Mountain mist drifts slowly; tea trees reach toward the light. Some bend to tend the crops, some guard the woodland, others weave ancient ballads into the present day.
On Jingmai Mountain in Yunnan, time dwells within leaf veins, rooted in the daily bond between women and the land.
This time, the story of the tea mountains travels to Hongqiao Tech Week. A step closer, a simple gesture from you may stir new ripples across the digital tea forest, linking you to lives far away.
At the AI+ART Zone Meet Her and the Tea Mountain
Partnering with the project team behind Her and the Tea Mountain, Hongqiao Tech Week will present a special joint showcase within the AI+ART Zone during the exhibition from 20 to 22 November.
Documentary footage, photography, printmaking, digital archives and AI-generated interactive visuals come together here, unfolding a living narrative centred on women, the land and cultural heritage.
Hongqiao Tech Week ⏰ 20–22 November 2026 📍 National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai)
Free limited-time visitor registration Experience the immersive AI installation Her and the Tea Mountain on site
Through this showcase, cutting-edge AI technology serves as a bridge connecting people with culture and nature: listen to the voices of women from the tea mountains, witness the cultural strength embedded in their daily labour. Through participation and interaction, visitors may rediscover the bond between humanity and the land.
When art infuses technology with warmth and digital media carries authentic lived experiences, a distant tea forest gets the chance to meet many more people.
Her and the Tea Mountain Preserving everyday life within the memory of our times
The tea mountains are home to mist, ancient tea trees and villages — and above all, real people. Some share stories of growing up alongside tea, while others capture their vision of Jingmai Mountain through paintings. Amid the millennia-old tea forests, the stories of four Blang women unfold gently.
They plant tea and protect the forests, sustain their culture through music and crafts, and tell their own stories in ordinary daily life.
Project background photo｜Jingmai Mountain villages and distant hills Source: Her and the Tea Mountain (Xiaohongshu)
Project background photo｜Village buildings on Jingmai Mountain Source: Her and the Tea Mountain (Xiaohongshu)
Her and the Tea Mountain: Digital Archive of Labour, Land and Life of Women on Jingmai Mountain is a transnational documentary and digital humanities project co-initiated by Chinese lead creator An Jing and UK-based lead creator Zhao Shuran, a PhD candidate at King’s College London. It received funding from the British Council under its 2025 “Connections Through Culture” International Cultural Collaboration Grant.
The project is created on location at Jingmai Mountain in Yunnan. In 2023, Jingmai Mountain was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as the world’s first World Heritage Site centred on tea culture.
Through documentary films, oral histories, documentary photography and bilingual Chinese-English digital archives, the project preserves their labour, memories and ecological wisdom.
Every day they spend alongside the tea mountains stands as proof that this living culture continues to grow.
Step Into the Space Let the Tea Forest Respond to You
The special showcase of Her and the Tea Mountain welcomes visitors with a circular, free-flow layout. You may enter from any direction and follow moving images, soundscapes and exhibits at your own pace.
Reach out your hands and interact with the tea forest.
On one side, documentary footage invites you into the daily lives of women from the tea mountains. On the other sits the interactive generative visual work The Breathing Tea Forest, where your movements shape how the imagery unfolds.
As you draw near, the standby scene of mountain mist begins to shift. When you move your hands, particles, wind direction and field sounds respond in tandem; spread your palms wide, and tea trees start to grow. As you approach or linger, you travel from the whole forest down to its finer, delicate textures.
Your gestures become part of the visuals, and the time you pause gives space for the stories of the tea mountains.
Follow the photographs and prints to witness their daily lives
The special showcase also features photography and printmaking works. Morning mist, tiled eaves and subtle details of the woods leave distinct marks captured by the lens and carved in lines. You may pause and observe closely, sensing the natural texture of the tea mountains and meeting the people who live within this landscape.
Trace the materials to deepen your understanding of the tea mountains
Tea leaves, plant specimens, ecological maps, textiles and digital archives are laid out along a long table. Complemented by subtle scent experiences, they offer richer sensory cues.
The land seen in the moving images is now tangible, with materials and textures for you to examine. The distant culture slowly draws near, starting from a single tea leaf and an archive.
Limited Free Access Come to this rendezvous with the tea mountains
A tea forest links nature and daily life. This showcase bridges cultural memory and technological imagination.
We sincerely invite you to the AI+ART Zone at Hongqiao Tech Week to meet Her and the Tea Mountain. Listen to their stories, and let the tea forest respond to your gestures.
Register for Hongqiao Tech Week Grab your General Visitor Pass for free for a limited time
Hongqiao Tech Week · Special Showcase: Her and the Tea Mountain Get to know them first, then step into the tea mountains