In pics: Tea growers pick tea leaves in millennia-old Yunnan community (3)

Tea growers dry tea leaves at a tea plantation in Mengsong township, Menghai county in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China’s Yunnan Province. A survey has found that Mengsong is home to over 3,800 mu (253 hectares) of tea gardens. As the recognized place of origin and heartland for cultivating tea trees, Yunnan has an impressive history of tea cultivation going back more than 1,700 years. The local people have meanwhile adopted a respect for nature and environmental protection into their values, having done a great job in preserving the ancient tea forests. (Photo/Zuo Lianjiang)