From August 5 to 10, 2025, twenty young media ambassadors from China and Myanmar embarked on a six-day journey through Baoshan — Pauk-Phaw Journeys: Hands-on Baoshan.

Before this trip, Pauk-Phaw was merely a term I’d read in books. In Baoshan, it came alive: in ancient streets where Yongzi Go stones click, in coffee fields where beans ripen under volcanic sun, and in tea gardens breathing mist into leaves.

We witnessed artisans melting agate for Go stones at Yongzi Academy, savored century-old tea fragrance in Qinglong Street’s timeworn teahouses, and chased leather shadows dancing through 200 years at a puppet theater. What we touched was more than scenery — it was Baoshan’s alchemy of turning time into wisdom and stone into strategy.

Six days walking shoulder-to-shoulder. Our lenses focused on shared cultural roots and intertwined dreams. Our eyes met beyond languages — smiles bridging words. This became our first synchronized frame, where two cultures found common focus. Not an ending, but a beginning: a spark destined to ignite a thousand future journeys we’ll walk together.