Page 11 - YunnanTourismCultureTimes (99)

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Cultural Landscape of Old Tea Forests of the Jingmai Mountain in Pu’er
Custodians of the ancient tea forests
Preserving tea trees is
akin to safeguarding our
vision.” The residents of
Jingmai Mountain share an unbreak-
able bond with the mountain and, above
all, with tea. The mountains foster lush
forests, nurturing the growth of tea
bushes that envelop the village. For
centuries, the timeless tale of the inter- been a primary school teacher before retirement, Su returned to
dependence between humans and tea
unfolds in this sacred land.
I AM THE GUARDIAN | 我是守护者
普洱景迈山古茶林文化景观
我们共同守护古茶林
Su Guowen: An octogenarian protector of the ancient tea forest
“80 后”苏国文：古茶林的守护者
“Our goal is to foster a wider appreciation of our tea tea culture and history of Jingmai Mountain. “Approximately
culture.” People of all ages, gathered in the cultural room of during the 10 century B.C., the ancestors of the Bulang ethnic
th
Mangjing Village, Lancang Lahu Autonomous County, Pu’er group migrated to Jingmai Mountain, finding refuge in the
City, listen attentively to Su Guowen. In his eighties, Su, wild tea trees that saved them from an epidemic.”
belonging to the Bulang ethnic group, imparts his wisdom Since then, the Bulang ethnic group, along with the Dai
through a live broadcast on loudspeakers, as his voice drifts and other ethnic groups who have resided there for genera-
into the ancient tea forest shrouded in clouds and mist. Having tions, have honed the art of cultivating tea amidst the forested
landscape. They have embraced tea planting, tea making, tea
Jingmai Mountain to devote himself to the development of tea
appreciation, and tea preservation as an intrinsic part of their
culture, becoming a revered custodian of Pu’er tea rituals and lives in Jingmai Mountain. “The legacy of ancient tea was be-
ancestral customs. queathed to us by our ancestors a millennium ago, and it is our
“We deeply appreciate and embrace tea as an integral responsibility to nurture these age-old tea plantations for the
part of our lives,” Su passionately shares insights into the rich generations yet to come,” Su said.
Xianjin: A post-00 advocate of tea culture
“00 后”仙金：茶文化的传播者
In the ancient tea forest, a young Dai girl named Xianjin Yunnan Province.
has established a live broadcasting setup. She skillfully brews a At the age of 18, armed with a deep knowledge of tea,
cup of freshly produced tea and leverages live streaming to sell Xianjin returned to her hometown from Kunming. She dedi-
her tea directly from the tea forest. In less than a year, she has cated herself to transforming the ecological tea forest, aiming
closed an impressive 20,000 deals and generated over 800,000 to enhance the quality of tea. Additionally, she established tea
yuan in sales revenue. cooperatives to elevate the value of tea produced in the region.
At first, Xianjin faced challenges on her entrepreneurial When she was 21, Xianjin embarked on the journey of selling
journey due to her limited knowledge about tea. When custom- tea through live streaming, utilizing the power of short videos
ers asked her, “What makes your tea special?”, she found her- to promote Jingmai Mountain. As the demand for her tea grew
self unable to provide a satisfactory answer, despite being born beyond the mountains, people from outside the region started
and raised in the renowned tea region of Jingmai Mountain. flocking to Jingmai.
Determined to improve her understanding of tea, she decided Standing inside the bamboo building and gazing at the tea
to leave Jingmai Mountain and work at a teahouse in Kunming. mountain, Xianjin declared with determination, “This is where
She eagerly seized any opportunity to visit tea mountains, im- I belong. I’m determined to witness the flourishing of the eco-
mersing herself in the process of observing tea trees during the logical tea forest. Every blade of grass and every tree here is a
day and engaging in conversations with tea farmers to learn legacy. It’s my duty to promote the culture and tea of Jingmai
about tea plucking and production in the evenings. Throughout Mountain, cherished and safeguarded by my ancestors, and
this period, Xianjin explored tea mountains of all sizes across ensure that that they transcend boundaries.”