Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c13.31

v2.c13.31

Another overland route for which there is evidence in this period is the Yunnan-Tibet route to India. In the 8ᵗʰ century, there was a close relationship between the powerful Tubo empire in Tibet and Yunnan. One route from Yunnan to Tibet passed through Upper Burma and reached Zayu in Tibet. The other route, which proceeded directly from Yunnan into Tibet, is better known as the old Tea Horse route (*chama gudao* in Chinese). Tea is known to have been consumed in Tibet from about the 8ᵗʰ century CE. Most of the tea transported from Yunnan along this route was for consumption in Tibet itself but some portion of it also made its way to India and Nepal. This was one of the main routes of contact between northeastern India and Yunnan in this period.