An Old Town on the Ancient Tea-Horse Trail

FOR centuries, Southwest China's Yunnan Province has been known as home of black tea. It was in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) that caravans began to transport bricks of tea from Xi shuangbanna and Simao to India, passing through Yunnan's Dali and Lijiang and Tibet. The route became known as the Ancient Tea-Horse Trail. By the time it had reached India, the tea fermented and turned black. It was then bought by merchants that took it to Europe and other parts of the world.At the southern end of the Chinese

An Old Town on the Ancient Tea-Horse Trail