Puer Tea Goes Global: When 24 Nations' Mayors Tasted Puer

In July 2026, the "World Mayors Dialogue · Xishuangbanna" took place in Yunnan, China. Over 100 mayors and representatives from 24 countries — including Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Pakistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka — gathered in the rainforest heartland under the theme "Rainforest and Homeland: Coexistence, Co-building, and Sharing." During the event, the delegates visited the ancient tea forests of Nannuoshan in Menghai County, where they picked tea leaves, tasted sparkling Puer tea and other innovative products, and experienced the full journey of Puer tea from ancient tree to teacup. The event concluded with the release of the "Xishuangbanna Initiative," and Menghai County signed a sister-city agreement with Namtha District, Laos — signaling a new chapter in Puer tea's journey to the world stage.

From the Ancient Tea Horse Road to the World Stage

Puer tea's international journey is not new. As early as the Tang and Song dynasties, tea from the "mountains of Yinsheng" — present-day Xishuangbanna and Pu'er — was already traveling outward along ancient trade routes. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Puer tea was carried along the Tea Horse Road to Tibet, Southeast Asia, and even Europe, becoming a bridge between civilizations. The last emperor of China, Puyi, once remarked: "Puer tea was the favorite of the imperial family; possessing it was a symbol of nobility."

Yet for much of the past century, Puer tea remained far less known internationally than green tea or black tea. That is changing. When mayors from 24 countries walked through Menghai's modernized tea factories — observing blending, winnowing, electrostatic dust removal, and color sorting — and stood before 800-year-old cultivated tea trees on Nannuoshan, hand-picking fresh leaves themselves, Puer tea ceased to be an abstract concept. It became a tangible, tasteable experience.

Bipin Regmi, Mayor of Kalika Municipality in Nepal's Chitwan region, was deeply impressed: "Xishuangbanna's tea industry has formed large-scale cooperatives and modern processing systems. Quality control, packaging, and brand building are all remarkable." He expressed hope for future tea culture exchanges between Nepal and China. Christian Mujisha, a journalist from Rwanda, was struck by the tea-tourism integration model, calling it "a great way to promote the tea industry by combining cultural experience, tourism, and tea."

The 51.6 Billion Yuan Industry Behind a Leaf

Gao Jiangquan, Vice Governor of Xishuangbanna Prefecture, shared key figures during the event: the prefecture maintains 1.43 million mu (approximately 953 km²) of tea gardens, with about 350,000 people involved in the tea industry. In 2025, the total industry value chain reached 51.6 billion yuan (approximately 7.1 billion USD). The prefecture has 685 SC-certified tea enterprises — the most in Yunnan Province — and over 530,000 mu of certified organic tea gardens.

More importantly, through a benefit-sharing model of "leading enterprise + village cooperative + farmers," tea farmers' per capita income increased by 17,800 yuan, accounting for about 80% of their total disposable income. The "company + base + farmers" model ensures minimum purchase prices regardless of market fluctuations, lifting farmers' annual income from less than a thousand yuan to tens of thousands.

The industry is also embracing youth-oriented innovation. Cold-brew Puer, fruit-infused Puer, portable tea bags, sparkling Puer tea, and tea ice cream are pushing Puer tea from the traditional tea table into everyday life. In 2025, online tea retail sales exceeded 3.23 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 77.7%. Fifteen local tea enterprises now partner with major beverage brands, supplying over 10,000 tons of premium tea raw materials annually — making Xishuangbanna the core supply region for Puer tea materials in China's new-style tea beverage industry.

Menghai: The "First County of Chinese Puer Tea"

Menghai County, where the 24-nation delegation visited, is known as "China's First County of Puer Tea." It is one of the three core Puer tea production areas, renowned for its thick, full-bodied liquor, strong tea energy, and exceptional steeping durability — character that deepens into rich aged fragrance over time. This distinctive taste profile stems from Menghai's unique geography: low latitude, high elevation, and a three-dimensional climate where "the weather changes every ten miles," giving rise to the celebrated "one mountain, one flavor" diversity.

Nannuoshan is one of Menghai's most iconic ancient tea mountains. At an average elevation of 1,400 meters, perpetually bathed in mountain mist, it is a golden zone for tea tree cultivation. Of its 36,000 mu of tea gardens, 12,000 mu are contiguous ancient tea gardens over a century old. In 1951, a cultivated "tea king tree" estimated to be over 800 years old was discovered here — standing 5.5 meters tall with a trunk diameter of 1.38 meters, it remains the largest cultivated ancient tea tree ever found. Nannuoshan has since earned the title "First Village of Ancient Tea."

Tea from Nannuoshan is known for its distinctive aroma and mellow, full-bodied taste, with tea polyphenol content reaching 30%-35% — making it a prized raw material for premium Puer tea. In recent years, purchase prices have increased nearly tenfold, allowing many generational tea-farming families to earn a comfortable living without leaving their ancestral mountain.

Songdehao: Rooted in Menghai, Looking to the World

Songdehao's core production area is in Menghai. We believe the foundation of great tea lies in its origin — elevation, soil, sunlight, mist, and tea cultivar all shape the final cup. The ecological integrity of Menghai's ancient tea gardens, where "tea grows within the forest, and the forest shelters the tea," is the fundamental reason we chose to root ourselves here.

As mayors from 24 nations discussed tea and development on Nannuoshan, a new page opened in Puer tea's global narrative. From the bells of horse caravans on the ancient Tea Horse Road to the fragrance of Puer at the World Mayors Dialogue, this tea has traveled a thousand years. Today, it is entering more people's daily lives in younger, more accessible forms — whether in a tea room in Kunming or a cold-brew Puer on the other side of the planet.

If you'd like to experience the distinctive character of Menghai's ancient tree Puer tea, we invite you to explore Songdehao's collection, or reach out to us directly to discuss your taste preferences.