This is the first comprehensive visual documentation of the tea horse road that takes the audience on a journey from the birthplace of the tea plant along the oldest trade route of tea in the world. The center of lijiang is a 10minute walk from the property. Traversing the ancient tea horse road with jeff fuchs wildchina. Chinas ancient trade road to tibet 2011, a sumptuous book that you coauthored with selena ahmed alongside your breathtaking photographs. Tea horse guesthouse, shangrila county, china tripadvisor. Just as the silk road, the ancient tea horse road disappeared with the dawn of modern civilization, but both routes have played very important roles in the development of china. Our focus is on health and wellness and the restorative properties contained in tea, herbal infusions and wild craft foods like wild rice, north americas original superfood. It is also one of the oldest and highest trade routes. He gained prominence with his successful bid to become the first westerner to trek the entire yunnantibet 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. First, it was well organized, and our guide, jeff fuchs, was incredibly knowledgeable and funny. Chinas ancient tea horse road andrew forbes, david. The road stretched across more than 4,000 kilometers mainly in southwest chinas sichuan and yunnan provinces and the tibetan autonomous region. Hotel lux tea horse road lijiang lijiang yunnan 4 china.
This was much more than a simple trade route, because in return for tea, which tibetans came quickly to crave, the tang dynasty wanted horses for the imperial army. Chinese ancinet teahorse road, discover the ancient tea. Jan 01, 2008 the ancient tea horse road winds its way through some of the most unforgiving terrain on earth. The ancient tea horse road museum lijiang 2020 all you. The addition of the word gu or ancient, making the currently popular name chama gudao or ancient teahorse road is a much more recent designation. Passing through yunnan, sichuan, tibet, nepal, and india, the tea horse roads grand expanse is revealed in stunning detail through fuchs narrative. In the spirit and essence of the old caravanserais that served the leaders of the packtrains carrying tea from the burmese border to the high plateau of tibet, lux tea horse road is a series of properties located in some of the worlds most majestic settings. Jeff fuchs is a canadian explorer, mountaineer and writer. We traveled with wildchina from jinghong to shangrila. 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.
Apr 06, 2017 many a traveler and backpacker heads to this town and learns about the tea horse road. While modernization undermined this historic routes commercial significance, the tea and horse caravan road is now attracting attention due to the growth of tourism in southwest china. If you book with tripadvisor, you can cancel up to 24 hours before your tour starts for a full refund. Travel along the yunnan part of the tea and horse road as it winds down from the tibetan plateau towards the old town of dali. Exploring the history behind chinas ancient tea horse road.
The route earned the name tea horse road because of the common trade of tibetan ponies for chinese tea, a practice dating back at least to the song dynasty, when the sturdy horses were important for china to fight warring nomads in the north. Right up until the tibetan highway was built, tea, salt and sugar were transported along this important trade route and tibetan horses were brought to china in the opposite direction. Author jeff fuchs brings life to this gripping tale of a small group of men who decide to retrace the ancient tea horse road, the road that brought tea to beijing and to tibet, and brought horses to china. Expect personalized adventurous excursions inspired by the lux tea horse road original trail, experience original naxi cooking classes directly from baisha villagers, learn about the legendary puer tea with inhouse tea ceremonies, find your message in a bottle around the narrow lanes of the old town, dare the challenging surroundings on a. The book should thus be attractive to a wide audience, not just tea enthusiasts, geographers, or naturalists. In the 21st century, the legacy of the tea horse road has been used to promote a railway that will. 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. 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. The route came under strict control, as the trading of tea for war horses became an arm of tang foreign policy in its dealing with a neighbour that had. Lijiang hotels, lijiang hotel lux tea horse road lijiang.
On this epic journey with jeff fuchs, we retrace part of the ancient tea and horse caravan road through diverse landscapes and cultures. Tea horse routes from puer, yunan and yaan, sichuan to lhasa, tibet. The ancient tea and horse road first appeared during the tang dynasty 618907, and. Tea horse road, chinas ancient trade road to tibet by michael. 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. A car rental service is available at the accommodation, while hiking can be enjoyed nearby. Tea horse road jeff fuchs tea and mountain journals. Zhang yun the buddhist, seeing what was going on and seeing, regardless of his good intentions, it wasnt going to work, left the main contingent taking me with him high into the mountains basically retracing the steps of the ancient chamadao, the tea horse trail or tea horse road. The first thing one notices about the new book tea horse road. Again by contrast, the name teahorse road in chinese chamadao was in official use from at least the time of the tang dynasty 618907.
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. 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. Selena ahmed, ethnobotanist and author of the gorgeous new book tea horse road will be at the garden for a book signing this saturday, may 21 at 3 p. Aug 17, 2018 the ancient tea horse road in china was a trade route mainly through yunnan, sichuan, and tibet. 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. In addition to the story of the tea, the tea horse road is the story of the men muleteers and their mules that traveled long and perilous journeys from yunnan and sichuan over dangerous roads in hostile weather conditions with their precious cargoes of tea bound for tibet, nepal, and later, india and burma.
Once the highway started handling the trade, it would not be long before the tea horse road was forgotten. It was used as a commercial passage for transporting tea, salt and other commodities. 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. The tea and horse road budget tour colorful china travel. Travels with the last of the himalayan muleteers first edition by fuchs, jeff isbn. The 2250 kilometer long trail begins with the sichuan province of china and stretches to lhasa, the capital city of tibet. As we ply on our individual tea horse roads trading our time and effort for a living, a well made hot cup of tea is a solace a journey to our own shangrila. Along the tea and horse road colorful china travel.
Can you talk about how the project started and when exactly you arrived in yunnan to start shooting. The ancient tea horse road winds its way through some of the most unforgiving terrain on earth. Lux tea horse road lijiang is within a 30minute drive to lijiang airport. See all 1 the ancient tea horse road museum tours on tripadvisor. Shortly after the japanese invasion was edging up and overtaking many portions of the tea horse road a woman by the name of olga greenlaw, the wife of the second in command of the flying tigers wrote a book titled the lady and the tigers. Both wifi and private parking are available at the family stay free of charge. The ancient tea and horse caravan road, the silk road. In my ensuing book a ncient tea horse roadtravels with the last himalayan muleteers penguin canada the route, its understated crucial role in the himalayan history, and the adventure that our expedition tea happily engaged in is documented. The history of the tea horse road, chinas ancient trade route. The tea porters are remembered in this statue park in yaan, china. Chinas ancient trade road to tibet reprint by michael freeman, selina ahmed isbn. 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. Ancient sichuantibet tea horse road lainchung nangsa.
Travels with the last of the himalayan muleteers 2008. Though the tea horse road is not nearly as important as the silk road of china, it holds significance nonetheless. One reason is the ethnic and cultural diversity of the region. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. 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.
China needed war horses to protect its northern frontier, and tibet could supply them. Anhua tea horse road anhua county 2020 all you need to. As the title of this book suggests the topic is about an extensive network of physical pathways and small local routes that came to be collectively known as the tea. Since the heydays of tang dynasty 618907 ad, time often elapsed with throngs of horse caravans wading through the endlessly steep road. 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 tea thirsts. The antique silk road that connected the chinese and mediterranean worlds for more than a millennium, facilitating the exchange of both goods and cultures, is widely known and celebrated. One of the longest and most dramatic trade routes of the ancient worl. The ancient tea horse trade route also known as the southern silk road is a sprawling web of millenniaold paths connecting southeast asia.
Chinas ancient trade road to tibet is its size in the era of ipads, kindles and other ultraslim digital readers, it has become easy to forget that publishers are still printing big, beautiful hardcover books. Here came a tibetan saying, rather be without food for three days than to be without tea for a day. Tea horse road, china with jeff fuchs dolores semeraro. Historically, the ancient tea horse road was almost the same as the western frontier of china. Life along the tea horse road is briefly reignited in a passionate and unforgettable adventure. Across undulating hill chains and meandering rivers of the mountain range, women of bulang ethnic group were picking puer tea leaves, a distinct form of broad leaf tea in yunnan, in a verdant. Sep 15, 2016 historical pictures of tea horse road.
Chinas ancient tea horse road by andrew forbes, david. The ancient tea and horse caravan road, the silk road of. The book places the historical teahorse road in a contemporary context through a discussion on current issues including biodiversity, livelihoods, organic farming, globalization, health, and antioxidants. Kindle store go search best sellers gift ideas new releases deals.
We recommend booking the ancient tea horse road museum tours ahead of time to secure your spot. Tea horse was founded by denise atkinson and marc h. 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. Mar 20, 2018 the ancient tea horse road was a network of caravan paths winding through the mountains of southwest china. Buy a discounted paperback of tea horse road online from australias leading online bookstore. Jun 30, 2008 read this book, please, but save yourself some money. Oct 23, 2014 tea horse road, china with jeff fuchs dolores semeraro. While today tea horse road is no more, we believe that its spirit of connecting people to the worlds greatest teas is alive, expanding, and present in each bottle of our amazing tea. Yunnan tea has been of vital economic importance to many nationalities since the tea horse road, to even today. Interview for the tea horse road project michael freeman. Explore free books, like the victory garden, and more browse now. The tea horse road is an old trade route, which connected south of the yunnan province to the tibetan highlands. The high mountain peaks, lush valleys and deep gorges of yunnan are a haven of natural and cultural diversity, connected by this. Travel the yunnan province along the old tea and horse road, an ancient trail network in yunnan for trade between the tea growing areas in the southern yunnan province and tibet.
Chinas ancient tea horse road cognoscenti books book 1. To read more, go to reading adventures book 1, page 39. In 20067 five tibetans and myself would complete a 7. When the tibetans discovered tea in the 7th century, it became a staple of their diet, but its origins are in southwest china, and they had to trade. For me, what sets this book apart from other books i have read on the topic of the tea horse road is the authors use of the present to help understand the past. Book tea horse guesthouse, shangrila county on tripadvisor. Traders of the golden triangle a study of the traditional yunnanese mule caravan trade. Interview for the tea horse road project chinabased translator, poet and scholar peter micic has begun a blog on the tea horse road, interview for the tea horse road project. There are numerous surviving archaeological and monumental elements, including trails, bridges, w. 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.
It would be the 20th century before tea portering would come to an end and a functioning highway replace the men and mules. In other words, we followed the ancient tea and horse road, which links up with the silk road in tibet. Our first chinese guide, michael, was also superorganized. During the time greenlaw was writing the book and was being published 194243 the war was still raging. The book was compiled by li xu, an anthropologist and photographer who works with the yunnan academy of social sciences and has written numerous books documenting vanishing cultures in china, including a series of books on the tea horse road and a book on the lives of tibetan tea muleteers. With increasing contact of the tobo and tang regimes, drinking tea became a fashionable habit to the tibetan religious elites and autocrats, and gradually an essential part of their diet. The tea horse road for those with an interest in this ancient caravan history, we recommend the tea horse road. Traversing the ancient tea horse road with jeff fuchs. Chinas ancient trade road to tibet by michael freeman, 9786167339535, available at book depository with free delivery. A mountaineer, resident of shangrila in northwestern yunnan, and selfconfessed teaaddict fuchs brings together an ancient trade route in stunning and often neurotic detail as he travels into isolated worlds tucked away from the modern world. Many a traveler and backpacker heads to this town and learns about the tea horse road. Ancient sichuantibet tea horse road search results iucat. The long and winding road was a trade route from yunnan, to bengal and india via burma, to tibet, and to central china via sichuan province.
220 243 1230 164 1436 160 1174 1417 615 1439 1009 1326 1168 984 65 563 481 169 705 727 1559 1349 1251 717 1386 92 937 1244 519 678 175 641 69