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In a high-elevation forest on Jingmai Mountain, dawn broke over a green peak, bathing an ancient tea tree in warm light.
在景邁山一片位于高海拔地區(qū)的森林里，綠色的山巔迎來(lái)黎明，讓一棵古茶樹(shù)沐浴在晨曦之中。
A four-foot-wide trunk along with enormous branches, stretching up into a canopy of leaves, gave it an imposing bearing -- nothing like the smaller tea shrubs often packed into tight rows on commercial farms throughout China.
它的樹(shù)干粗壯，樹(shù)徑寬約四英尺，巨大的樹(shù)枝向上延伸，形成壯觀的樹(shù)冠，一點(diǎn)也不像在中國(guó)各地的商業(yè)農(nóng)場(chǎng)所見(jiàn)、通常緊密排列的小型茶樹(shù)。
But this tree, deep within the southwestern Yunnan Province, was different. And it served a different purpose altogether.
這棵位于云南省西南部深山里的樹(shù)與眾不同，而且它的用途也完全不一樣。
A married couple named Ai Rong, 41, and Ke Lanfang, 36, had gathered with their elderly parents in front of the tree, chanting a prayer in the Blang people's language, spoken by the Indigenous community throughout this region where five tea forests -- collectively the oldest and largest on the planet -- are cultivated.
41歲的艾榮與36歲的柯蘭芳夫婦，與年邁的父母聚集在樹(shù)前，用這個(gè)地區(qū)原住民族布朗族的語(yǔ)言吟誦著禱詞，這個(gè)地區(qū)的五座茶林共同形成世上最古老、也是最大的茶林。
To the untrained eye, the tree might have been merely part of a forest.
外行人可能覺(jué)得這棵樹(shù)跟林中其他樹(shù)沒(méi)什么不同。
But for the family, it was the heart of a living shrine: They prayed to their Tea Spirit Tree, asking an ancestor named Pa Aileng, now considered a deity, to deliver a strong harvest.
但對(duì)這家人來(lái)說(shuō)，它可是一座活生生的神壇的心臟：他們祭拜他們的茶祖樹(shù)，祈求如今已經(jīng)成仙的祖先帕哎冷賜予豐收。
"It's a thousand years old," Ai said proudly, pointing to the tree's large trunk.
“這棵樹(shù)已經(jīng)1000歲了?！卑瑯s指著茶樹(shù)巨大的樹(shù)干驕傲地說(shuō)。
In recent years, however, his faith has seemed to be continually tested.
不過(guò)這幾年，他的信念似乎不斷受到考驗(yàn)。
At a time when the region's highly specialized tea has gained widespread attention, commanding impressive prices, there are ever more unpredictable natural forces to contend with.
當(dāng)這個(gè)地區(qū)高度特殊化的茶葉受到廣泛關(guān)注、價(jià)格驚人的時(shí)候，他們也必須對(duì)抗更多無(wú)法預(yù)測(cè)的自然力量。
Tea is the world's most popular beverage after water.
茶是世上繼水之后最多人喝的飲料。
Globally, people drink an estimated 45 billion gallons of it each year in a wide range of styles, from green to black and oolong.
全球人口每年會(huì)喝掉大約450億加侖的茶，種類(lèi)五花八門(mén)，從綠茶、紅茶到烏龍茶都有。
While these varieties exist because of different processing techniques, they all originate from the same fundamental ingredient: Camellia sinensis.
雖然不同的茶種是不同加工技術(shù)的成果，但都來(lái)自相同的基本原料：茶樹(shù)。
The species of flowering evergreen has traveled the world, most notably when the colonial British brought it to India in the early 19th century.
這種會(huì)開(kāi)花的常綠樹(shù)已經(jīng)行遍了全球，尤其是在19世紀(jì)早期，英國(guó)殖民者將它引入了印度。
