Tropical Forest, Pu'erh Tea and Pottery Making

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We have all arrived safety at our hotel at Kunming. All room numbers of students are the same as the first time we stayed here except for Rong Tan W and Bill Zong J. Their room number is now 1304. Please refer to previous blog for room numbers of remaining students. The last 2 days, we have visited a few sites. Please see below information of each site:

Tropical Rainforest
Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) (中国科学院西双版纳热带植物园), of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), was founded in 1959 is located in Xishuangbanna at 21º55' N, 101º15'E, covering an area of 900 ha. Over 10 thousand species of tropical plants are preserved in its 34 living collections.

Pottery Making
Many Dai villages in Xishuangbanna preserve the traditional method of pottery-marking which is originated in remote antiquity and all the potteries are manufactured by women. The Dai ethnic slow-wheel pottery manufacturing skills pottery art was listed in the first national nonmaterial cultural heritage list in 2006.

Chinese Plantation
The Chinese tea history of Pu-erh tea is fascinating. Pu-erh tea is one of the oldest type of tea in China with a rich history of over 1700 years that can be traced back to the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 AD). During it's height of popularity Pu-erh tea was freely traded and even used as money for the bartering of goods. Premium Pu-erh tea was offered as a tribute tea to the Emperor of China and to this day Pu-erh tea remains a highly valuable commodity. Pu-erh tea is revered in China as a traditional medicinal tea with many health benefits. It is regarded by tea connoisseurs as the King of Tea for it's unique flavor and aroma.
Premium Pu-erh tea is classified as a highly valuable commodity and was frequently offered as a tribute to the Emperor of China. For this reason it became known as a “Tribute Tea”.

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Photos

Tropical Rainforest
Students played songs as the leaves dance with the sound of music.