Tea forest in the making: Tea production and the ambiguity of modernity on China's southwest frontier

► Tea landscape changes in southwest China disrupt connections between modernity and science. ► Tea landscape changes in southwest China rearticulate nature with science. ► China's southwest frontier is situated in the ambiguity of modernity by tea production. ► The ambiguity of modernity provides the Chinese state leeway to (re)define frontier for market. ► Minority nationalities struggle for repositioning themselves in the ambiguity of modernity.