China's coffee capital brews new blend of culture, tourism

KUNMING -- As the coffee harvesting season has arrived, a city known as China's coffee capital in Yunnan province is alive with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee. With coffee-themed manors, streets and cultural fairs developed, the city has become a hotspot for coffee enthusiasts and tourists alike.

China's "No 1 central document" for 2025, unveiled in late February, said the country will advance the deep integration of rural culture and tourism and initiate pilot projects to empower rural revitalization through cultural industries.

Located along the Tropic of Cancer, a prime coffee-growing belt, Pu'er is a leading coffee producer in China. The city produced 58,000 tonnes of raw coffee beans in the 2023-2024 harvesting season, ranking first in China.

In the lush, green hills of the coffee capital, an attraction called Elephant Coffee Manor stands out not just for its premium coffee but also for its unique setting. Visitors can sip their coffee while watching wild Asian elephants roam freely in their natural habitat.

"It's breathtaking to sit here with a cup of coffee and see elephants foraging on the hillside. It's unforgettable," said Huang Daxiang, a coffee aficionado and an investor in the manor.

Ma Li, a tourist from Shanghai, tried her hand at coffee fruit picking and learned about the entire process, from coffee growing and roasting to brewing.

"It was a very rewarding experience," she said, adding that the manor also offers engaging activities like coffee soap making and coffee bean bead crafting, allowing visitors like her to dive deeper into the world of coffee culture.

Figures show that Pu'er has built more than 20 premium coffee manors, which have integrated the coffee culture and tourism, including five listed as provincial-level coffee manors.

Lou Yuqiang, an associate researcher at the Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said promoting the construction of high-quality coffee manors in Yunnan is a positive step toward industry development and will help extend the coffee industry chain.

In addition to coffee manors, Pu'er has been hosting coffee-themed fairs and other events, displaying local and national coffee brands and featuring cultural performances.

Tourist Zhang Xuanyu attended a coffee-themed fair as a side event for an international coffee brewing competition held in the city's Dai-Lahu-Va autonomous county of Menglian in February.

"I tried various coffee flavors at the fair and met coffee lovers from all over the world. It was a great learning experience," said Zhang, from Harbin, capital of Northeast China's Heilongjiang province.

During the 2025 Spring Festival holiday from Jan 28 to Feb 4, the number of tourists received by Pu'er surged by 13.71 percent year on year to 3.25 million, with the tourism revenue up 13.21 percent from the previous year to 3.44 billion yuan (about $480 million).

"The integration of coffee and tourism has become a new hallmark of the tourism industry of Pu'er," said Zhang Qiying, deputy director of the city's culture and tourism bureau.