Inner Mongolia discovers ballad on Tea Road

(chinadaily.com.cn)

Updated: 2015-04-10

North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region discovered a ballad on the China-Russia Tea Road in 17th century, the region's Department of Culture said.

The China-Russia Tea Road rusn 5,000 kilometers from Mount Wuyi in Fujian province to until Kyakhta, a town in the Republic of Buryatia, Russia. The international trade channel has a history of 200 years.

Discovered in one of the Tea Road's node cities, Hohhot, the ballad featured the tea trade of "Dashengkui", a tea business run by Shanxi merchants in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

Dashengkui had about 6000 to 7000 employees at its peak and 20,000 camels. It usually took half a year to deliver tea from Hohhot or Zhangjiakou in Hebei province to Kyakhta and return, according to an official of the Inner Mongolia Department of Culture.

The ballad describes the trip. And tells of the tea's origin and destionations, transport methods, and stops during the journey. It will be valuable for studies of the Tea Road and the tea trade.

In addition folk songs, Inner Mongolia is also home to other artifacts related to the Tea Road, such as the relics of Dashengkui in Hohhot and the ancient courier station in Erenhot.