There’s a new type of tourism in China. Aptly named nongjiale, it translates from Mandarin as “happy country home” or “delights in farm guesthouses”. This increasingly popular form of agricultural tourism offers the chance to get one’s hands dirty, commune with Mother Earth and eat delicious local specialities right at their source. It also permits people to escape smoggy cities, forget about metropolitan worries and feel confident the food they are eating is as fresh, clean and safe as possible.
What was previously no more than a few simple restaurants and lodges run by rural families has since evolved into a fashionable tourism niche, especially in Yunnan. That province’s name, meaning “south of the clouds”, appropriately describes its allure: lush, green, tropical landscapes where hidden valley towns are surrounded by tiered rice paddy fields, snow-peaked mountains or gushing gorges.
It’s here that the nation’s broadest biodiversity is found, not to mention a year-round agricultural bounty that is famous countrywide. Sharing borders with Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam, Yunnan’s population boasts the largest number of ethnic minority groups in China, enabling first-hand access to cultures that have captured the imagination as long as they have stood the test of time.
Chinese nationals, and increasingly foreigners with their ears to the ground, come to take part in a pastoral dream. Tailored group tours and accommodation, along with innovative environmental initiatives and non-governmental organisations, offer bespoke bucolic outings. Still independently run – giving each destination its own authentic flavour – this bona fide opportunity to bond with nature remains a privilege found by the few who take time to seek it out.
Follow our agri-tour picks along Yunnan’s historic Tea Horse Trail, where tea porters once hauled heavy burdens from southern China through Tibet and into India. Though you’ll put in some work at these destinations, rest assured today’s version of travel is far more leisurely.
Menghai Tea Factory
Yunnan is famous for pu’er, tea created from a mostly unoxidised green tea processed from a “large leaf” variety of Camellia sinensis which is locally called maocha. Found only in the far southern mountains of Xishuangbanna, upon being dried and rolled the tea undergoes fermentation to become the Chinese speciality called “dark tea”. It is differentiated as either ripened or raw, indicating whether it has undergone man-made versus natural fermentation processes.
The tea’s name refers to the county famed for the six tea mountains northeast of the Mekong River, and a former trading post for dark tea during imperial China. Given the many generations that have been tilling the land, this region is perfect for exploring tea plantations whose terroir leave an inimitable flavour stamp.
Visitors are advised to visit a factory and explore its production facilities and surrounding farms. Established in 1940, Menghai Tea Factory is one of the earliest Yunnan-based factories and the second to experiment with “cooking” or ripening techniques. Previously government owned, today it remains one of the most widely known producers of compressed and loose pu’er tea, despite a trend toward micro-producers. This is due in part to its prized 1970s and 80s vintages, as certain pu’er varieties can be matured prior to consumption.
Visitors can stay overnight in the village of Menghai; the You Zheng (or Post Office) hotel has reliably clean but simple doubles for RMB100 (US$16). The extremely friendly and helpful staff compensate for the rudimentary bathroom facilities.
CONTACT: Xiangshan Road; tel +86 691 512 8188. China Unique Tour can help make English language reservations tel +86 29 8723 8990; www.chinauniquetour.com
Hao Bao Qing Organic Farm
Moving toward central Yunnan and Kunming, its capital city, the province’s largest and oldest organic farm is innovative as much for its production methods as for education and hospitality programmes. Anyone interested is welcome to visit, learn how to farm organic vegetables and fruits and eat at the self-supplied restaurant. Locals have the option of renting a plot of land, to be overseen personally or by hired farmers who arrange weekly delivery. Overnighters can stay in one of the cosy rooms that look like little caves and provide a warm nest for the night.
Located in Tuanjie Town west of Kunming, the trip is an easy 45-minute public bus ride out of the city centre, though a taxi transfer is necessary to wind up the mountain road to the farm’s front gates. For city-dwellers, this is an eye-opening (and delicious) excursion away from the well-trod tourist path, the gorgeous environs making for lovely day hikes throughout the area. Email [email protected] for arrangements and directions.
CONTACT: Hao Bao Qing Valley; tel +86 871 884 4533
Lijiang Pullman Resort
Moving slightly farther northwest, Yunnan’s most famous product – a mind-boggling variety of mushrooms and other fungi – take root in these moist, high-altitude climes. As many as 800 varieties of mushroom are harvested here, according to certain estimates, many of which are exported to fungi-crazed countries such as Japan and in Western Europe.
Some of the more famous types include morels, called “sheep-stomach” (yangduzi); pine mushrooms, which are often referred to by their Japanese name, matsutake (songrong); and yellow and black “beef-liver” fungus (niuganjun), belonging to the Boletus genus and with the most well known being Boletus edulis, better known as porcini. Fetching the highest prices abroad are black truffles, though purists consider them inferior to Europe’s famous Périgord variety.
Foraging seasons are short-lived, often arising after the rains let up come August, so it’s best to rely on the crack squad of leisure specialists at the Lijiang Pullman Resort, who seek to source the best in everything local, food included. Put in a request ahead of arrival and they’ll gladly arrange bespoke market and food gathering tours. The resort itself is an absolute gem: integrating contemporary technology and creature comforts with local Naxi-style architecture and stylistic touches, this is one of the most lovingly cultivated accommodations to be found in all China.
CONTACT: Shuhe Old Town Entrance Road, Lijiang; tel +86 888 530 0111; www.pullmanhotels.com
Shangri-La Farms
Unlike mushrooms, honey and coffee are not the first products that spring to mind when you think of Yunnan, yet beekeeping is not new to the region and coffee bushes have taken root quite comfortably in Yunnan’s higher altitudes. Shangri-La Farms, a sustainable boutique brand known for harvesting both these goods, has been working with local farmers to train newcomers to the industry on best practices environmentally, economically and socially. The family-run business aims to provide a fair trade way to connect existing harvesters with new markets.
The farm – based, not surprisingly, in stunning Shangri-La – works closely with the local government in line with central government policies focused on improving rural livelihoods in environmentally sustainable ways. As a result, visitors gain first-hand insight into the processes of food production in China. Expect to get your hands dirty and to find communal living quarters, but the surrounding natural beauty ensures this is no hardship.
CONTACT: Shangri-La Farms, Shangri-La; tel +86 10 8451 0613 (Beijing headquarters); http://shangrilafarms.com
Mei Xiang Yak Cheese
As high as 4,500 metres above sea level on the Tibetan plateau, Langdu Village nestles within a precious and pristine mountain region. Here, in far northwestern Yunnan, yaks roam, drinking from clear mountain springs and feeding on wild flowers and herbs.
It is also here that the Mei Xiang Yak Cheese factory is housed, working to alleviate poverty among Tibetan herders by opening up new markets for sustainable development. Created through a collaboration between the China Exploration and Research Society and Ventures in Development, and overseen by Professor Ranee May from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, cheese recipes using local traditions and international standards have been developed.
An East-West fusion of cuisines, the factory’s Halloumi and Asiago-style cheeses highlight the unique flavours of yak’s milk. Visitors can arrange to view the process of making gourmet cheese before relaxing at the nearby lodge to enjoy cheese along with Yunnan wine and other local specialities. Overnight guests should reserve a spot at the lodge a few weeks in advance to ensure a warm bed.
CONTACT: Mei Xiang Yak
Cheese Factory, Shangri-La; tel +86 139 8870 4952; www.yakcheese.com.cn
On the Farm
Once considered a lowbrow way of living, avoided by ambitious urbanites and left to rugged peasants, the concept of spending time in a rustic idyll is displacing a desire for shiny new objects. People are starting to seek the simpler things in life in a turn away from consumption while heeding environmental concerns. The farm-to-fork philosophy unveils a mentality that values the splendour of nature, pleasure of producing and consuming healthy food, and quality time with family and friends.
Imagine waking up early to the crisp smell of dew drying on a field of crops and the earth thawing from the previous night’s chill; the hens have started clucking as pigs begin rustling in pens, and you throw on some well-worn clothes for a morning of leisurely gathering crops for lunch under clear blue skies. Not an image normally associated with China perhaps, but certainly applicable in the province “south of the clouds”.
How To Get There
Improved air, rail and road routes are all part of government infrastructure investments. In Kunming, a fully renovated international terminal aims to be ready by year-end to cope with new demand from direct flights overseas to the US as well as to European countries like France and Germany, positioning the city to become a major Chinese hub (http://kunming.airport-authority.com).
Before then, Hong Kong International Airport is the best transit point as it offers more international connecting flights than Shanghai or Beijing. From there, travellers can fly to Kunming or Chengdu for another transit to Lijiang.
For Lijiang, the main access point to northwest Yunnan, efforts include a new domestic terminal to handle flights from more than 14 points around China including gateway cities like Kunming, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Chengdu, Beijing and Shanghai.
A railway line from Kunming, launched in 2009, now leads to the new Passenger Rail Terminal in Lijiang. The main highway between Dali and Lijiang is being upgraded to national status, and motor access to other regional attractions such as Shangri-La are under renovation.
For Xishuangbanna in the south, fly into the Xishuangbanna Gasa Airport, which is located in Jinghong. This is an international airport that connects with many of China’s major airports.
Menghai can be reached in two hours from Jinghong by buses departing regularly from the South Bus Station, but be sure to check road conditions, especially during the monsoon season.
