Here is a map I've made this morning. It represents the Mengku area with the main tea villages. As you can see, there are two main mountains: Xi Ban Shan in the west and Dong Ban Shan in the east. The top of Xi Ban Shan is known as Da Xue Shan (big snow mountain) because of its high altitude (it peaks at 3233m), there is another Daxueshan in the North West of this area, they should not be confused.
The most famous village in Mengku area is Bingdao, in the North. It is famous for its high fragrance and power, actually, Mengku has much more to offer, each village has its own characteristics. Bingdao tea is very high priced while most of the other villages are cheaper than Xishuangbanna tea.
I have never made it to Mengku, but I intend to go there soon, I have heard only good from that place. It is said the environment is much better preserved than in Xishuangbanna, the plantations are less intensive and very old tea trees stand in the fields. Let's see!
I hope you get to go there soon and shoot many photogaphs to publish here! I will probably never make it there, but to drink the tea while looking at the pictures ... like a little trip to Yunnan.
ReplyDeleteYour Daxueshan is my favourite young sheng - so I'm really looking forward to reading about your trip to that region.
Thank you Gero, high altitude tea are indeed very fragrant, I love them too!
ReplyDeleteI will publish photos for sure.
Nice googleshot!
ReplyDeleteWou, its precisely where olivier schneider live! Are you going to visit him??
Thanks Matthew, Google Earth is an amazing tool!
ReplyDeleteI have a few contacts in Mengku, but most often, I go to the mountains without plan, I often meet nice people, stay at their place, they introduce me their villages, their gardens. So far, I've never had any really bad situation in the tea mountains, people are always very friendly.
I've never been to Xishuangbanna or Mengku but would love to go on a tea trip sometime :)
ReplyDelete