tea horse treasures.docVIP

tea horse treasures 　　For centuries， the rugged landscapes of western Sichuan played host to caravans of the legendary Tea Horse Road. While the mountain trails they once followed have now disappeared， the natural splendour of this beautiful Chinese wilderness still rewards the intrepid这条路原本不是铺出来的，现在也早已湮没在历史之中。兄弟两人重走茶马古道，沿途结识了不少本地人，当然，也收获了新鲜的绿茶。 　　from a rocky ledge above western Sichuan’s mighty Dadu River （大渡河）， my brother and I watch， transfixed， as Jamyang and his family go about their business. Hunched double under massive loads of dried chili pepper， the procession of men and women walk steadily across a swaying suspension bridge of wire and decayed wooden boards. As the wide mountain torrent churns past thirty feet below， the noise is deafening. Jamyang and many other local villagers will brave the Dadu several more times today as they transport their fiery harvest across its frothing waters. Despite the toil and obvious danger， to them， it’s all in a day’s work. “We got a fair price from the local merchant，” Jamyang tells me happily， before drawing vigorously on a well-worn pipe. “Maybe there’ll even be some spare money to fix up the bridge，” he adds mischievously， before setting off for another sack. In a landscape that can be as unforgiving as it is dramatic， the people of Jamyang’s remote community are seemingly accustomed to taking risks. Row upon row of quaint， red-and-white stone houses sit at the base of a gigantic， overhanging rock face， tempting gravity or seismic forces to do their worst. Still， as I’m quickly discovering， this is a land that favours fortitude and a certain insouciance in the face of danger. Stretching north to Gansu， south to Yunnan and west to Tibet， Sichuan’s western highlands sit at the easternmost fringe of the vast Tibetan Plateau. Rearing up from the tableland around Chengdu， capital of Sichuan， this region boasts some of Asia’s most thrilling scenery―remote valleys dotted with shaggy yak and delicate alpine blooms， go