Ascending up to the Sho La Pass in northwestern Yunnan in May there would always be a chance of weather issues, but it would still be a surprise when, even at the relatively kind altitudes of 3000 metres, the skies churned and smouldered and our intended pathway became lost amid a late snowfall. A mule and its cargo became lodged in deep snow at the top left, but this moment was entirely about the young 16-year year old Lisu boy and his courage taking charge of our team. He had to take the lead of our mule tea team, meticulously picking his footing so as not to risk the hooves of the mules. He wasn’t a muleteer and he wasn’t used to snow but he relentlessly moved onwards and upwards, wordlessly moving over the deceptive white carpet. He, like so many youth, simply needed the work and he wouldn’t relent. Thirty minutes after this photo we would almost lose Dakpa (top left in orange) in hidden crevasse covered in a fresh snow layer, and our mules would halt, unable to proceed. A blizzard came in reducing sight lines to mere feet and four of us would continue over the pass, while the mules, our gear, and the young Lisu boy would remain waiting for the weather to ease. It wouldn’t. I would never see the young boy again, and wouldn’t see my gear for another week. I would see two of the mules years later on another crossing of the Sho La Pass…in far better weather. It is these largely untapped tales and risks that make the Tea Horse Road such an underrated part of Asian history.
About JeffFuchs
Having lived for a decade in Yunnan, Fuchs’ work has centred on indigenous mountain cultures, oral histories along with an obsessive interest in tea.
Fuchs is the author of 'The Ancient Tea Horse Road' (Viking-Penguin) and he was the subject of 'The Tea Explorer' documentary based on his exploration of the Tea Horse Road.
His photos and stories have appeared on three continents in publications such as Kyoto Journal, TRVL, and Outpost Magazine, as well as The Spanish Expedition Society, The Earth, Silkroad Foundation, The China Post Newspaper, The Toronto Star, The South China Morning Post, and UNESCO amongst others. Various pieces of his work are part of private collections in Europe, North America, and Asia. Fuchs served as Asian Editor at Large for five years at award-winning Outpost magazine.
Jeff has worked with schools and universities, giving talks on both the importance of oral traditions, tea and mountain cultures.
His recently released book ‘The Ancient Tea Horse Road’ (Penguin-Viking Publishers) details his 8-month groundbreaking journey traveling and chronicling one of the world’s great trade routes, The Tea Horse Road. Fuchs is the first westerner to have completed the entire route stretching almost six thousand kilometers through the Himalayas a dozen cultures.
Fuchs partnered with Wild China to create a journey along the Tea Horse Road which National Geographic Traveler called one of the "50 Trips of a Lifetime".
He is co-founder of Akahiao Nature Institute on the island of Hawai'i along with his wife, Julie Rogers.
“Wordlessly” is an apt description of the turmoil inside the young man’s mind!!! When all is futile, there is nothing to say but only to “do”.
And to move forward in little or large steps.
Stay well Terri Ann