Elyse and jeff discuss how jeff found his way to the mountains. The ancient tea route, also called the tea horse road. The ancient tea and horse caravan road, the silk road of. The ancient commercial passage, dubbed the ancient tea horse road, first appeared during the tang dynasty 618907, and lasted until the 1960s when tibetan highways were constructed. Sep 20, 2012 chinese tea and tibetan horses were long traded on the legendary tea horse road, a harsh 2,250km trail stretching from chinas sichuan province to tibets capital city of lhasa. Apr 26, 2020 a mysterious ancient trail network extends through jungles and valleys. The network once ferried horses and silver from tibet to china in exchange for tea, but people also traded salt for tea, ivory for gold, and religious instruction for food and. Request pdf on jul 1, 2012, beth mckillop and others published islamic frontiers of china. Ancienttea horse road page introduces the history, origin and the two routes of the ancient tea horse road, as well as development and tourism of ancient tea horse road, etc. What is it like on the path of the ancient tea horse road. Camellia sinensis assamica, known unofficially as the. The world heritage application of the ancient tea horse road, jointly carried out by china, mongolia and russia, will serve as an example for international cooperation, according to sergey.
It is the highest, remotest and most dangerous ancient trade trail network in the world. China needed war horses to protect its northern frontier and tibet could supply them. The ancient commercial passage, dubbed the ancient teahorse road, first appeared during the tang dynasty 618907, and lasted until the 1960s when tibetan highways were constructed. Aug 17, 2008 the ancient tea horse road is a 4000 km route used by ancient tea and horse traders in ancient china. World heritage application of tea horse road promotes intl. A team of tibetans, a westerner, and a cast of characters met along the way travels and documents the ancient tea horse road, sipping tea at all hours and risking limbs as they travel through the himalayas. The custom of drinking tea, however, had not yet developed widely in china and instead, tea was used as a valuable component of certain medical treatments. For thousands of years the tea horse road was the most significant corridor connecting the ancient civilizations of yunnan and sichuan in southwest china with tibet and. Phytoliths and biomolecular components extracted from ancient plant remains from changan xian, the city where the silk road begins and ngari ali in. Earliest tea as evidence for one branch of the silk road. One of the longest and most dramatic trade routes of the ancient world, the tea horse road carried a crucial exchange for centuries between china and tibet. Jeff fuchs is the first documented westerner to travel both the ancient tea horse road and the tsalam nomadic route of salt and documenting them for the first time to western audiences. Life along the tea horse road is briefly reignited in a passionate and unforgettable adventure. An epic journey of tea, mountains, and memories, that opens up a rarely acknowledged part of china and asias ancient past, the ancient tea horse road is a grinding adventure of will, wit, and fuchs frequent tea thirsts.
See all 1 the ancient tea horse road museum tours on tripadvisor. Cultural heritage tourism and the ancient tea horse road of southwest china article pdf available in international journal of china studies 12 october 2010 with 143 reads how we measure reads. Ancient teahorse road and caravan culture from the perspective. Pdf cultural heritage tourism and the ancient tea horse road of. We recommend booking the ancient tea horse road museum tours ahead of time to secure your spot. The ancient tea horse road museum lijiang 2020 all you. The ancient tea horse road china heritage quarterly. Chinas ancient trade road to tibet find, read and cite. It would be the 20th century before tea portering would come to an end and a functioning highway replace the men and mules. In 20067 five tibetans and myself would complete a 7. From the 6th century to the 20th century, people in sichuan and yunnan provinces traveled by foot and horseback with pack horses to exchange tea for horses with people in tibet and thus the pathway was called the tea horse road. Pdf cultural heritage tourism and the ancient tea horse. Chinese ancinet teahorse road, discover the ancient tea. A cup of butter tea in kangding city can reflect a colorful culture and local history.
Dakpa, an old tibetan friend, and i had arrived in this thick, humid, green zone to seek out the origins of not only the tea horse road but also the origins of tea itself. The ancient tea horse road museum also known as the grand palace. Exploring the history behind chinas ancient tea horse road. On the positive side the living standards of a vast proportion of the population have dramatically improved and china has now realized the long. It is also sometimes referred to as the southern silk road or southwest silk road, and it is part of a complex routes system connecting china and south asia. Tea horse road jeff fuchs tea and mountain journals.
Horses were the main means of transportation on the tea horse road and the passage originated from the tea horse trade of the tang and song dynasties. The tea horse road or chamadao, now generally referred to as the ancient tea horse road or chamagudao was a network of caravan paths winding through the mountains of sichuan, yunnan and tibet in southwest china. The tea horse road or chamadao now generally referred to as the ancient tea horse road or chamagudao was a network of caravan paths winding through. The ancient teahorse road locally known as chamagudao is a network of meandering caravan paths through the mountains of yunnan, guizhou and sichuan in southwest china. The ancient tea horse road winds its way through some of the most unforgiving terrain on earth. Jeff fuchs the author follows the last of the lados on the perilous and ancient path through asia known as the tea horse road. It is an enriched tourism route which offers one of the most fascinating landscapes along with endless cultural heritages. Tea horse road cultural relics on display in n china. One of the worlds highest teahorse road has been walking for thousands of years.
Chinese tea and tibetan horses were long traded on the legendary tea horse road, a harsh 2,250km trail stretching from chinas sichuan province to. Pdf thirty years of reform and openness have brought great changes to the peoples republic of china. The ancient tea horse road english edition ebooks em. Ancient tea horse road attraction travel guidebook, puer mustvisit attractions.
While parts of the ancient teahorse road pass by the bustling, picturesque cities of dali, lijang, and shangrila, most of the ancient path crosses a rural terrain of imposing scenery and soulstirring quietness. It was added to by a route from a second source, the tea mountains of sichuan, and the combined network of stone roads and mountain trails became known as the tea horse road, cha ma dao. Film of colors in the cup explores the historical significance of kangding on the ancient tea horse road. The ancient tea horse road, in chinese chama gudao chin. Jul 25, 2016 our plan had been to follow vestiges of a trading route that chinese scholars and officials call the ancient teahorse road, and some call the tea and horse caravan trail. The ancient tea horse road in china was a trade route mainly through yunnan, sichuan, and tibet. Aug 17, 2018 the ancient tea horse road in china was a trade route mainly through yunnan, sichuan, and tibet. Thirty years of reform and openness have brought great changes to the peoples republic of china. Regional identity in the context of a rising china gary sigley.
The construction of internal settings of the tea horse road museum is in the tea horse ancient road culture. There are numerous surviving archaeological and monumental elements, including trails, bridges, w. The ancient tea horse road the politics of cultural heritage in southwest china. After decades of research, were still not sure why. The past and present of the ancient tea horse road. The ancient tea horse road meanders across the rooftop of the world. Sichuantibet highway, part of the ancient tea road tea horse road to lhasa. Our plan had been to follow vestiges of a trading route that chinese scholars and officials call the ancient teahorse road, and some call. Sometimes chinese tea would be exchanged for tibetan ponies. Its route crosses some very high and dangerous terrain. The history of the tea horse road, chinas ancient trade route. It seems fitting that a route that was imbued with both tea and mountains, the ancient tea horse road, would become a fixation in my life.
The tea and horse caravan road as a corridor of ancient civilizations. Fuchs came to prominence when he became the first westerner ever to travel and document the entire length of the tea horse road. In 2005, a tea caravan mabang emerged out of the mists of time and made an epic journey from yunnan to beijing, from the periphery to the centre. It was therefore not very commonly used by tibetans. Meanwhile, the road also promoted exchanges in culture, religion and ethnic migration, resembling the refulgence of the silk road. Feb 25, 2014 elyse petersen of tealet sits down for tea and talk with jeff fuchs, writer of the ancient tea horse road and founder of jalam teas. A cultural relic exhibition from the ancient tea horse road opened at the hebei museum in shijiazhuang, capital of north chinas hebei province, on aug 3, 2017. Ancient tea route network of caravan paths winding through the mountains of southwest china and extending to bengal in south asia.
The ancient tea horse road museum in lijiang justgola. The rise of the outdoors and chinas first long distance branded hiking trail. Exploring the history behind chinas ancient tea horse road which began during the tang dynasty 618907 and still used up to the 1960s, with several different routes originating in the town of puerh, in chinas yunnan province to tibet and other points. Thanks to this perilous passage, the fame and influence of yunnans puer tea spread far and wide. These information answers detailedly about what to visit in puer. Once the highway started handling the trade, it would not be long before the tea horse road was forgotten. If you book with tripadvisor, you can cancel up to 24 hours before your tour starts for a full refund. One of the longest and most dramatic trade routes of the ancient world, the tea horse road carried a crucial exchange for centuries between china and. It was used as a commercial passage for transporting tea, salt and other commodities. The ancient tea horse trade route also known as the southern silk road is a sprawling web of millenniaold paths connecting southeast asia to southwest china and tibet. This route would appear to have been in use long before it became an avenue for the tea and horse trade during the tang and the song dynasties, for it was a very important corridor connecting the ancient cultures of the areas of present tibet, yunnan and sichuan. Jun 22, 2016 the ancient tea horse road is an international trade passage in the southwestern region of china used for economic and cultural communications.
The tea and horse caravan road of southwest china is less well known than the famous silk road. If a cup of tea isnt offered, a relationship isnt offered. Chapter 12 the ancient tea horse road and the politics of cultural heritage in southwest china. International journal ofcultural chinaheritage studiestourism and ancient tea horse road 531 vol. Ancient teahorse road and caravan culture from the perspective of the caravan courier route from gongshan of nujiang to. The ancient tea horse road was a network of caravan paths winding through the mountains of southwest china. The ancient tea horse road is a 4000 km route used by ancient tea and horse traders in ancient china. In order for the tea to survive its long journey, ancient tea merchants had developed a preservation method where the tea leaves were steamed and subsequently compressed into bricks for easy transport on horse back.