The Tea Horse Road or Chamadao (simplified Chinese: 茶马道; traditional Chinese: 茶馬道), now generally referred to as the Ancient Tea Horse Road or Chamagudao (simplified Chinese: 茶马古道; traditional Chinese: 茶馬古道) was a network of caravan paths winding through the mountains of Sichuan, Yunnan and Tibet in Southwest China.[1] This was also a tea trade route. It is also sometimes referred to as the "Southern Silk Road" or "Southwest Silk Road."[2]
There are numerous surviving archaeological and monumental elements, including trails, bridges, way stations, market towns, palaces, staging posts, shrines and temples along the route.[3]
"Ancient Tea Horse Road" is a historical concept with a specific meaning. It refers to a major traffic road formed by the exchange of tea and horses between Han and Tibet from the Tang and Song Dynasties to the Republic of China.
- ^ Forbes, Andrew; Henley, David (2011). Traders of the Golden Triangle (A study of the traditional Yunnanese mule caravan trade). Chiang Mai. Cognoscenti Books. ISBN 978-1300701460.
- ^ Williams, Tim (2016). "Silk Roads in the Kingdom of Bhutan and the Development of a National Heritage Inventory". Archaeology International. 19. doi:10.5334/ai.1918.
- ^ Williams, Tim, Lin, Roland Chih-Hung and Gai, Jorayev. Final Technical Report on the results of the UNESCO/Korean Funds-in-Trust Project: Support for the Preparation for the World Heritage Serial Nomination of the Silk Roads in South Asia, 2013–2016.