The Tea Horse Road

The  National Geographic had an article on the ancient Tea Horse Road that leads from Sichuan province to Lhasa. As late as 1946 porters hauled up to 300 lb. bales of tea on their backs 140 miles through the mountains to a station where pack horses then took it the rest of the way to Lhasa. Tea was worth more than gold to the Tibetans who traded much needed horses to the Chinese. Porters got paid one pound of rice for one pound of tea carried from YaAn to Kangding where it was transferred to the pack horses. In 2002 the Tea Horse Road was paved with asphalt and I and my Chinese partners were one of the first to drive this road from Chengdu to Danba, Bamei, Kangding, Yaan and back to Chengdu. A second trip we mapped out an itinerary to take tourists through this fantastic mountain area to small towns and villages that seldom see western people. Please check our web site under Sichuan Mountan Tour to see the complete itinerary to this remote area inhabited by Tibetan people who are fairly self reliant and very friendly opening up their homes to visitors. Tours to China is our business for over 25 years and my 50 plus trips to China checking out new places and experiences to provide the best tours to China as a China only Tour Operator since 1992.  Check out our web site at  www.interlakechinatours.com