茶马古道是我国历史上内地农业地区和边疆游牧业地区进行茶马贸易所形成的古代交通路线，分青藏线（唐蕃古道）、滇藏线和川藏线，。茶马古道存在于中国西南地区，是以马帮为主要交通工具的民间国际商贸通道。滇藏茶马古道。

大约形成于公元六世纪后期，历经汉、晋、隋、唐、宋、元、明、清，是中国历史上最为著名的西部国际贸易古通道之一。它南起云南茶叶主产区西双版纳易武、普洱市，中间经过今天的大理白族自治州和丽江市、香格里拉进入西藏，直达拉萨。有的还从西藏转口印度、尼泊尔，是古代中国与南亚地区一条重要的贸易通道。

The Tea Horse Road is an ancient trade route that came into being from the tea trade via horses from the tropical areas of southern Yunnan to the snow-covered plateaus of the Himalayas. When we mention the Tea-Horse Road, we are not talking about one road, but a network of separated trails divided into the Qinghai-Tibet route, the Yunnan-Tibet route and the Sichuan-Tibet route. We will take a deeper look into the Yunnan-Tibet Tea Horse Road.

The Yunnan-Tibet Trail can be sourced back to the late sixth century AD, and it has been one of the most famous ancient channels of international trade with the West in Chinese history, surviving through the Han, Jin, Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. The route starts from Yiwu in Mengla county in Xishuangbanna and Pu'er City, the main tea producing areas in Yunnan, and passes through today's Dali, Lijiang and Shangri-La prefectures, to finally enter Tibet and continue to Lhasa. Some tea also got exported to India and Nepal, which also was a very important trade route between ancient China and the rest of Asia.

因康藏属高寒地区，海拔都在三四千米以上，糌粑、奶类、酥油、牛羊肉是藏民的主食。在高寒地区，需要摄入含热量高的脂肪，但没有蔬菜，糌粑又燥热，过多的脂肪在人体内不易分解，而茶叶既能够分解脂肪，又防止燥热，故藏民在长期的生活中，创造了喝酥油茶的高原生活习惯，但藏区不产茶。而在内地，民间役使和军队征战都需要大量的骡马，但供不应求，而藏区和川、滇边地则产良马。于是，具有互补性的茶和马的交易即“茶马互市”便应运而生。这样，藏区和川、滇边地出产的骡马、毛皮、药材等和川滇及内地出产的茶叶、布匹、盐和日用器皿等等，在横断山区的高山深谷间南来北往，流动不息，并随着社会经济的发展而日趋繁荣，形成一条延续至今的“茶马古道”。

Because Tibet is a high-altitude alpine region, with an average altitude 4,500m, the Tibetan staple foods consist of Zanba (roasted barley bread), dairy, butter, beef and mutton. In alpine regions, people have a high-calorie and fat diet, with little vegetables because it is hard to grow them. Too much fat is not easy to decompose in the human body, but tea can help break down fat, and not only that, but it is also beneficial in hot and dry weather, so Tibetans created the habit of drinking butter tea. The Tibetan environment, however, is not suited to produce tea. On the other hand, in Mainland China, the imperial army required a large number of horses for their battles against northern invaders. But horses, ponies, mules and donkeys were in short supply in China, while the Tibetans bred many good and sturdy equines well fit for China’s wars. As a result, the "tea-horse trade" came into being. And thus, a continuous trade flow developed between the deep valleys of the Hengduan Mountains; of horses, mules, furs and medicinal materials from Tibet, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces and of tea, cloth, salt and daily utensils from Sichuan, Yunnan and the mainland. With the development of social economy, these ancient trade routes have become increasingly prosperous, forming a "Tea-Horse Road" that continues to this day.

这条小道仅有一尺多宽，据说顺着这条古路可以从维西走到德钦，再从德钦进入西藏，然后到达印度。但当时他们不太相信，这条不起眼的小路能通向遥远的印度。

吐蕃和南诏的军队曾在塔村进行过几次大的战争（794年），这就出现了另外一个疑问：这场历史上著名的战争必然会耗费大量的兵力，那些参战的士兵是怎样到达这里的呢？是不是真有一条神秘的古老通道？

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