Ancient Tea-Horse Road: Road Warriors

For more than 13-hundred years, this treacherous and winding path that meanders through the mountains and valleys of southwest China has been trod by human feet and horse hoofs helping to bridge the Chinese hinterland with the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Along this unpaved and rugged commercial passage, livestock and commodities flowed back and forth: tea, salt and sugar flowed into Tibet, while horses, furs and other local products flowed out. This ancient trade route, which first appeared during the Tang Dynasty, came to be known as the Tea Horse Road. And it lasted until the 1960s – yes, the 1960s – when highways were finally constructed in Tibet.In the first installment of what will be a two-part feature, we’re going to talk about how an ancient horse trail in China’s mountainous southwest helped to develop the local economy by promoting border trade and promoted the cultural development of various ethnic groups in southwest China.