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Entering the Beautiful Livable Homeland

When the spring breeze of April greens the earth, Lujiangba in Baoshan enjoys clear skies and lush vegetation. Taking advantage of the Qingming Festival holiday, several photographers from the Yunnan Photographer Qualification Training Station visited Xinzhai Village in Lujiang Town, Baoshan—a place renowned for its rich ethnic customs and world-famous reputation as "China's No. 1 Coffee Village," nestled between the towering Gaoligong Mountains and the winding, rushing Nujiang River.

Our car traveled from Baoshan City along Provincial Highway 230 from south to north for about 70 kilometers. A huge stone stood on the left side of the road, carved with three large characters "Xinzhai Village." Following the sign, our car turned left onto a newly built, wide cement road heading straight to Xinzhai Village.

Walking into Xinzhai Village, known as "Little Hong Kong," what caught our eyes were rows of neat small buildings or bungalows, with flat cement roads leading to every doorstep, surrounded by thousands of acres of coffee plantations, giving the entire village a unique charm. The entire village consists of 9 village groups including Xinzhai, Mangchang, and Xiaoqiaotou, with 502 households and over 2,000 people. Every household grows coffee, with the village's total coffee planting area exceeding 10,000 acres, creating an economic value of over 42 million yuan, with per capita income from coffee reaching 8,600 yuan. The villagers are living prosperous lives.

In the 1960s, the song "Beautiful and Rich Lujiangba" became popular nationwide. In recent years, Lujiang Town has implemented a characteristic urbanization strategy, continuously improving the comprehensive carrying capacity, cohesion, and radiation of the town through planning guidance, industrial support, innovation-driven development, and people-centered livelihood. In early 2016, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development announced the third batch of 42 beautiful livable towns, and this town was honored to be on the list. It is the third established town in Yunnan Province to receive the demonstration title of "Livable Town," which includes "Little Hong Kong" Xinzhai Village.

Observing the 10,000-Mu Coffee Garden of Xinzhai

On the afternoon we arrived in Xinzhai Village from Kunming by car, the enthusiastic village committee director Li Guangqiang took us to visit the 10,000-mu coffee garden. We walked along the bicycle race track built within the coffee garden. On both sides of the track, coffee trees were laden with fruit. Each plump, round coffee cherry resembled many vibrant Baoshan Nanhong agates, clustered on the long, flexible branches. As gentle breezes blew, strings of coffee cherries swayed gracefully—a truly magnificent sight.

According to reports, Xinzhai Village is located in Lujiangba at the foot of Gaoligong Mountains and at the end of the Nujiang Grand Canyon, with an elevation of 900-1,450 meters. The terrain is mainly mountainous and sloped with significant variations, fertile soil, abundant sunshine, moderate rainfall, and large temperature differences between day and night. These unique natural conditions have created the three distinctive quality characteristics of Baoshan small-grain coffee beans—strong but not bitter, fragrant but not intense, with a slight fruity acidity. One sniff makes people fall in love, and one sip leaves an unforgettable impression. It is reported that at the International Coffee Tasting Conference held in London, UK in 1958, Baoshan small-grain coffee, represented by Lujiang coffee, was rated as first-class and shook the world. In 1980, the State Council listed Baoshan as one of the national coffee production bases. In 1992, at the first China Agricultural Expo, the coffee selected by Baoshan won the highest award. In 1993, at the World Coffee Exhibition held in Brussels, Belgium, Baoshan Lujiang small-grain coffee won the world "Eureka" Gold Award. World-class coffee experts from Brazil and other countries unanimously praised Baoshan's coffee cultivation level and intrinsic quality as world-class. Lujiangba small-grain coffee is internationally named "China Baoshan Small-Grain Coffee," making it one of the few agricultural specialty products recognized worldwide in China.

Speaking of the cultivation of Baoshan small-grain coffee, there is a small story. It is said that in the mid-1950s, patriotic overseas Chinese Liang Jinshan introduced the first coffee seedling from Southeast Asia to plant in Baoshan City. By the 1960s, the "educated youth" supporting the frontier began large-scale planting in Lujiangba, mainly handing over the harvest to the state at that time.

By the early 1990s, Yunnan had become China's largest coffee export base, with its export volume accounting for 95% of the national total. At this time, the villagers of Xinzhai Village cut down almost all crops except coffee and planted coffee instead. Currently, the coffee planting area in Xinzhai Village has reached over 10,000 mu, with an annual output of over 2,000 tons in 2015, and per capita income from coffee exceeding 10,000 yuan.

Walking the Natural Bicycle Race Track

The car drove along the bicycle race track, with coffee trees passing by on both sides. Accompanied by the dust stirred up by the car, the "2015 China • Baoshan Lujiangba Second Coffee Culture Tourism Festival" mountain bike cross-country race seemed to be intensely underway.

On the afternoon of December 5, 2015, another event of the Second Coffee Culture Tourism Festival—the mountain bike cross-country race—was held in the 10,000-mu coffee garden of Xinzhai. 141 participants from across the country rode bicycles in the Xinzhai 10,000-mu coffee garden, staging a "battle of speed and passion." Starting from the Xinzhai Village Cultural Square, participants passed through Xingfeng Zhuang, Laoshuijing Team, and Daheng Mountain, reaching the finish line back at the Xinzhai Village Cultural Square. On the 10-kilometer circular route, everyone chased each other in an exciting competition. Female riders showed they were just as capable as male riders. The scene was bustling with cheers, applause, and the continuous sound of elephant-foot drums, creating an extraordinarily lively atmosphere! Zhao Jiaxin, a participant from Changning County, said: "This is a completely new experience, with green coffee trees as far as the eye can see, which feels great. Even in winter, the temperature here is close to 20 degrees, very suitable for cycling."

Wang Jiawei, secretary of the Xinzhai Village Party General Branch, stated that to further promote ethnic culture, improve people's physical and mental health, advocate low-carbon living and green transportation, and let more people appreciate the unique natural beauty, cultural beauty, customs beauty, and product beauty of Lujiangba, the route for the Baoshan Lujiangba Coffee Journey Tourism Festival Mountain Bike Cross-Country Race was chosen to run through the entire coffee planting area of "China's No. 1 Coffee Village," allowing every participant to return to nature and enjoy sweating to their heart's content—fulfilling every cycling enthusiast's dream. Furthermore, through the Coffee Journey Tourism Festival Mountain Bike Cross-Country Race, they create momentum through festivals, promote tourism through momentum, attract investment through tourism, and benefit farmers through business. Through the two coffee festivals already held, they have helped further promote Xinzhai coffee. The ultimate goal is to promote the Coffee Journey Tourism Festival, the Mountain Bike Cross-Country Race, and Baoshan coffee nationwide and to the world.

Exploring the Mysteries of Gaoligong Mountains

The Gaoligong Mountains Primitive Forest Reserve is a paradise for flora and fauna growth and a wonderful destination for tourism and photography. On the second day after arriving in Xinzhai Village, Wang Jiawei, secretary of the village Party General Branch, forest ranger Xiao Yang, and other villagers took us in two off-road vehicles up a dirt road that had been cleared by a bulldozer just a month ago, heading to the Gaoligong Mountains Primitive Forest Reserve.

The Gaoligong Mountains—an endless mountain range, lush green as far as the eye can see, valleys shrouded in clouds and mist... countless majestic, peculiar, dangerous, and beautiful landscapes shaped by supernatural craftsmanship... like splashing galaxies, strange peaks and rocks, stone gate passes, canyon wall shadows, and other magnificent scenes made us feel as if we were in a fairyland.

Belonging to the southern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the western fault zone of the Hengduan Mountains, and the suture zone where the Indian plate and Eurasian plate collide and subduct, the Gaoligong Mountains are a famous deep, large, faulted longitudinal valley area. Its northern section is located within the Tibet Autonomous Region, known as the Boshula Range, with the mountain range running in a northwest direction. After entering Gongshan Dulong and Nujiang Autonomous County in Yunnan, it is called the Gaoligong Mountains, running north-south with an average elevation of about 3,500 meters. The northern section is higher, with elevations above 4,000 meters. Because it connects to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in the north and the Indochina Peninsula in the south, it has transitional characteristics from south to north both meteorologically and biologically. Therefore, the Gaoligong Mountains are called the "World Natural Museum" and "World Species Gene Bank." The "plant living fossil" tree fern supports a piece of heaven and earth, continuing the "green dream" of dinosaurs; the "World Rhododendron King," with the oldest tree reaching over 280 years of age, occupies 500 square meters. The Gaoligong Mountains are home to more than 20 species of national first-class protected animals such as takin, slow loris, green peafowl, white-browed gibbon, and Bengal tiger, and are also known as the "paradise of wild animals," with titles such as "paradise of pheasants and magpies," "birthplace of mammalian ancestors," and "cradle of East Asian flora." In 1986, the Gaoligong Mountains were listed as a national nature reserve. In 1992, the Gaoligong Mountains National Nature Reserve was listed as Class A (the most important nature reserve globally) by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). In 2000, UNESCO officially approved and accepted the Gaoligong Mountains National Nature Reserve as a member of the World Biosphere Reserve Network.

Seeking New Destinations for Bird Watching and Photography

The Gaoligong Mountains have long been known as the "World Species Gene Bank," "World Natural Museum," "Refuge for Life," "Paradise of Wild Animals," "Birthplace of Mammalian Ancestors," "Cradle of East Asian Flora," and "Human's Double-sided Bookshelf." Among these, more than 400 species of birds have become excellent destinations for "bird people" to watch, appreciate, and "photograph" birds.

For bird watching, appreciation, and "photography" in the Gaoligong Mountains, photography enthusiasts all know a place called Baihualing. The bird watching spots in Baihualing are scattered in the jungle, with about 10 bird watching points. Locals accidentally discovered many beautiful small birds bathing in water puddles while feeding water to sheep. As bird lovers visited, locals built nearby sheds to facilitate photographers' close-up bird watching, appreciation, and "photography." Recently, with the continuous visits of bird photography enthusiasts, Baihualing has "gained prominence."

In fact, Xinzhai, adjacent to Baihualing, is leveraging its special geographical advantages to create a new five-star sanctuary for photography enthusiasts to watch, appreciate, and "photograph" birds.

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