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 had to buy some tea from them as a token of appreciation before leaving. When I returned this year, there was a guesthouse in the village, and it felt wonderful to stay there. Wooden staircases adorned with flowering vines led up to balconies with views of distant mountains and nearby waters. Especially in the morning, sunlight would filter through the windows, dispelling the drowsiness after a long night's Sleep, and the fragrance of mountain flowers was a daily gift from nature.
“Nuogang,” in Dai language, means “the place where deer Drink water.” Legend has it that because of the many clear streams and peaceful village, a large herd of deer used to come here to drink. Another interpretation is that “Nuogang” means “the pond with golden lotus,” with “nuo” meaning pond and “gang” (formerly called kan) referring to something precious like gold. I'm not sure which is accurate, but Nuogang Village is indeed very rustic. Upon entering the village, one can hear the tinkling sound of springs, and even the wildest winds become gentle here. Whether it is the place where deer drink water or the place favored by Buddha with “golden lotuses,” it is the Dai people who ultimately settled here. According to two Dai-language documents recorded by Bo Yanhu, a villager in Nuogang Village, Jingmai Village, and verified, long ago, there was a large Dai tribe living far away. Life was primitive, relying on hunting and gathering wild fruits and vegetables. As the tribe grew, food became scarce. At this time, Prince Zhao Nuo'la took a group to search for a new home. In 106 BCE, Zhao Nuo'la led the tribe downstream along the Lancang River, crossing mountains and rivers until they reached Linjiang, which at that time was uninhabited. Seeing the beautiful natural scenery along the Lancang River, some chose to settle there. Zhao Nuo'la continued south along the Lancang River, arriving in what is now Lancang County, leading the people to establish villages and settle down. The Dai people of Nuogang Village are among those who settled here.
Time flies, and the world has changed, yet Nuogang Village remains unchanged. Apart from the dust of history accumulated over time, the ancient trees, tea, streams, and homes remain as they were. There is a Buddhist temple at the entrance to the village, and people often visit. On this day, the whole village gathered as if it were a festival, a communal celebration. The temple square was filled with dancing men and women. Men played drums and cymbals while women danced gracefully, sometimes mimicking peacocks chasing each other, other times fluttering like butterflies.
Wandering through the village, on the balconies of bamboo houses, there are young women doing laundry and elderly men drinking tea with their eyes half-closed in the sun. They all greet you and invite you into their homes. I entered Yan Shao's house by chance, learning about the story of his family and the thousand-year-old tea. Nineteen years ago, he came to Lancang from Jiangxi to work, accidentally meeting a Dai girl from Nuogang Village, leading to their marriage. Adapting to local customs, he changed his name to Yan Shao and regarded Nuogang Village as his hometown. Talking about life, Yan Shao emphasized “comfort.” From our conversation, I learned that his family sells over 100,000 yuan worth of tea annually, along with other income from work. Their main crop is also rice, producing several thousand jin each year, enough to last five years. This explains why Yan Shao feels so comfortable. As the son-in-law of Nuogang Village, he has not lost the industriousness of his Jiangxi roots. While others bought luxury cars and mansions with their tea income, he still lives in a traditional Dai wooden house built with government assistance, saving money to send his two children to school, leading a relatively frugal life.
This village hidden in Mount Jingmai is quiet and reserved, rustic and natural, but it has been discovered by tourists. Since 2007, the number of visitors has increased every day. They found that the old houses in Nuogang Village have never been covered with tiles, and the people remain simple and honest. Every inch of land in Nuogang Village is unpolluted. Vegetables can be picked from personal gardens, and meat doesn't need to be bought from the market. Each household raises a pig for the New Year, eating pork fattened on corn without worrying about any health risks. They also drink homemade liquor. After autumn, Nuogang Village is filled with the aroma of alcohol, and visitors will feel slightly tipsy. Some families run homestays. Every household has stocks of ancient tree tea selling for thousands of yuan per jin, waiting for guests to come and savor.
Here, you can completely relax. The Dai people open their doors to you, embracing you with the hospitality of Nuogang Village. You can also go up the mountain, where ancient tea grows. Each tea tree has a story. Although Nuogang Village is not in the river valley, its architecture still follows the Dai stilt-house style. Built with two stories, wood and bamboo serve as floorboards and walls, with thatched roofs. The upper level is for living quarters, while the lower level is for livestock and storage of farming tools. The entire structure is elevated and constructed with bamboo or wood, keeping the interior dry and cool. Nowadays, many Dai villages incorporate concrete and brick structures, but Nuogang Village still retains its stilt-house architectural style. This is why this ancient village becomes increasingly attractive.
Author: Xu Wenzhou