Měnglà

Mengla lies among the forested mountains of southern Yunnan, east of the Lancang River. The country includes several of the old tea mountains celebrated for Pu'er tea, with villages and gardens scattered among the hills. Tea from these mountains travelled beyond the forests in which it was grown, giving their communities a place in a much larger network of exchange.

Under the Qing, the court designated tea from the six famous mountains for tribute and official purchase. Yiwu rose as an important tea-growing centre, and a stone-paved road carried tea away from its hills. By the early nineteenth century Yiwu was counted among the great tea mountains; its production and the obligations attached to tribute helped shape the life of the surrounding country.