Dai people

Ascending Mount Jingmai, one is drawn for the sea of clouds and the ancient tea. Nuogang Village in Jingmai Village especially captured my imagination. To me, this is what a fairyland should look like. Lush forests embrace the thousand-year-old village; mists linger around this auspicious ancestral land. Nuogang Village is part of Jingmai Village Committee in Huimin Town, Lancang County, Pu'er City, Yunnan Province. All 121 households are Dai people. Suitable for growing crops such as tea and rice, the tea industry is an important source of income. Despite fluctuating tea prices over the years, the price of tea from Nuogang Village has never dropped. This is due to two reasons: First, the trees are old, with the oldest being over 800 years and the youngest more than a century, producing a rich and powerful flavor. Second, the tea is ecologically grown in deep mountains where villagers voluntarily refrain from using pesticides, preserving its natural taste. I have visited Mount Jingmai twice, staying both times in Nuogang Village. The first visit was years ago when there were no guesthouses in the village. I was hosted by a Dai family who made tea, refusing any payment for accommodation and meals. I…