grace Myint Htoo, 34, said she wore Kachin traditional dress to celebrate both Union Day and the laphet promotion event. "I love laphet very much. When I go abroad, I always carry laphet packs with me," she said, adding that the event helped her learn new facts about laphet and its history.