On my first visit, Lao Man E impressed me very much, even though it is a very famous place now, it feels so remote. Maybe I got that feeling because Lao Man E is only surrounded by ancient tea gardens, pagodas and temples. You cannot see anything else when in Lao Man E, you don't feel like at the top of a mountain. From Nannuo Shan, you can see the two major cities of Xishuangbanna, from Jingmai, you can contemplate the large paddy fields in the plains, you get a grasp of civilization. But in Lao Man E, there is only tea and meditation.
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| Lao Man E in the morning |
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| Old people pray all day, and sleep in an annex of the temple |
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| They go back home on the second day |
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| Tea is all around the village |
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| Ancient tea forest |
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| In these hills, there are wild tea trees... and big snakes! |
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| Buddhism is omnipresent in Bulang Shan |
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| Natural tea gardens |
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Bamboo is used extensively in Xishuangbanna
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Ancient tea gardens are all around, the Han culture is so far away, Lao Man E is the center of Bulang culture, it doesn't feel like China at all. I have always been fascinated by Bulang Shan, this is a mystic place, there are always weird things happening there. Bulang Shan tea is like Burgundy wine, it has a strong character, it can be very good or very bad, sometimes, it gives a hard time to our stomach, sometimes, it brings our throat to nirvana. This area is so peculiar.
you can consult an article about Lao Man E on my website:
click here![]()
