四川省的茶梯田, 中国 Tea terraces in Sichuan Province, China (© lzf/Shutterstock)

四川省的茶梯田, 中国 Tea terraces in Sichuan Province, China (© lzf/Shutterstock)

酿造传承 Brewing a legacy

国际茶日

“国际茶日”旨在礼赞一种将日常习俗与古老地貌紧密相连的饮品。只需瞥一眼中国四川省那层层叠叠的梯田茶园，便不难领略其深植的文化根基。这片位于中国西南部的云雾缭绕之地，乃是茶文化的早期发源地之一；早在两千多年前，当地居民便已在此饮茶、植茶。在邻近的蒙顶山上，一位名叫吴理真的学者曾在汉朝时期开辟了世界上首批人工管理的茶园，从而为后世一代又一代的茶农奠定了坚实的基础。

这些陡峭的梯田并非仅仅为了美观而建。它们帮助农民调控雨水、保护脆弱的土壤，并亲手采摘那些日后将远销四川境外的嫩叶。数百年来，产自这些山丘的收成沿着崎岖的商贸古道运往西藏，由背夫们翻山越岭、一路背负前行。“国际茶日”已获联合国认可，旨在彰显茶饮深厚的文化底蕴，并突显那数百万个与每一杯茶息息相关的生计——无论这杯茶是冲泡于寻常百姓家中，还是种植于巍峨的山坡之上。

International Tea Day

International Tea Day celebrates a drink that connects daily rituals to ancient landscapes. Just one look at the terraced tea fields of Sichuan Province, China, shows how deep those roots run. This misty region in southwest China is one of the earliest centers of tea culture, where people drank and cultivated tea more than 2,000 years ago. On nearby Mengding Mountain, a scholar named Wu Lizhen planted some of the world's first managed tea gardens during the Han Dynasty, laying the groundwork for generations of growers.

The steep terraces weren't built for beauty alone. They helped farmers manage rainfall, protect fragile soil, and hand-pick tender leaves that later traveled far beyond Sichuan. For centuries, harvests from these hills moved along rugged trade routes toward Tibet, carried by porters across mountain passes.

Recognized by the United Nations, International Tea Day highlights the beverage's cultural legacy and the millions of livelihoods tied to every cup—whether brewed at home or grown on a mountainside.