Editor s note: The Cultural Landscape of Old Tea Forests of Jingmai Mountain in Pu er, Southwest China s Yunnan Province was inscribed onto the UNESCO World Heritage list on Sunday during the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, becoming the first World Heritage site for tea culture and bringing the total number of China s sites on the list to 57. Over the past 12 years, the local administration and villagers have cooperated closely in the ecological development of traditional villages, old tea plantations and forests. By incorporating advanced and scientific methods into traditional tea processing, the local community has shaken off poverty and created a better life for residents. Experts told the Global Times that the world heritage site demonstrates ecological ethics and wisdom that features harmony between man and nature and establishes itself as a key inspiration for sustainable development.
The Jingmai Mountain Ancient Tea Forest Cultural Landscape includes 5 ancient tea forests, 9 traditional villages and 3 separate shelter forests. The ancient Chinese people elucidated their understanding of "tea" when creating words. The top layer of the tea forest is made of tall trees, the middle is a layer of small trees and shrubs dominated by tea trees. Insects and birds that live in the forest help protect tea plants from pests. Fourteen species of wild plants under key protection in China, such as long-tailed single-chamber dogwood, grate-toothad and cylderwood, grow on the same land as tea plants.
One military expert says that China is walking a "very slender path" in terms of how it's approaching Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and is predicting it will be very difficult for the country to stay neutral in the conflict the longer it goes on.
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