From frothy lattes to creamy cheeses, from the delicate folds of a milk fan, or rushan, thin sheet-like dairy product made from heated and stretched milk, to the silkiness of double-layered milk pudding from Shunde in Guangdong province, some of the world's favorite flavors trace back to one simple source: milk.

More than just an ingredient, milk weaves through cultures and traditions, linking the Maasai warriors of Africa, the wedding rituals of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region's Tajik residents, and the generations of people who have perfected the art of making dairy delicacies.