In 2022, the traditional processing techniques of Mengshan Tea and Southern Route Tea were inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, highlighting the historical and cultural importance of Sichuan tea.
Mengding Mountain: an excellent tea among clouds and mists
Situated on the western edge of the Sichuan Basin, Mengding Mountain is known as the golden zone of tea production in the region. Shrouded in fog and blessed with a mild climate, it offers ideal conditions for growing the prestigious Mengshan Tea. Already in the first year of the Tianbao era, in the Tang Dynasty (742 AD), Mengshan Tea was selected as an imperial tribute, maintaining this status for more than a thousand years, throughout five dynasties. It is, therefore, the tea that served as a tribute for the longest time in the History of China, widely appreciated by high dignitaries and literati.
Mengshan Tea is a green tea, whose production goes through a rigorous sequence of stages, from harvesting to roasting. The result is a tea with a refined appearance, bright and vivid color, intense aroma and smooth, sweet flavor, appreciated not only for its taste, but also for its benefits for digestion.
A Horse and Tea Route and Chá da Rota do Sul: a cultural bridge between he and Tibetans
If Mengshan Tea represents the delicacy of Sichuan tea, the Horse and Tea Route and Chá da Rota do Sul carry a historical narrative of greatness.
Originating in Ya’an, this ancient trade route was not just a goods route but an economic and cultural corridor linking China’s central plains with Tibet and beyond to South Asia.
Since the Tang Dynasty (7th century), the tea trade in the regions has been consolidating he by horses from the Tibetan Plateau. Between mountains and steep gorges, groups of porters and caravans of horses opened, at great cost, a legendary route. The most precious product they transported was Southern Rota Tea, also known as “Tibetan tea”, which is a type of fermented black tea, whose production technique is more than 1300 years old.
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