"Sharp tea buds shoot up to the sky, and the tea garden is filled with joyful songs and laughter." While walking into Pasha Village, the air is filled with the fragrance of fresh tea leaves. The busy tea-picking scene makes the whole mountain look full of vitality.
It is said that the Hani people have lived here since the Tang Dynasty and began to grow tea. They have been with the ancient tea mountains for generations. Their lives cannot be separated from tea, just like their lives cannot be separated from their souls. Standing in this tea garden, one can't help feeling the ingenious conception of nature. The human cultivated tea garden competes with nature and yet coexists with nature. It transcends the cycle of time and presents the secret of the harmonious coexistence of nature and human beings.
Like many small villages, Pasha is also organised in small community groups. Dayan's family is part of the 2nd group, and once lived in poverty. In recent years, tea leaves from Pasha has improved in quality, thanks to major initiatives launched by the Menghai County. The Dayan family, like other tea farmers in the Pasha, has embarked on a road to escape poverty and enjoy a decent living standard.
At dawn, the emerald green tea plantation was filled with a faint fragrance of flowers. From time to time, Hani songs and silver bell-like laughter came from the forest. The Dayan family is picking and processing tea leaves during busy tea season.
Dayan grew up in the tea mountain, picking tea with her parents and watching her elders make tea. The tea mountain was her childhood paradise. She has been influenced by her ears and eyes since she was a child, and developed a personal attachment to her surroundings. "Every tea mountain and tea tree here is just like a human being. If you treat it well, it will know how to repay it. We owe our happy lives today to the tea mountain!" Dayan said affectionately.
Dayan's family has a tea garden of 30 mu (5 acres). Last year, her family earned more than 20,000 yuan from the spring tea. Now the Spring tea season is coming to an end, things are looking good financially. Since the Spring of this year, there has been sufficient rain. The tea harvest is of high quality, and therefore fetching higher prices. She hope her family can earn about 40,000 to 50,000 yuan this year.
Walking into Dayan's house, I noticed a strong scent of tea. Dayan's husband was busy pan-roasting the tea leaves, and she was helping at the side. Dayan said: "This year, my family's tea is relatively easy to sell. I have sold more than 20 kilograms of tea made previously, and now I have processed another 30 kilograms, and they have all been pre-ordered by the dalaoban (big bosses)."
In the Pasha village has become the hope of a better life. Today, Dayan's family has bought a new car, and the couple are planning to renovate the house. They approach their future with confidence.