Jeff Fuchs
Encyclopedia
Jeff Fuchs is a noted explorer, mountaineer
and writer
. He gained prominence with his successful bid to become the first westerner to trek the entire Yunnan-Tibet Ancient Tea Horse Road
, stretching almost six thousand kilometers through the Himalayas and a dozen cultures, documented in the book The Ancient Tea Horse Road: Travels with the Last of the Himalayan Muleteers (2008).. He is also acting Asia-Editor-at-Large for "Outpost Magazine" .
, Canada
. He spent considerable time in Switzerland
as a child where a staunch love of the mountains and climbing
was established. Fuchs graduated from Dawson College
in Montreal
with a degree in Commercial-Fine Art Photography. He is fluent in several languages, notably Mandarin and Tibetan
. He divides his time between Canada
, Shangri-La County
, China
, and Europe
.
Fuchs has been published in World Geographic, Spanish Geographical Society, New Ideas, Outdoor Exploration, New Traveler, Silkroad Foundation, Outpost magazine, Kyoto Journal and The South China Morning Post among others.
He was an invited speaker 1st Annual North American Tea Conference in October, 2010, to discuss the origins of tea and tea's ancient birthplace in southern Yunnan. Jeff Fuchs joined with WildChina
a tour group operator for a series of trips along the Tea Horse Road beginning in late 2010. . Fuchs is a current member of the Explorers Club.. He is also Templar Food,ref.http://icedtea.com/tea-industry/'s global tea
ambassador sourcing and submitting blog
posts from throughout Asia.
and Southwestern China, he became compelled by the people and their narratives surrounding the old tea caravans. This interest culminated in a journey to retrace the path of the world’s highest ancient trade route
, from the perspective of the first Westerner to do so. Fuchs brought due attention to this story in his book The Ancient Tea Horse Road: Travels with the Last of the Himalayan Muleteers (2008), where he documents the 6000 km, 7.5 month journey.
Apart from being the first western explorer to have traveled both main arteries of the Ancient Tea Horse Road
, Fuchs also spends considerable time in isolated regions documenting the changing face of culture and recording the oral tradition
s as passed on by elders. One of his most well-known articles appeared in Outpost documenting a three-week stay at almost 4500 meters with a community of the famed and feared Tibetan nomadic Khampas in eastern Tibet
(Kham).
Most recently Fuchs led a first-ever western exploration of the Nomadic Salt Road in southern Qinghai
province. Known as the Tsalam the route was used by Tibetan nomads to access salt
from some of the highest salt lakes on the planet. Along with Michael Kleinwort, the two undertook the journey in May, 2011 spending a month tracing some of the most remote portions of the Tibetan Plateau
. For his efforts Fuchs was awarded the Wild China Explorer of the Year Award for 2011 for promoting sustainable and off-the-beaten-track exploration.
Jeff Fuchs has spoken extensively at secondary school
s, universities
, academic organizations and public lecture
s throughout North America
, Asia and Europe
. Based on his first-hand experience with indigenous cultures, Fuchs has urged contemporary audiences not to ignore ancient traditions and the importance of oral narratives in our society.
In recognition of his work with minority cultures Fuchs was awarded a grant from the famed Banff Centre
to continue his written and photo documentation of Himalayan Culture. Fuchs will be opening night speaker to the Bookworm's Explore series in Beijing
.
Mountaineer
-Sports:*Mountaineering, the sport, hobby or profession of walking, hiking, trekking and climbing up mountains, also known as alpinism-University athletic teams and mascots:*Appalachian State Mountaineers, the athletic teams of Appalachian State University...
and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
. He gained prominence with his successful bid to become the first westerner to trek the entire Yunnan-Tibet Ancient Tea Horse Road
Ancient tea route
The Ancient Tea Route was a network of mule caravan paths winding through the mountains of Yunnan Province in Southwest China. It is also referred to as the Southern Silk Road and Tea and Horse Road...
, stretching almost six thousand kilometers through the Himalayas and a dozen cultures, documented in the book The Ancient Tea Horse Road: Travels with the Last of the Himalayan Muleteers (2008).. He is also acting Asia-Editor-at-Large for "Outpost Magazine" .
Biography
Fuchs is a Canadian citizen of English/Hungarian heritage, born in OttawaOttawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. He spent considerable time in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
as a child where a staunch love of the mountains and climbing
Climbing
Climbing is the activity of using one's hands and feet to ascend a steep object. It is done both for recreation and professionally, as part of activities such as maintenance of a structure, or military operations.Climbing activities include:* Bouldering: Ascending boulders or small...
was established. Fuchs graduated from Dawson College
Dawson College
Dawson College was the first English CEGEP and is located in Westmount, just west of downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Dawson College is located near the heart of downtown Montreal in a former nunnery on 4.85 hectares of green space...
in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
with a degree in Commercial-Fine Art Photography. He is fluent in several languages, notably Mandarin and Tibetan
Tibetan language
The Tibetan languages are a cluster of mutually-unintelligible Tibeto-Burman languages spoken primarily by Tibetan peoples who live across a wide area of eastern Central Asia bordering the Indian subcontinent, including the Tibetan Plateau and the northern Indian subcontinent in Baltistan, Ladakh,...
. He divides his time between Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Shangri-La County
Shangri-La County
Shangri-La County is a primarily Tibetan county in northwestern Yunnan province, Southwest China and is the location of the seat of the Dêqên Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.-Name:...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
Fuchs has been published in World Geographic, Spanish Geographical Society, New Ideas, Outdoor Exploration, New Traveler, Silkroad Foundation, Outpost magazine, Kyoto Journal and The South China Morning Post among others.
He was an invited speaker 1st Annual North American Tea Conference in October, 2010, to discuss the origins of tea and tea's ancient birthplace in southern Yunnan. Jeff Fuchs joined with WildChina
WildChina
WildChina is a travel company based in Beijing, People's Republic of China, with an office in Bethesda, Maryland.-History:WildChina was founded in 2000. Through the years, WildChina has grown from a small business operating out of Beijing, to a tour company operating journeys throughout mainland...
a tour group operator for a series of trips along the Tea Horse Road beginning in late 2010. . Fuchs is a current member of the Explorers Club.. He is also Templar Food,ref.http://icedtea.com/tea-industry/'s global tea
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
ambassador sourcing and submitting blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
posts from throughout Asia.
Award Winning Exploration
The relationship between mountains, indigenous cultures, and tea has informed much of Fuchs' work, with a particular focus on Asia. After considerable time spent between the HimalayasHimalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
and Southwestern China, he became compelled by the people and their narratives surrounding the old tea caravans. This interest culminated in a journey to retrace the path of the world’s highest ancient trade route
Trade route
A trade route is a logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. Allowing goods to reach distant markets, a single trade route contains long distance arteries which may further be connected to several smaller networks of commercial...
, from the perspective of the first Westerner to do so. Fuchs brought due attention to this story in his book The Ancient Tea Horse Road: Travels with the Last of the Himalayan Muleteers (2008), where he documents the 6000 km, 7.5 month journey.
Apart from being the first western explorer to have traveled both main arteries of the Ancient Tea Horse Road
Ancient tea route
The Ancient Tea Route was a network of mule caravan paths winding through the mountains of Yunnan Province in Southwest China. It is also referred to as the Southern Silk Road and Tea and Horse Road...
, Fuchs also spends considerable time in isolated regions documenting the changing face of culture and recording the oral tradition
Oral tradition
Oral tradition and oral lore is cultural material and traditions transmitted orally from one generation to another. The messages or testimony are verbally transmitted in speech or song and may take the form, for example, of folktales, sayings, ballads, songs, or chants...
s as passed on by elders. One of his most well-known articles appeared in Outpost documenting a three-week stay at almost 4500 meters with a community of the famed and feared Tibetan nomadic Khampas in eastern Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
(Kham).
Most recently Fuchs led a first-ever western exploration of the Nomadic Salt Road in southern Qinghai
Qinghai
Qinghai ; Oirat Mongolian: ; ; Salar:) is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after Qinghai Lake...
province. Known as the Tsalam the route was used by Tibetan nomads to access salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
from some of the highest salt lakes on the planet. Along with Michael Kleinwort, the two undertook the journey in May, 2011 spending a month tracing some of the most remote portions of the Tibetan Plateau
Tibetan Plateau
The Tibetan Plateau , also known as the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau is a vast, elevated plateau in Central Asia covering most of the Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai, in addition to smaller portions of western Sichuan, southwestern Gansu, and northern Yunnan in Western China and Ladakh in...
. For his efforts Fuchs was awarded the Wild China Explorer of the Year Award for 2011 for promoting sustainable and off-the-beaten-track exploration.
Jeff Fuchs has spoken extensively at secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
s, universities
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
, academic organizations and public lecture
Lecture
thumb|A lecture on [[linear algebra]] at the [[Helsinki University of Technology]]A lecture is an oral presentation intended to present information or teach people about a particular subject, for example by a university or college teacher. Lectures are used to convey critical information, history,...
s throughout North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, Asia and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Based on his first-hand experience with indigenous cultures, Fuchs has urged contemporary audiences not to ignore ancient traditions and the importance of oral narratives in our society.
In recognition of his work with minority cultures Fuchs was awarded a grant from the famed Banff Centre
Banff Centre
The Banff Centre, formerly known as The Banff Centre for Continuing Education, is an arts, cultural, and educational institution and conference complex located in Banff, Alberta...
to continue his written and photo documentation of Himalayan Culture. Fuchs will be opening night speaker to the Bookworm's Explore series in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
.
External links
- Jeff Fuchs, official website.
- http://www.tea-and-mountain-journals.com/, blog post
- http://icedtea.com/tea-industry/ asian tea blog
- http://www.cbc.ca/ottawamorning/2011/06/22/jeff-fuchs-and-ancient-tea/ radio interview with Kathleen Petty on CBC radio
- http://www.ottawamagazine.com/restaurants/city-bites/2011/04/30/web-exclusive-q-tea-tasting-at-the-museum-of-nature-on-june-22/ interview by Shawna Wagman
- http://teaandco.com/2011/07/01/5-con-jeff-fuchs-explorador/ interview
- http://travelandtea.com/2010/10/26/jeff_fuchs/ interview
- http://www.ottawatonite.com/2011/06/jeff-fuchs—the-ancient-tea-horse-road/ review of work
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SEDhDLwSzI
- http://blog.chinatravel.net/activities-tours/wild-china-two-lives-converge-on-yunnans-old-horse-tea-road.html
- http://www.pjmooney.com/en/Most_Recent_Articles/Entries/2011/2/27_Trail_and_Tribulations.html
- http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/asia/for-all-the-tea-in-china-discover-a-wild-and-charming-rural-idyll-on-a-1000yearold-trade-route-2204492.html
- http://www.depers.nl/cultuur/569661/Op-een-tractor-de-theebossen-in.html
- "Interview: Jeff Fuchs", interview by Chris Horton, GoKunming, August 11, 2010
- "Trekking the Ancient Tea Horse Road", interview by Kathleen M. McKenna, Indagare, July 7, 2008
- "Warrior tribes and yak-turd tea", interview by Marc Medley, Ottawa Citizen, Nov 19, 2008
- "The Ancient Tea Horse Road", interview by Mark Medley, The National Post, June 21, 2008