PU’ER – The Starbucks Foundation has unveiled a new Coffee Culture Experience Center in Baishapo village, Yunnan province, aimed at boosting local coffee production and integrating tourism with cultural heritage. The 1,700-square-meter center will offer visitors a deep dive into ethnic minority cultures and the coffee production process.
This initiative is part of the Shanghai-Yunnan cooperation, which includes the Starbucks Beautiful Star Village project. Zhu Lei, Vice President of Government Affairs and Social Impact at Starbucks China, highlighted the project’s goal to improve the lives of coffee farmers and drive community prosperity.
Launched in 2021, the Starbucks “Beautiful Rural Community Project” has contributed over 17 million yuan ($2.33 million) to support 10 coffee-growing villages in Nanping town. Baishapo village alone has received 137 million yuan for community development.
Wang Jianwei, a local leader, praised the project for its role in village revitalization and improving living standards. Since 2018, the Starbucks Foundation has donated over 40 million yuan to support Yunnan’s coffee industry through various phases of the “Shared Value” project.