At the Source of Pu’er Tea — Living Culture, Nature & Heritage
This itinerary leads you through Xishuangbanna, the historic cradle of Pu’er tea, tracing the ancient Tea Horse Road. From Jinghong to Mengsong, Bulangshan, Hekai, and Man’nuo, explore millenary plantations and mingle with Dai, Akha, Lahu, and Bulang peoples who uphold a lifestyle centered on tea. Artisan workshops, hand harvesting, refined tastings, and immersive traditional experiences punctuate this exceptional journey. Discover the sacred link between tea, nature, and spirituality through unique encounters set in breathtaking tropical forest landscapes.
Daily program: Ancient Tea Mountains in Xishuangbanna – 9 days
Day 1: arrival in Jinghong. 15 minutes transfer Altitude: 550m.
Meet your English-speaking guide and tea maker at Gasa International Airport, then transfer to your riverside hotel in the heart of Jinghong. Walk along the Lancang (upper Mekong) River and join an exclusive tasting of teas from Yibang’s old mountains (about 5 different types of very high qulity tea : white tea, black tea, raw pu’er (new vintage and old vintage) and ripe pu’er. Watch ethnic Dai Performance 19:00-21:00. In the evening, share a Dai-style barbecue at a favorite local food street, and, if energy allows, wander into the vibrant Starlight Night Market.
Overnight at Taiyue Hotel.
Day 2: Into the Mengsong Mountains. 3 hours drive Altitude: 1650m.
Wake gently and visit Xishuangbanna Ethnic Minorities Museum. After a countryside lunch in Dongfeng, visit the historic Theravada temples of Menglong Town before winding through rubber groves and rainforest roads into the old tea mountains of Mengsong. Dine in a traditional Akha stilt house with our host Alan and watch the essential “kill-green” pan-roasting step of tea making.
Overnight at the Songda Lodge
Day 3: Making tea by hand. 1 hours hike Altitude: 1650m.
Spend the day learning the craft of rough tea. Guided by Alan, pluck tender leaves beneath the rainforest canopy, pause for a wild picnic of fresh tea-leaf dishes (at your charge), and return by motor tricycle with the morning harvest. In the workshop, join the process from withering to sun-drying, and after dinner, practice pan-frying, rolling, and packaging with your host family.
Overnight at the Songda Lodge
Day 4: Forest Knowledge & Evening Celebration. 3 hours hike. Altitude: 1650m.
Birdwatch and hike forest trails with Atu, a former hunter turned conservationist, and learn about nine species of rattan vital to local life and once reserved for Dai royalty. Collect spring water in bamboo tubes for brewing tea. After lunch, compare your handmade tea with local versions in a guided tasting. In the evening, help prepare a communal dinner by the fire, listen to traditional flute music, and celebrate with your host family at a countryside KTV (at your expense, about RMB400).
Overnight at the Songda Lodge
Day 5: Weaving Traditions & Menghai. 2 hours drive Altitude: 1200m.
Wake naturally and enjoy a final Akha-style brunch with your hosts. Spend the morning learning bamboo and rattan weaving from a master artisan, shaping your own piece to carry home. After heartfelt farewells, travel west to Bulangshan. With our Bulang host, Sanmei, visit the centuries-old Laoman’e Temple, speak with monks about the role of tea in their practice, and taste Laoman’e’s signature teas—both sweet and bitter, like the balance of life itself.
Overnight at Yueting Hot Spring B&B
Day 6: Hekai Old Tea Mountains & Manla Village. 1 hour drive Altitude: 1400m.
Take a short drive to Laoman’e, then continue to Hekai, home to some of the world’s most expansive old tea gardens and explore the Hekai Tea Museum. After lunch in Hekai, travel to Manla, where a family-run workshop lies between tea fields and paddies. Walk to the neighboring Dai village to experience roasting tea leaves over an open hearth and brewing in clay pots. Back at the workshop, owner Lin shares the mysteries of long-term Puerh ageing in his storage. Dine among the tea gardens while listening to stories from his years of mountain travels.
Overnight at the Manla tea workshop
Day 7: Dayi Factory & Man’nuo Village. 2 hours drive Altitude: 1200m.
In the morning, step inside the renowned Dayi Tea Factory—whose raw and ripe Puerh cakes set the standard for quality across China. Join technicians for a behind-the-scenes look at the automation and craft inside their historic buildings, then continue the conversation over lunch. By afternoon, reach Man’nuo, where ancient tea trees grow entwined with massive rocks. Share some of Menghai’s most aromatic teas with our Bulang host family, followed by dinner. Overnight at homestay in the village
Day 8: Return to Jinghong & comparative tea tasting. 3 hours drive Altitude: 550m.
Spend the morning among Man’nuo’s rocky tea gardens, deepening your connection with its unique terroir. On the way back, keep watch for wild elephants in the Meng’a reserve, you might see one if you’re lucky. In Jinghong, take part in a comparative tasting of small-leaf and broad-leaf teas, raw (sheng) and ripe (shu) Puerh—an exploration of contrasts. In the evening, gather for a farewell dinner at Meimei Café.
Overnight at Taiyue Hotel
Day 9: departure from Jinghong
Enjoy unhurried free time for riverside walks or souvenir browsing before your transfer to the airport or train station. Carry with you not just tea, but the voices of mountains, forests, and the people who make them come alive. End of our services, we wish you a pleasant return home, beautiful memories in mind!
