Early in the morning, after a quick breakfast, the team gathered for their regular daily research summary. Afterward, everyone took an hour to rest. During this time, the photography group left the village to carry out shooting activities. While out, we witnessed clouds drifting in from the distance and gradually enveloping the entire village. Gazing at the sea of clouds, one couldn't help but marvel at how much clearer the atmosphere here is compared to that of the capital—and be awed by the layers and swirls of the cloud formations. Standing above the clouds, watching the wind rise and clouds churn, perhaps that's where Yunnan gets its name.
That day happened to be market day, held once a week—similar to a traditional northern country fair. The science expedition team split into several groups to conduct random interviews during the market. Throughout these interviews, we uncovered numerous issues.
1. Issues Regarding Villagers’ Education
We found that because tea prices are currently high and picking tea requires relatively little knowledge, families with large tea gardens find themselves with significant workloads. Children can help with tea picking at home, supplementing the family income. This has led parents to prefer not having their children complete their education. Additionally, we noticed that some locals had considerable difficulty communicating with us, and a large portion of people showed limited understanding of traditional ethnic culture—all signs of problems in the area of education.
2. Conflicts Between the Government and Residents Due to Scenic Area Development
According to interviews, to maintain a harmonious and unified landscape in the scenic area, the government required the construction of model homes and had promised subsidies, but these have yet to be delivered.
3. Tea Trees Suffer Various Degrees of Damage During Harvesting
Because young people have not fully mastered the tea-picking techniques of the older generation, they often accidentally pick new leaves while harvesting, severely affecting the growth of the tea trees.