Since mid-August, the series of micro-videos titled “Beautiful Yunnan” (Season 3), produced and released by the Yunnan Provincial Local Chronicles Compilation Committee Office, has been updated online. Following the successful release of 31 episodes in 2025, 69 more are planned for this year. The series covers ten thematic topics including “World Heritage,” “Nine Highland Lakes of Yunnan,” “Ethnic Groups Unique to Yunnan,” “Names of Yunnan,” “Treasures of Yunnan,” “Flagship Species of Yunnan,” “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Yunnan,” “History of Yunnan,” “Mountains of Yunnan,” and “Sources of Rivers.” These themes are woven together to present a beautiful Yunnan rich with imagery. Stay tuned!

Today, we present “Sweet Mountain Ridges and the Fragrant Jingmai — World Heritage: The Ancient Tea Forest Cultural Landscape of Pu'er Jingmai Mountain.”

The “Ancient Tea Forest Cultural Landscape of Pu'er Jingmai Mountain” meets the criteria for World Heritage status. This unique ancient tea forest management system fully respects the local geographical and climatic conditions, topographical features, and forest ecosystems along with their flora and fauna, achieving the protection of ecological culture and biodiversity as well as sustainable use of natural resources. It showcases the indigenous knowledge and ecological culture of the resident ethnic groups, such as the Bulang and Dai, regarding the complementary utilization of natural resources in a mountainous environment. The villages and traditional dwellings within the heritage elements demonstrate ecological wisdom in terms of site selection, layout, and architectural style, reflecting an understanding and utilization of the ecological environment and natural resources.

— World Heritage Committee

World Heritage: The Ancient Tea Forest Cultural Landscape of Pu'er Jingmai Mountain

One to Seven Character Poem on Tea

Tang Yuan Zhen

Tea, fragrant leaves, tender shoots.

Admired by poets, loved by monks.

Pounded in carved white jade, sieved through red gauze.

Boiled in a kettle, the color of yellow stamens, swirling in the bowl like dust flowers.

Invited to accompany the moon at night, ordered to face the morning sun.

Washing away the fatigue of people from ancient times to today, one realizes that drunkenness is not something to boast about after all.

Jingmai Mountain — “A Miracle in the History of Human Tea culture,” “A Natural Museum of World Tea Culture History,” “The Source of World Teas”

The “Yunnan Provincial Annals: Cultural Annals” records that the “Ancient Tea Forest Cultural Landscape of Pu'er Jingmai Mountain” is the oldest, largest contiguous area, and best-preserved ancient tea forest cultivated under the shade of tall trees found anywhere in the world. For centuries, the Bulang and Dai ethnic groups have preserved traditional near-natural planting methods here, developing “shade-grown tea” cultivation techniques.

Thousands of Acres of Tea Forest in Jingmai Mountain

The “shade-grown tea cultivation technique” involves creating a three-dimensional community structure with “tall tree layer — tea tree layer — herbaceous plant layer.” The ecosystem within the tea forest functions like a miniature ecosystem, with each species playing its ecological role.

Ancient Tea Forest of Jingmai Mountain

The upper canopy of the primary forest acts as a protective umbrella for the tea trees. The volatile oils secreted by the branches and leaves repel pests and diseases, shield the trees from intense highland sunlight, and separate different origins of tea forests. The Nanlang River, which flows beneath Jingmai Mountain, gathers large amounts of moisture, rising as mist up the valley with nearly a 2,000-meter elevation change. Amid the mist and tall trees, sunlight diffuses, allowing the tea trees to grow peacefully in soft light.

Mist Enveloping Jingmai Mountain

Among the tea trees, Osmanthus, doyi, magnolias, camphor trees, and other small trees and shrubs are interspersed, blending floral and woody scents with the aroma of tea, forming the unique fragrance of the ancient tea forest of Jingmai Mountain. Various epiphytes, parasites, and understory plants create a near-natural community structure. Fallen branches and leaves form a humus layer that nurtures the soil. Insects and small animals coexist harmoniously, providing natural fertilizers for the tea trees. The fallen leaves also enrich the soil with organic matter. Many insects and birds find their homes in the tea forest, coexisting with the tea trees, consuming pests, and safeguarding their growth. Forests rise among the tea, and tea grows within the forests.

Sea of Clouds, Forest, and Tea Mountain

The history of tea cultivation is closely tied to the settlement and development of the resident ethnic groups. The Bulang and Dai are the indigenous peoples of Jingmai Mountain, followed by the Hani, Wa, and Lahu who later arrived and settled here, with the Han migrating in over time.

Harvesting Tea on the Mountain

The spirit of Jingmai Mountain originates from the beauty of the Lancang land and water, gathering the essence of heaven and earth's creations, imbued with human wisdom passed down through generations, embodying the philosophy of harmony and unity between nature and humanity. Over 1,300 years ago, the Bulang ancestor Pa Ai Leng led his clan to cultivate the land and plant tea gardens on Jingmai Mountain, leaving behind this legacy:

“If I leave you cattle and horses, they might perish from disasters; if I leave you gold and Silver treasures, you will consume them. So I will leave you tea trees, so that future generations may have an inexhaustible source… “

The tea tree is part of the Bulang people's lives. The ancestors of the Bulang, the Pu people, were the earliest group to utilize wild ancient tea trees and to domesticate and cultivate them. Each household has its own tea forest and tea sacred tree.

Every April, the Bulang hold the “Mountain Shrine Festival,” following ancestral teachings to offer their most solemn offerings to the “Tea Deity,” praying for favorable weather and blessings for their homeland.

The total area of the Ancient Tea Forest Cultural Landscape of Jingmai Mountain is 191 square kilometers, with a core heritage area of 72 square kilometers, comprising five ancient tea forests, nine ancient villages, and three protective forests. The ancient villages are nestled amidst the tea trees, and Jingmai Mountain is home to traditional villages such as Nuogang, Wengji, Mangjing Shangzhai, and Manghong. The villages retain a primitive charm, beautiful natural scenery, and distinctive ethnic characteristics, preserving the traditional layout and historical appearance of the Bulang villages on Jingmai Mountain and retaining and passing down their original ecological culture, earning them the title of “Thousand-Year-Old Bulang Ancient Villages.”