"There is a confidant in the sea, and the end of the world is like a neighbor." This ancient Chinese poem could not be more apt to describe China-Pakistan relations. China and Brazil are separated by oceans, but the vast Pacific Ocean has not been able to stop the process of friendly exchanges between the two peoples. 200 years ago, the first batch of Chinese tea farmers came to Brazil to plant tea and teach their art. At the 1873 Vienna World's Fair, Brazil's tea was widely acclaimed. The sincere friendship forged by the Chinese and Pakistani people over the long years is just like the hard work of Chinese tea farmers, planting hope, reaping joy, and tasting friendship. Zhang Daqian, a master of Chinese painting, once lived in Brazil for 17 years, and painted treasures such as "Ten Thousand Miles of the Yangtze River", "Yellow Mountain" and "Homesickness" in the Bade Garden where he lived.

-- "Promoting Tradition, Friendship and Writing a New Chapter of Cooperation: Speech at the Brazilian Congress" (July 16, 2014)

Further reading:

When it comes to Brazil, the "country of samba", many people think of coffee. However, it is not widely known that the earliest national drink of the "world's largest coffee producer" was Chinese tea, which is imported from the same category as coffee.

Brazil has a long history with tea. Between 1812 and 1819, a group of tea farmers from Chinese mainland with rich experience in tea cultivation came to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, via Macao to cultivate tea. Chinese tea farmers have been granted a specially authorized plot of land in Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, to intensively cultivate Chinese tea. They not only successfully tried to grow tea in Brazil, but also taught the Brazilian people the skills of tea planting and tea making, making Brazil the third largest tea growing country in the world after China and Japan at that time. At the opening ceremony of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, there was a performance showing Chinese tea people coming to Brazil, and the prototype was this history.

With the help of Chinese tea farmers, Brazil's tea farming industry has flourished, expanding from Rio de Janeiro to several regions, producing tea that not only meets the needs of domestic consumption, but also successfully enters the international market. At that time, tea was the fashion for the upper class of Brazil, and tea became the national drink of Brazil for a time. At the 1873 Vienna Exposition, Brazilian tea won second place, second only to Chinese tea.

Today, in Rio de Janeiro's Tijuca National Forest, there is also an observation deck called the "China Pavilion", a famous local attraction that was built to commemorate the Chinese tea farmers who used to grow tea here. In the world-famous film "Rio Adventure", there is also the figure of "China Pavilion".

The famous Chinese painter Zhang Daqian lived in Brazil for 17 years and built a famous garden on the outskirts of São Paulo. When he first arrived in Brazil in 1953, Zhang Daqian was walking on the hillside near his friend's house and saw that the scenery in front of him was quite similar to the plain of his hometown Chengdu, so he bought the land and spent three years building a Chinese garden with a total area of 145,200 square meters. The name "Eight Virtue Garden" is related to the many persimmon trees in the garden. Tang Dynasty Duan Chengshi "Youyang Miscellaneous" said that persimmon has seven virtues: one longevity, two more yin, three no bird's nest, four no insects, five frost leaves can be played, six can entertain guests, seven deciduous leaves are hypertrophied for the book, plus Zhang Daqian said: persimmon leaf decoction water can cure stomach disease (one can be said into the painting), a total of eight virtues, so this garden is called "Eight Virtues Garden".

There is a Brazilian proverb that friendship is like wine, and the longer the better. The friendly exchanges between China and Pakistan have confirmed this point. Xi Jinping reviewed the history of friendship between the two peoples, and used the hard work of Chinese tea farmers as a metaphor for the sincere friendship forged by the Chinese and Pakistani people over the long years, vividly expressing the truth that "those who are like-minded do not take mountains and seas as far".

Looking back on history is to better move towards the future. One detail is enough to reflect the continuous "warming" of relations between China and Brazil: when Xi Jinping arrived in Brazil, Brazil escorted Xi Jinping to the welcoming ceremony with a cavalry and horse team, which has not been seen in Brazil for many years. Xi Jinping's trip to Latin America in 2014 was his second visit to Latin America and the Caribbean to visit relatives and friends after he became president. The first stop of the visit was Brazil, which also shows that China attaches great importance to Brazil. In his speech, Xi Jinping's touching story and sincerity made him the "most applause" foreign leader in the Brazilian Congress so far.