It was a humble leaf that helped connect the Eurasian continent and opened the door to commercial trade and cultural exchanges between civilizations. This is the tale of the Ten-Thousand-Mile Tea Road.

With an entire span of over 13,000 kilometers, the Ten-Thousand-Mile Tea Road stretches all the way from Wuyi Mountain in southeast China’s Fujian Province, via Ulaanbaatar, capital of Mongolia, to Kyakhta in Russia, and then extends further into central Asia and Europe.

As another important trade route connecting ancient China and Europe, after the decline of the Silk Road, the Ten-Thousand-Mile Tea Road exerted its own influence on the world. One example of this is that the pronunciations of the word “tea” in various languages, all derive from ancient Chinese dialects.