Remote Mountain Town Builds Future Through Coffee
A remote mountain town in Yunnan Province, China transforms through specialty coffee cultivation, with entrepreneurs like Zhao Hua exporting beans globally while preserving traditional Wa ethnic crafts and culture.
Zhao Hua and her sister operate a cozy café in Mengla County, Yunnan Province in southwestern China, selling coffee beans from their own farm while proudly preserving Wa ethnic cultural heritage. Café visitors can watch traditional Wa women demonstrate weaving, an ancient craft passed down for generations.
Zhao's parents were among the first to plant coffee in the county. She named her brand "Picar Coffee" to honor a beloved pickup truck that traveled mountain roads transporting fresh coffee beans, furniture, sugar cane, and other goods—reflecting the simple, hardworking spirit of local people.
Picar Coffee is now a favorite on Mengla's specialty coffee street. Zhao's viral videos have introduced this remote border town and its local coffee to a wider audience, with her beans now exported to Japan, Australia, and many other countries.
Mengla's coffee connection began in 1958 and expanded seriously in the 1980s. Li Meiying, secretary and director of the Mengla County Tea and Bioresources Industry Center, vividly remembers as a child watching officials and villagers terrace hillsides and plant coffee saplings. "As a child, I watched earlier officials lead everyone in planting coffee, and today I help bring our coffee to the world stage. This legacy will continue," Li said.
Among Mengla's lush hills, Guan Yong's large Lizuk Estate seamlessly combines eco-tourism, coffee culture, rural retreats, tasting experiences, and online sales. While working in Kunming, Guan tasted specialty coffee for the first time and was inspired. In 2017, he returned home and chose an unexpected path—opening a café first, then building a roastery, developing processing, and eventually creating his own Lizuk Estate. "I wanted to understand what gives coffee its true flavor," Guan explained, studying the market before tracing back to the source—the farm—enabling him to create a smart business model serving consumer needs.
From pioneering villagers terracing hillsides and planting the first coffee trees, to Li promoting the industry, to entrepreneurs like Zhao and Guan returning home to build their own brands—this is success passed from generation to generation.
