In the seventh century, during the Chinese Tang Dynasty, Tibetans began drinking fermented black tea, a valuable addition to their restricted diet of meat and milk. Beginning as an aristocratic delicacy, it quickly became a staple, but it had to be imported, first from southern Yunnan, with a secondary route from Ya'an in Sichuan. The Chinese on the other hand, had a need for war horses and the sturdy Tibetan horses were ideal. As a result a two-way trade route arose during the Song Dynasty and became known as the Cha Ma Dao, the Tea-Horse Road, a 2,300 kilometre journey from southern Yunnan to Lhasa at its core.
- ISBN13 9789749863930
- Publish Date 31 December 2010
- Publish Status Transferred
- Out of Print 5 February 2015
- Publish Country TH
- Imprint River Books
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 332
- Language English