The Ancient Tea Route (Chinese: 茶马古道) 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. The Ancient Tea Route was a trade link from Yunnan to India via Burma, to Tibet, and to central China via Sichuan Province.   (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ; literally south of the clouds) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located in the far southwestern corner of the country. ... Tibet (older spelling Thibet; Tibetan: བོད་; Wylie: Bod; Lhasa dialect IPA: [; Simplified and Traditional Chinese: 西藏, Hanyu Pinyin: XÄ«zàng; also referred to as 藏区 (Simplified Chinese), 藏區 (Traditional Chinese), ZàngqÅ« (Hanyu Pinyin), having the two names different connotations; see Name section below) is a plateau region in Central Asia and the...   (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: SzÅ­4-chuan1; Postal map spelling: Szechwan and Szechuan) is a province in the central-western China with its capital at Chengdu. ...

The main goods that were carried along these paths by mule caravan were tea and salt. Tea leaves in a Chinese gaiwan. ... A magnified crystal of a salt (halite/sodium chloride) Salt covering the floor of Bad Water in Death Valley, CA, the lowest point in the US. A salt, in chemistry, is any ionic compound composed of cations (positively charged ions) and anions (negative ions) so that the product is neutral...

This trading network is believed responsible for spreading tea (typically Tea bricks) across China and Asia from its origins in Pu'er county near Simao Prefecture, Yunnan, China Tea leaves in a Chinese gaiwan. ... Tea Bricks are blocks of whole or finely ground tea leaves that have been packed in molds and pressed into block form. ... The Puer Hani and Yi Autonomous County (普洱哈尼族彝族自治县, Pinyin: Pǔěr Hānízú Yízú Zìzhìxiàn) is an autonomous county residing in the prefecture-level city of Simao (思茅), Southern Yunnan province of the Peoples Republic of China. ... In the context of Political divisions of China, county is the standard English translation of 县 (xiàn). ... Simão Sabrosa (Simão for short) is a midfielder who plays for the Portugal national football team and SL Benfica. ...   (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ; literally south of the clouds) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located in the far southwestern corner of the country. ...

See also

• Pu-erh tea
• Silk Road

Pu-erh (or Puer tea) is a type of tea made from a large leaf variety of the tea plant Camellia sinensis and named after Puer county near Simao, Yunnan, China. ... The Silk Road, or Silk Route, is an interconnected series of routes through Southern Asia mainly connecting Changan (todays Xian) in China, with Asia Minor and the Mediterranean. ...

External links

• Silk Road Foundation - An authoritative article about the ancient tea route by Yang Fuquan, director of the Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences