The
Ancient Tea Route (Simplified Chinese: 茶马古道, Traditional Chinese: 茶馬古道) was a network of mule caravan paths winding through the mountains of
YunnanYunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately 394,000 square kilometers . The capital of the province is Kunming...
Province in Southwest
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
. It is also referred to as the
Southern Silk Road. From around a thousand years ago, the Ancient Tea Route was a trade link from Yunnan, one of the first
teaTea is the agricultural product of the leaves, leaf buds, and internodes of the Camellia sinensis plant, prepared and cured by various methods...
-producing regions: to
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
via Burma; to
TibetTibet is a plateau region in Asia, north of the Himalayas. It is home to the indigenous Tibetan people, and to some other ethnic groups such as Monpas and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han Chinese people. Tibet is the highest region on earth, with an average...
; and to central
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
via
Sichuan' is a province in Southwestern China with its capital in Chengdu. The current name of the province, 四川 , is an abbreviation of 四川路 , or "Four circuits of rivers", which is itself abbreviated from 川峡四路 , or "Four circuits of rivers and gorges", named after the division of the...
Province.
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Ancient tea route' Start a new discussion about 'Ancient tea route' Answer questions from other users |
The
Ancient Tea Route (Simplified Chinese: 茶马古道, Traditional Chinese: 茶馬古道) was a network of mule caravan paths winding through the mountains of
YunnanYunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately 394,000 square kilometers . The capital of the province is Kunming...
Province in Southwest
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
. It is also referred to as the
Southern Silk Road. From around a thousand years ago, the Ancient Tea Route was a trade link from Yunnan, one of the first
teaTea is the agricultural product of the leaves, leaf buds, and internodes of the Camellia sinensis plant, prepared and cured by various methods...
-producing regions: to
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
via Burma; to
TibetTibet is a plateau region in Asia, north of the Himalayas. It is home to the indigenous Tibetan people, and to some other ethnic groups such as Monpas and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han Chinese people. Tibet is the highest region on earth, with an average...
; and to central
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
via
Sichuan' is a province in Southwestern China with its capital in Chengdu. The current name of the province, 四川 , is an abbreviation of 四川路 , or "Four circuits of rivers", which is itself abbreviated from 川峡四路 , or "Four circuits of rivers and gorges", named after the division of the...
Province. In addition to tea, the mule caravans carried
saltA salt, in chemistry, is an ionic compound, and can result from the neutralization reaction of acids and bases. Salts are ionic compounds composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
.
It is believed that it was through this trading network that tea (typically
tea brickTea bricks or compressed tea are blocks of whole or finely ground black tea, green tea, or post-fermented tea leaves that have been packed in molds and pressed into block form...
s) spread across China and Asia from its origins in Pu'er county, near Simao Prefecture in
YunnanYunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately 394,000 square kilometers . The capital of the province is Kunming...
.
See also
- Shaxi, Yunnan
Shaxi is a historical market town in Jianchuan County, Dali Prefecture, Yunnan province, China.The town is located roughly in between Dali and Lijiang....
: a well preserved historical trading town in Jianchuan County on the ancient tea route
- Pu-erh tea
Pu-erh, Pu'er tea, Puer tea or Bolay tea is a type of tea made from a "large leaf" variety of the tea plant Camellia sinensis and named after Pu'er county near Simao, Yunnan, China....
- Silk Road
The Silk Road is an extensive interconnected network of trade routes across the Asian continent connecting East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean world, as well as North and Northeast Africa and Europe...
- Siberian Route
The Siberian Route , also known as the Moscow Route and Great Route , was a historic route that connected European Russia to Siberia and China...
External links