Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems

On September 17, good news came from Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia: The 45th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee adopted a resolution to inscribe China's "Ancient Tea Forest Cultural Landscape of Pu'er Jingmai Mountain" on the World Heritage List! This is the world's first tea-themed cultural heritage site and China's 57th, Yunnan Province's 6th entry on the list. What is it about Pu'er Jingmai Mountain that captivates the world? What value does it hold that has earned it the favor and recognition of the World Heritage Committee? What experiences have been had since the application process began in 2010, over these 13 years? All these questions can be distilled into one: Why Jingmai Mountain? A Book of Mountains: What is the Ancient Tea Forest of Jingmai Mountain? The Ancient Tea Forest of Jingmai Mountain is located in Lancang County, Puer City, covering a total area of 19,095.74 hectares, with 7,167.89 hectares designated as the heritage zone. It encompasses two villages, Jingmai and Mangjing, in Humin Town, Lancang County. Five ethnic groups reside here: Dai, Bulang, Hani, Wa, and Han. Before the arrival of the Bulang and Dai peoples, Jingmai Mountain was covered by dense primeval forest, where…