Today is a public welfare article.
This is the second year we've been working on this feature with Alibaba and Fliggy's philanthropic team. This is also the third article in which we volunteered to help underdeveloped counties (review of the previous article: Pingshun, Shanxi, Yixian, Huangshan).
Alibaba Charity has dispatched correspondents in many beautiful but underdeveloped counties across the country, hoping to build them into benchmark counties for rural tourism through integrated development and contribute to rural tourism.
We were fortunate to be invited to travel to these counties to write travel tips for them to discover and promote these wonderful destinations. It's a very meaningful thing for us.
This time, I went to Lancang Lahu Autonomous County in Yunnan Province (hereinafter referred to as Lancang).
Perhaps, like me, you didn't know much about Lancang at first.
However, in 2023, its subordinate Pu'er Jingmai Mountain Ancient Tea Forest Cultural Landscape was successfully inscribed on the World Heritage List, making this secret land located in southwest China receive attention from all over the world. Let's start by reviewing its achievements
On September 17, 2023, the "Pu'er Jingmaishan Ancient Tea Forest Cultural Landscape" became the world's first tea-themed world cultural heritage, filling the gap in the World Heritage List of tea world heritage and becoming China's 57th World Heritage Site.
Lancang, Yunnan, is long, gorgeous and brilliant.
It produces two of the world's three major beverages. As mentioned earlier, Jingmai Mountain is the only tea-themed World Heritage Site in the world. Not only that, Lancang is located at 22 degrees north latitude, which is also a golden area for coffee cultivation. Coffee beans from Lancang are also being understood and recognized by more and more people.
It is also a multi-ethnic settlement, with eight ethnic minorities, including the Brown, Dai, Yi, Hani, Lahu and Wa. What they are best at is how to sing and dance to multi-color life.
After a visit here, I found that they were still living some kind of dreamy old life.
In the early morning, a sea of clouds rises from the valley, and people live on traditional wooden buildings with smoke curling from the fire. Ancient temples, golden pagodas, and ancient villages are hidden in the reckless forest, where there are endless festivals, and there are endless food inspirations in the mountains.
It turns out that the people of Lancang are secretly living a happy life. Next, let's take a look at what treasures are hidden in Lancang, Yunnan~
Yunnan Lancang, it's worth it!
When going to Lancang, everyone's focus will definitely be on Jingmai Mountain first.
This heritage area of Jingmai Mountain is composed of 5 large-scale ancient tea forests, 9 traditional villages and 3 separate shelter forests.
When entering the primitive ancient tea forest, you must first pass through a mountain road. The mountain road is lined with tall banyan trees, and the aura of the ancient forest is blowing in your face.
Moreover, instead of paving more modern asphalt roads, the local area opted for traditional bullet stone roads. This not only allows the small animals in the mountain to pass through, but also matches the temperament of the whole mountain forest. This model of harmonious coexistence between man and nature also runs through all aspects of Jingmai Mountain.
On Jingmai Mountain, the ancient village of Wengji Brown and the ancient village of Nuogang are the two most distinctive villages. The village will first determine the heart of the village, and then slowly expand outward according to demand. The heart of the village is generally composed of five wooden stakes: cypress, two pear and two chestnut.
Zhai Xin
The ancient village of the Ongji Brown people
The Brown people living in Jingmai Mountain, an ethnic minority who make a living from tea. They worship the god of tea, and tea also runs through their daily life, and every family grows tea to make tea for generations, and even there will be a totem of buds and two leaves on the roof of the village building.
It is a relatively well-developed village with a wider selection of homestays and restaurants. Roasted tea around the hearth, tea eggs, tea meals, Brown traditional handmade tea experience...... Business activities are also revolving around tea.
One thing to say, the tea eggs boiled by Jingmai mountain tea are very fragrant, and the roasted milk tea made is also very rich, with a simple and natural deliciousness.
There is also an introduction exhibition hall in the ancient village, which is also a summary of the results of experts and scholars over the years, which is quite condensed and worth seeing.
The highest part of the village is also the place where the Buddhist temple is located, and it is also very exciting. The pattern of the tea tree on the entrance of the Buddhist temple is a very important cultural relic, which has appeared in relevant documentaries.
The layout of this ancient temple is simple and comfortable, the central axis is symmetrical, and it is composed of a Buddhist hall, a Tibetan scripture pavilion and a monk's room, and the architectural style is a fusion of the traditional architecture of the Brown ethnic group and the architecture of the Han Buddhist temple. What impressed me the most was its rustic style, with the stone walls and the tall and dense trees in the yard, all full of the power of the wilderness.
Nuogang Ancient Village
Nuogang Ancient Village is a more primitive Dai village, and the horns on the roof are its symbols. The whole village is built on the mountain, layer upon layer, and there are ancient tea forests around it. The houses here are all wooden dry-bar buildings, with storage on the first floor and living on the second floor.
With the success of Jingmai Mountain's application for World Heritage Status, Nuogang Ancient Village has received more attention. Experience spaces such as tea rooms and roasting tea around the hearth have gradually opened up in the village, but they are generally very restrained and in line with the atmosphere of the village.
There are also many long-lived grandfathers and grandmothers in the village, and they still live according to the melodious rhythm of the mountains and forests.
Pu'er Jingmai Mountain Ancient Tea Forest Scenic Area
The ancient tea forest of Jingmai Mountain also gave me a strong shock. Different from the more common terrace tea today, the ancient tea forest of Jingmai Mountain has a unique cultural landscape of "people, tea and forest" symbiosis.
It is a physical example and typical representative of the traditional "understory tea planting" method that has been preserved to this day before the popularization of modern tea planting technology in the world, and is known as "a living book of Chinese tea history".
It is highly recommended that you go to the ancient tea forest for a walk. The ancient trees and tall ancient tea trees in the sky shade the sky and the sun, and the breath of the wilderness will give people a very strong impact. Walking inside, you will feel that nature is vast, and people are very small, and it is easy to understand the awe of the locals for nature.
Jingmai Mountain World Heritage Exhibition Center
If you want to systematically understand Jingmai Mountain, it is recommended that you first go to the Jingmai Mountain World Heritage Exhibition Center located at the foot of the mountain and in Huimin Town. It has systematically sorted out and displayed Chinese tea culture, Jingmai Mountain and its world cultural heritage, which is very outlined.
In addition, you can also see documentaries about Jingmai Mountain here, and there are many research books and magazines related to Jingmai Mountain in the exhibition center, which is very suitable for friends who want to know more about it.
For example, I took away a copy of "Thousands of Mountains and Rivers, Why Jingmai Mountain?" published by Pu'er magazine, which is currently the most comprehensive magazine on Jingmai Mountain.
Old Dabao Village
Lao Dabao is the settlement of the Lahu people, and the Lahu culture is the most well-preserved place. It is also a musical village, and the most important thing in the village is people who can sing and dance, in the local saying, "you can sing when you can talk, and you can dance when you walk".
This is also one of the inheritance bases of the Lahu music national intangible cultural heritage protection list "Mu Pa Mipa". They even have their own acting company, and they have also appeared on TV in the work "Pose for a Spring". If you come on holiday, you also have the opportunity to see their performances in the village.
By the way, the gourd is the mascot of the Lahu people, and as long as you pay attention, you can see it in various places such as local rooftops and clothing patterns.
Lancang Weekend Gathering
Address: Lancang Street, Lancang County
Time: Every Saturday evening to Sunday morning
There is also a very lively Lancang weekend market in Lancang County, which is worth visiting. It's an all-night market that can run from Saturday afternoon to weekend morning. Lancang County is home to eight ethnic minorities, and they also have their most solemn gatherings on weekends.
We came at night, and the market was so crowded that it was like we were going to stay up all night. There is no uniform stall, burlap bags are spread on the ground, and fruits such as lemons, avocados, and doyi nuts can be sold by pouring them up.
Popping tofu, colorful sticky rice, mango dipped in chili peppers...... All kinds of Yunnan special snacks can also be eaten, and the price is quite cheap. You walk around it, your hands and stomach are full, your pockets haven't spent a few dollars, and the sense of happiness is too strong.
Lancang Coffee
Lancang is not only famous for its tea, it is also an important coffee producing area. You must know that coffee in the world is basically distributed between 22° south latitude and 26° north latitude, and Yunnan Pu'er Lancang is located near the Tropic of Cancer, which is a golden area suitable for coffee cultivation.
This time, we went to Gaixin Village, Donghui Town, Lancang County, which is a village with coffee as the theme of development. A coffee processing plant is being built in the village, and a café is also being opened. Later, you can experience the whole process of a cup of coffee from seed to cup.
Lancang cuisine
When it comes to Lancang's cuisine, tea is naturally a major theme. The people who have lived in Jingmai Mountain for generations have made a living from tea know how to make a table of delicious food with tea.
Scrambled eggs with ancient tree tea, stir-fried beef with tea leaves, cold tea tips, and dried sautéed ancient leaves...... Various methods bring out the flavor of tea to the fullest. The tea banquet with the characteristics of Jingmai Mountain is naturally worth a try.
There is also a stewed local chicken with crab legs, which is also very surprising. The crab leg is not a real crab, its scientific name is called Mistletoe, which is a plant that lodges on the ancient tea tree, which has high requirements for the ecological environment and is also the top specialty of Jingmai Mountain.
There are also grilled tilapia, mint fried pork ribs, chicken feet, baoyaki and other Dai flavors, which can also be looked forward to.
✈️ Lancang Traffic
Lancang has Jingmai Airport, which is 31 kilometers away from the county seat. You can first go to Kunming, Xishuangbanna, Baoshan, Mangshi, Pu'er, Lijiang and other places, and then transfer to Jingmai. There is also a shuttle bus from Lancang County to Jingmai Mountain, but the frequency is not very many, so it is more convenient to transfer or drive on Jingmai Mountain.
Accommodation in Lancang
Today's recommendation to you outside the Fangwu Abera, in Jingmai Mountain's Mangjing Shangzhai, is a rare high-quality hotel.
The hotel is built on a hill and the rooms are arranged according to the mountain topography, and the rooms face directly onto the forest. There are not many rooms, but they are furnished with national characteristics, and the quality of various supporting facilities is also guaranteed.
The hotel has put a lot of effort into discovering the local culture. They invite the elders of the Brown tribe to roast tea and sing songs with everyone, and they will also organize various walking tours to take people into ancient tea forests and villages to learn more about its mysteries. With locals leading the way, you can play deeper.
⭐️ Pre-departure information
Finally, I would like to recommend some pre-departure information.
Movie "Home at One Point"
This is a film produced by Chen Kexin and filmed in the ancient village of Wengji. In the movie, you can see the scene of a village with roof tiles and giant trees.
Documentary "Splendid Season" Episode 2: The Taste of the Rainforest in Jingmai Mountain
This episode mainly tells the story of how the Brown people living in the ancient tea forest of Jingmai Mountain grow and keep tea, and how tea is integrated into their clothing, food, housing and transportation, and becomes their belief that lasts for thousands of years. In the film, you can also see a variety of tea dishes such as fermented bean curd mixed with fresh leaves, stir-fried beef with fresh leaves, fried bacon with raw pu, and cooked rice.
Magazine "Thousands of Mountains, Why Jingmai Mountain?"
At present, it is the most detailed magazine that introduces the ins and outs of Jingmai Mountain's application for World Heritage Status.