Myanmar will submit its traditional tea culture to UNESCO for recognition as a World Cultural Heritage element, and a four-day Myanmar Tea Festival will be held in Yangon, according to reports.

Daw Sanda Khin, Chair of the Myanmar Cultural Heritage Conservation Association, said the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture will lead the submission around March. Her association is preparing to send all required documents and evidence to the ministry by the end of February.

Necessary evidence and supporting documents for the UNESCO nomination are currently being compiled, with about 80 percent of the work already completed.

The Myanmar Cultural Heritage Conservation Association and the Myanmar Tea Growers, Producers and Exporters Association will jointly organize the Myanmar Tea Festival. The event will take place from February 11 to 14 at the Sein Lan Sopyay Park in Yangon and will feature tea-based foods and discussion sessions related to Myanmar tea.

Myanmar has also previously submitted Thanaka, the country’s traditional cosmetic paste, to UNESCO for cultural heritage recognition, and a decision on that nomination is expected this year.