Southern Silk Road: from Chengdu, Sichuan to India
Release Time: 2017-10-25
The Tea Horse Road and Southern Silk Road were important business channels in Chengdu. A section of the Tea Horse Road is well preserved in Pujiang. According to the investigation, the Tea Horse Road is partially overlaps with the Southern Silk Road. Recently, the reporter went to the ruins of the road, to see how is it protected and to know its past and future.
Field visit:
Honors and resplendence of the ancient road
By the roadside from Chengjia Town of Pujiang to Wanmin Village, a signboard is erected, pointing to the Tea Horse Road with other signs. Driving on the twisting road, we finally arrived at a place named Chenyaoyan, where the stone stele erected in 2013, saying: the National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit, came into our eyes.
Guardstones, slope rocks and regular rectangle stone strips lain quietly in the tranquil mountains. Through the caravans have disappeared, we still found some traces of humans. Water in the Changtan Lake flooded over most part of the road and now time left its marks on it with moss. It is only a place for tranquility.
By the roadside, an ancient archway was standing, built in the Year of Daoguang of Qing Dynasty, saying: “Wang Dao Dang Ping” which marks its past honors and glories as an official road. According to introduction by the Cultural Heritage Administration of Pujiang, it is the last repair to the Southern Silk Road Pujiang Section with records.
Prospect:
Construction of cultural landmark combined with tea tourism protection development
According to Cao Bo, the head of Chengjia Town, the local tea industry occupies an important seat in Sichuan tea culture. The Tea Horse Road, once repaired, would promote the development of the local tourism industry and enhance the tea industry to create a culture carrier.
In order to better protect the Tea Horse Road and promote the upgrading of tea quality in Chengjia Town, the project “Sichuan Tea New Rural Ecological Industry” will be launched in 2015, and the ecological tea garden will be set up for nearly 2,000 acres for tea plantation, processing and sightseeing, and for unique tea garden hotel. Besides, the Shengcha Wanmin New Community will be established. The project puts the "Tea Horse Road” in its center so that it will be a key tea culture scenic spot in the future.”
The history of the Tea Horse Road will continue in its new way, its story, and its glory again.
Interviews
Ontological protection to better save the ruins
Principal of the Bureau of the Culture, News and Publication Bureau of Pujiang County
According to the Geography Record by Wang Xiangzhi from Song Dynasty: “the Tea Horse Road passes through Ya’an to Tianquan in the west and Pujiang in the east.” The Chenyaoyan Road is exactly the section left by the Tea Horse Road in Pujiang. To the Qing Dynasty, it was still the only road for "businessman and merchants."
After thousands of years, although the ancient road was repaired, the serious weathering and erosion urged protection. In recent years, the repair work on the road has been put on the agenda. At present, the cultural landmark construction is preparing to start. It is learned that Pujiang County is planning to work for some supporting policies for ontological protection of the existing road and a sightseeing road next to it.
News link
Southern Silk Road and Tea Horse Road
The Southern Silk Road: in the Western Han Dynasty it was called "Shu Yuan Du Dao”. It originated in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, and ended in modern India, with three branches, namely the Lingguan Road, Wuchi Road and Yongchang Road. Among them, Lingguang Road passed by Chengdu , Qionglai (ancient Linqiong), Ya'an, Yingjing, Hanyuan, Xichang ,Yunnan Dayao and ended in Dali. In Qionglai, the Southern Silk Road had many lines, of which the Linqiong - Huojing- Gaohe (Nanbao) - Ya’an Lushan and the Linqiong - Wolong - Pingle Ancient Town – Linji (Jiaguan and Tiantai) -Ya'an Mingshan predominated.
The Tea Horse Road: With the rise of the tea-horse market in Tang and Song Dynasties, teas produced in Sichuan, Yunnan and Qinghai were exported to Tibet through the "Tea Horse Road". The Sichuan-Tibetan Tea Horse Road began with Ya'an tea production area, then entered Kangding where it branches to the southern and the northern lines. In the early Ming Dynasty, there were two tea horse roads from western Sichuan to Kangding and Tibet. One started at Qionglai and passed by Mingshan, Ya'an, Yingjing, Hanyuan, Luding, Kangding, Daofu, Luhuo, Ganzi, Dege and entered to Tibet by crossing the Jinsha River. The Qionglai - Kangding section was commonly known as the "highroad ", and tea through which into the Kangding tea was called "Highroad Tea." The "Tea Horse Road" Chengdu-Ya'an Section was named "Linqiong Road” which overlapped with the Southern Silk Road in the Qin and Han Dynasties basically.
