Remote Chinese village holds the birthplace of the country's coffee industry
Zhukula village in Yunnan grows coffee from trees planted by French missionaries more than a century ago.
In the tiny village of Zhukula in China's Yunnan mountains, coffee trees planted by French missionaries more than a century ago are recognised as the oldest in the country. The missionaries brought Arabica saplings from Vietnam and planted them next to an old church.
Today, Li Jinrong, 57, still roasts beans in a wood-fired pit the way his family has done for decades. Zhukula has been left behind as China's coffee boom exploded.
The country's coffee consumption has surged 150 percent over the past decade. Large commercial farms in nearby Baoshan now dominate production.
They supply massive chains like Luckin Coffee, which opened 30,000 stores since 2017. Zhukula's 83 households remain isolated and poor, limited by terrain and low earning capacity.
- 83
- Village households
- Yunnan, China
- Zhukula location
- 150 percent past decade
- China coffee consumption increase
- 30,000 since 2017
- Luckin Coffee stores opened
Why it mattersThe contrast shows how China's economic opening has created winners and losers, with state backing and scale determining which farming communities prosper.
AustraliaYunnan coffee is now sold in Australian specialty cafes, part of China's rapid ascent as a major global coffee producer despite starting from near zero.
✓ Claims checked against the source. checked 1 h ago
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