China Yunnan Pu 'er Tea 2000 yuan a catty Villagers turn virgin forest into tea garden.

CCTV News: In recent years, with the rising price of Pu 'er tea, trees in nature reserves have been destroyed. The ecological destruction activities of expanding Pu 'er tea have been staged repeatedly and intensified. In recent years, with the warming of Pu 'er tea market, Yiwu Town in Mengla County, Xishuangbanna has become lively. There are hundreds of shops selling tea in one main street of the town alone. And many of them are selling ancient tree tea that is claimed to come from state-owned forests.
Owner of tea shop in Yiwu Town, Mengla County, Yunnan Province: The minimum tea in the state-owned forest is more than 2,000 yuan per kilogram, which is an ancient tree. Bend bow state-owned forest ancient tree tea, we sell it at 4000 yuan per kilogram.

Owner of tea shop in Yiwu Town, Mengla County, Yunnan Province: My family usually costs more than 3,000 to 4,000 yuan per kilogram. State-owned forests cost 5000-6000 yuan per kilogram.

Some shopkeepers told reporters that these teas with the words "state-owned forest" can't be picked casually, and some of them are all from nature reserves in the town, with higher grade, better quality and more expensive price.

Shopkeeper: Our family is basically tea. It is nothing more than a particularly good ecological environment, and it is a so-called protected area with a boundary pillar.

According to the relevant laws and regulations of the country, state-owned forests and nature reserves are absolutely not allowed to engage in tea planting and picking activities. So what kind of mystery is hidden in the tea of state-owned forests and nature reserves sold by tea merchants in Yiwu town? "Tongqing River" is a new stockade in Yi Wu tea-growing area in recent years. Here, a tea farmer led a reporter directly into the scope of Yi Wu State Nature Reserve.

Reporter: Is that the boundary of the reserve behind this monument?

Villagers in Yiwu Town, Mengla County, Yunnan Province: Yes, it is.

Later, the reporter followed the villager into the depths of the reserve, and along the way, the reporter saw many trees and bamboos that were cut down. In this way, after nearly two hours of wading. The reporter followed the villagers to the ancient tree tea garden.

Reporter: Isn't this tree an ancient tree?

Villager: It was originally an ancient tree.

Tea farmers told reporters that in addition to these few ancient tree teas, they also planted many small tea trees in the reserve. After walking along the rugged mountain road for more than half an hour, a tea garden came into view. The villagers told reporters that in the past ten years, they have planted eight acres of tea trees in the protected area, which are scattered in different positions in the protected area. In the last year or two, the area of tea garden is still expanding.

Villagers in Yiwu Town, Mengla County, Yunnan Province: I planted a little last year, which can be seen.

The villagers also told reporters that the small tea seedlings on this steep slope were slowly planted in recent years, and it will take several years to produce tea. On the edge of this tea garden, tea farmers built a simple shack. There are a lot of plastic bottles, plastic bags and even pesticides scattered around the shack. These white rubbish, harmful waste, are just randomly discarded in nature reserves. The villagers told reporters that every household in the village now basically has a tea garden in the protected area. In order to facilitate the usual management of tea trees, everyone will build a small shack next to their own tea garden. Above this small tea seedling, there is a large bamboo forest that has fallen. These bamboos are scattered askew on the surrounding trees and the ground, and may slide down the hillside at any time.

On the way to another tea garden, the reporter also found that many trees died and fell to the ground. With the deepening of the conversation, the tea farmer revealed to reporters that at first this tea garden was a forest in a protected area, but there were some ancient tree teas scattered in the forest. In recent ten years, the price of Tongqing River ancient tree tea has been rising all the way. This spring tea picking season, the price of one kilogram of dried hairy tea rose to about 5,000 yuan. Seeing that the price of tea is getting higher and higher, the villagers began to plant tea trees in the reserve one after another. When the tea trees grow up, the tea farmers will strip and cut down other trees and vegetation around the tea trees. Day by day, year by year, the virgin forest will gradually become a tea garden.