You come from the mountains, telling the world: In China, there is a mountain called Jingmai.

On September 17, 2025, in Riyadh. The 45th session of the World Heritage Committee. As a “physical testimony and typical representative of traditional ‘under-forest Tea cultivation' methods that have survived to this day before the widespread adoption of modern tea plantation techniques,” you bring with you over a thousand years of preservation and tradition, showcasing your 13-year journey toward World Heritage recognition —

Jingmai Mountain is part of the southern branch of the Lincang Dashan Snow Mountain range in the Hengduan Mountains, generally trending northwest-southeast. It is higher in the northwest and lower in the southeast, with an average elevation of 1,400 meters, a highest point of 1,662 meters, and a lowest point of 1,100 meters at the Nanlang River Valley.

Source: Yunnan Pu'er Jingmai Mountain Ancient Tea Forest Conservation Administration

From the town of Huimin in Lancang County, entering Jingmai Mountain means entering a unique landscape formed by the interplay of people, land, tea, and forest. Within a distinct geographical unit bordered by two rivers and steep valleys, there are five large-scale ancient tea forests that remain well-preserved, separated by three protective forests. In the vast forests and deep clouds, nine traditional villages—Manggeng, Mengben, Jingmai Daizhai, Nuogang, Wangji, Wangwa, Mangjing Shangzhai Xiazhai, Manghong—live peacefully. As one wanders through the area, ancient tea forests, ancient villages, tea spirit trees, tea ancestor temples, bee king trees, octagonal pagodas… all seem to have come from a distant past.

Photo by Lu Lei

Between the 10th and 14th centuries AD, when the Bulang and Dai ancestors migrated to Jingmai Mountain and discovered wild tea trees, they began limited “under-forest clearing” in the surrounding forests and cultivated tea trees. Through long-term exploration, they gradually understood the production characteristics of Pu'er tea trees and developed the wise technique of under-forest tea cultivation: planting tea trees after felling a few tall trees in the forest, creating a three-layered community structure of tall trees, tea trees, and herbaceous plants. This structure provides ideal light, temperature, and humidity for the growth of tea trees. At the same time, the natural ecosystem effectively prevents pests and diseases and provides natural nutrients, allowing high-quality organic tea leaves to be produced continuously.

Meanwhile, the ancestors preserved forests as protective and water source forests around the tea forests in the natural terrain of White Elephant Mountain, Nuogang Mountain, and Mangjing Mountain. The rich variety of animal and plant species in the tea and protective forests provided abundant living resources. The protective forests also served as water source forests, ensuring a supply of water for daily life and the survival of the villages.

At the top of the high mountains lies the sacred mountain of the indigenous peoples and the water source for the villages, which is strictly protected. The ancient tea forests and villages are located in the middle of the mountains, generally arranged around the sacred mountains. Each village is built around its central core. Protective forests are maintained around the ancient tea forests to prevent winter frost and the spread of pests and diseases. Farmland for growing grains and vegetables is located in areas with relatively lower elevations and sufficient water sources, avoiding disturbance to the ancient tea forests during cultivation and planting processes.

Photo by Hu Xueying

This unique way of utilizing land not only presents Jingmai Mountain with a functional landscape of “forest-tea forest-village” but also shapes a spatial relationship and ecological relationship between forest, tea, and people.

This traditional cultivation practice has been maintained through the governance system, cultural traditions, and unique “tea ancestor worship” that continue to this day, passed down for a thousand years and still vibrant.

Perhaps 100 years from now, the landscape will still be as rich, vivid, and profound as it is today.

In the long history of life on Jingmai Mountain, the people have lived alongside tea, earning their livelihoods from it. They have integrated Tea culture into their daily lives, creating a rich and diverse tea culture, including production culture such as tea planting and processing, living culture like tea consumption, ethnic customs, and residential architecture, and spiritual culture involving tea appreciation, folk arts, religious beliefs, and national spirit, showcasing the sharing and prosperity of tea culture.

“I want to leave you gold and Silver, but they will eventually run out; I want to leave you cattle and livestock, but they may succumb to epidemics. So, I will leave you with tea trees! Only tea trees can provide for you endlessly, and you must protect them like your own eyes.”

This is the ancestral teaching that has been passed down for a thousand years in Jingmai Mountain. Both the Bulang and Dai peoples revere the ancestor who led their tribes to Jingmai Mountain to cultivate tea, Paaileng, as the “Tea Ancestor.” The Tea Ancestor was not only the tribal leader but also became a revered tea deity in later generations. Perhaps Paaileng did not foresee that the ancient tea gardens planted by him and his descendants would endure the vicissitudes of time, remain full of vitality, and benefit future generations.

Photo by Hu Xueying

Following the ancestral teachings, the Bulang people on Jingmai Mountain regard tea trees as part of their lives, honoring and offering sacrifices to them. Every April, a grand ceremony is held on Jingmai Mountain to honor the Tea Ancestor, calling upon the spirit of the Tea Ancestor, praying for the safety of the tea forests, and wishing the people good health. In each tea forest on Mangjing Mountain, a “tea spirit tree” is set up as a representative of the Tea Ancestor, guarding every tea garden. The worship and sacrifice of the Tea Ancestor reflect the oral history of tea cultivation among the indigenous peoples of Jingmai Mountain and their collective memory, enhancing their collective identity and behavioral awareness regarding the protection of ancient tea forests. This not only regulates their behavior but also profoundly influences their values.

Moreover, Jingmai Mountain's tea culture, centered around “harmony,” emphasizes harmony between heaven, earth, and people, as well as harmony of body, mind, and intention, reflecting the spiritual connotations of health, self-cultivation, joy, and respect for Etiquette. The peaceful and friendly nature of the people allows the indigenous peoples to live in harmony despite the limited natural resources, helping each other and coexisting harmoniously without ever engaging in war.

In 2025, the tea production from the ancient tea forests of Jingmai Mountain reached 210.9 tons. Ninety percent of the labor force in Jingmai and Mangjing villages is engaged in tea-related work, such as tea cultivation, tea garden management, Tea processing, and trade. Tea income accounts for more than 90% of villagers' total income, with residents' incomes far exceeding regional and national averages, driving sustainable economic and social development in the heritage site and promoting the conservation of ancient tea forests.

Photo by Lu Lei

The ancient tea forests are the tea gardens, homes, and spiritual paradises of the indigenous peoples of Jingmai Mountain. Tea has evolved from a “staple of life” to an “economic source” and finally to a “cultural root.”

Su Guowen, an inheritor of the provincial-level intangible cultural heritage project “Pu'er Tea Ancestor Worship Ritual” in Yunnan Province, worked in education for 40 years and is proficient in five ethnic minority languages and three ethnic minority scripts. After retiring in 2004 and returning to his hometown, he devoted himself to the excavation, rescue, inheritance, and promotion of Bulang culture without reservation or concern for his age. Speaking to