Tea along the ancient tea- horse road...

The Ancient Tea horse Route was a network of mule caravan paths winding through the mountains of Yunnan Province in Southwest China. Also known as the Southern Silk Road, it  was a trade link from Yunnan, one of the first tea-producing regions: to India via Burma; to Tibet; and to Central China via Sichuan ( source: wikipedia).

It is believed that it was through this trading network that tea (typically tea bricks) first spread across China and Asia from its origins in Pu'er county.

Lijiang,  was one of the many stops where ancient tea traders stopped by to trade.

They traveled across mountains...

and rivers....

into the old town market square..

where you will find locals singing and dancing as a community..

the Naxi ethnic minority group, which used to be a matriach society, meets at the square

each afternoon for singing, dancing and well, a game of cards.... 

and when evening comes, they return to their homes by the river which runs through the old town..

walking up little cobbled streets...

to join their families.

We also had the opportunity to watch the spectacular show "Impressions of Lijiang"

held within an open air stage at an elevation of 3100m above sea level..

and after which winding down with a cup of tea by the river....

life was good and restful.....

Have you rested?

...go put the kettle on and join Kimmie and the Tea Tuesday Bloggers for tea this Tuesday!

steph