Pu'er City, prefecture-level city in Yunnan, China
Pu'er is a large city in southern Yunnan, known as the center of Pu'erh tea production and tea trade. The city sits in mountainous terrain with dense forests, numerous plantations, and hillside landscapes that extend toward the borders with Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar.
During the Tang Dynasty, the city received its name Pu'er, which also names the famous tea made here for centuries. The city developed as a tea trading center and lay on the Ancient Tea Horse Road, a major trade route where caravans carried tea to distant markets.
Pu'er is home to multiple ethnic groups whose traditions shape daily life and local celebrations. You see traditional clothing, local crafts, and regional dishes in the markets and festivals that reflect the cultural diversity of the community.
The city is easily accessible by a modern train station and airport offering connections to larger cities like Kunming. The region is mountainous, so wear comfortable shoes and adjust to varying elevations, especially when visiting old tea plantations.
The city has a remarkable archaeological feature: Jingmai Mountain holds one of the oldest operating tea plantations, where tea trees have grown under tall forest trees for centuries. This ancient cultivation method stands apart from modern tea farming and shows a rare blend of traditional forestry and tea production.
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