July 15, 2026
XISHUANGBANNA, Yunnan – On July 15, 2026, the “A Single Leaf Tells a Story, Fragrance Reaches the World” field visit to the origin of Pu’er tea was held in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, marking the opening of the Fifth Elephant International Communication Forum.
Guests visited several sites, including Chenshenghao, part of the “Xishuangbanna” regional public brand; the Menghai Pu’er Tea Culture Digital Experience Space; Nannuo Mountain in Menghai County; the ancient tea gardens of Banpo Old Village on Nannuo Mountain; and the Yexu Forest Space on Nannuo Mountain. Through these visits, participants experienced first-hand how the concept that “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets” has taken root in the origin area of Pu’er tea.
From the perspective of overseas media, the visit documented the real-life picture of ecological protection, distinctive industries, and the integrated development of culture and tourism in Xishuangbanna. Through four thematic dimensions, the trip offered a comprehensive look at how one tea leaf can drive the development of an entire region.
Focusing on Ecological Foundations and Decoding How Green Leaves Become “Golden Leaves”
Menghai County has remained committed to ecological priority in development. It has systematically protected century-old ancient tea tree communities and promoted standardized organic ecological tea gardens across the county. On the basis of protecting tropical primeval forests and safeguarding regional biodiversity, Menghai has developed a high-quality Pu’er tea industry, creating a positive cycle in which ecological protection and industrial income growth reinforce each other.
Menghai County’s Nannuo Mountain: Known as the World’s First Ancient Tea Village
The media delegation explored the path of enriching local residents through the integration of tea, culture and tourism, witnessing how one tea leaf can bring prosperity to one community. The delegation visited the Nannuo Mountain forest tea tourism demonstration area and saw the transformation of “tea gardens into parks, tea farmers into guides, and tea mountains into sources of prosperity.”
Relying on the natural resources of tea mountains and Dai ethnic tea culture, the area has developed new business models, including educational tourism, tea-picking experiences and folk cultural performances. These efforts continue to extend the full tea industry chain, increase industrial added value, and broaden local employment, entrepreneurship and income channels. Through the concrete development of rural communities, the visit presented to the world a warm picture of China’s rural revitalization and continuous improvement in people’s livelihoods.
Visiting Modern Tea Enterprises and Strengthening the Brand of China’s Leading Pu’er Tea County Through Technology and Standards
The delegation visited Chenshenghao’s standardized production workshop and the Pu’er tea digital culture experience space, observing the full-chain system of digital traceability, quality control and intelligent processing.
Menghai relies on technological innovation to protect the quality of its place of origin. Through standardized systems, it has strengthened the foundation of the industry and continued to enhance the international competitiveness of Pu’er tea. The visit communicated to global businesses and overseas consumers the reliable quality of Xishuangbanna tea and the strength of its regional specialty brands.
Using Tea as a Bridge to Deepen Openness and Shared Development with Neighbouring Regions
Pu’er tea crosses national borders and serves as both a cultural ambassador and a trade link between China and countries in the Lancang-Mekong region, South Asia and Southeast Asia. Through the joint visit and exchanges among guests from different countries, the event highlighted vivid stories of cross-border tea trade and people-to-people cultural exchanges.
It also conveyed China’s commitment to sharing ecological resources and pursuing green development with neighbouring countries, while further expanding the international communication reach of Chinese tea culture.
At the welcome dinner at 6 p.m. on July 15, Gao Jiangquan, Vice Governor of Xishuangbanna Prefecture People’s Government, said in his welcome remarks that Xishuangbanna is a core global production area for Pu’er tea. The prefecture’s tea garden area remains stable at 1.43 million mu, accounting for 17.87 per cent of Yunnan Province’s total tea garden area. Its total output of raw tea reaches 73,000 tonnes, with about 350,000 people involved in the tea industry and the full industry chain reaching a value of 51.6 billion yuan.
Gao said that, through e-commerce and cross-border channels, Pu’er tea with a thousand-year history has moved beyond the mountains and is now exported to more than 30 countries and regions, including Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
He added that the World Mayors Dialogue is an important platform for exchange and mutual learning among cities around the world. Xishuangbanna, China, is a shining pearl among world cities and a beautiful example of harmony between humanity and nature. He said he looked forward to in-depth discussions, experience sharing and consensus building around topics such as urban governance, green development, resident income growth and cultural exchange, so that participants can jointly contribute wisdom and strength to sustainable development in global cities.
At 7:50 p.m., the delegation also visited Gaozhuang Xishuangjing for the “Starry Lights and Blossoming Nightlife” field visit to the Starlight Night Market. Representatives of overseas Chinese-language media and other guests experienced ethnic cultural performances, border-region specialty foods and Dai-Thai cultural and creative markets. They gained a direct sense of the growing vitality of Xishuangbanna’s upgraded night economy.
Relying on its border-region advantages, Gaozhuang Xishuangjing has built a distinctive cross-border business district that integrates diverse cultures. It has promoted coexistence among different ethnic groups and shared development benefits, while effectively driving the transformation and upgrading of urban culture and tourism, expanding flexible employment, and improving the quality and efficiency of the sojourn economy. It has also explored a refined grassroots governance model suited to border cities, offering a Xishuangbanna example for Lancang-Mekong cities seeking to develop inclusive night economies and build livable, open cities.
Representatives of overseas Chinese-language media said the Fifth Elephant International Communication Forum has created an efficient and direct platform for field research. From vast ecological tea gardens to a vibrant border night market, Xishuangbanna has organically integrated ecological resources, ethnic culture and openness to the outside world, presenting a development answer sheet that combines ecological value, livelihood warmth and an international perspective.
In the next stage, the delegation will use written reports, images, short videos and other communication formats to share what they saw, thought and felt during the visit with global Chinese communities and overseas mainstream society. Their goal is to help the world better understand a green, open, inclusive and prosperous Xishuangbanna in Yunnan, and to further amplify the international communication of stories from China’s distinctive border regions.
The Fifth Elephant International Communication Forum is jointly hosted by Xinhuanet, the Publicity Department of the CPC Yunnan Provincial Committee, the CPC Xishuangbanna Prefecture Committee and the Xishuangbanna Prefecture People’s Government. The event is being held in Xishuangbanna from July 14 to 16.
Since the first forum was launched in 2022, the platform has developed over four editions into a professional international communication exchange platform with clear Chinese characteristics and strong Yunnan features. Over the past four years, the forum has brought together media professionals, think tank experts and government representatives from more than 100 countries and regions. Participants have held in-depth discussions on innovative approaches to international communication, continued to tell China’s stories well, and shared Yunnan’s development voice. The forum has accumulated a large number of replicable and promotable practical experiences in external communication and has become a key window for showcasing Yunnan’s openness and cultural exchange.
This year’s forum uses the highly recognizable “Elephant IP” as its central communication focus. It brings together about 200 participants, including international social science experts, heads of overseas mainstream media organizations, representatives from Lancang-Mekong, South Asian and Southeast Asian countries, as well as guests from cities and enterprises in China and abroad.
The forum aims to build bridges for transnational urban exchange, bring together diverse ideas, continue upgrading Yunnan’s core international publicity brand, and establish a multi-dimensional, intelligent and targeted international communication system. It will continue to release the global communication potential of the Elephant IP and bring regional development achievements and outstanding traditional Chinese culture to a broader overseas audience.
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