Michael Yamashita of the National Geographic Magazine will share his images and stories from his newest publication, Shangri-La: Along the Tea Road to Lhasa at the Asia Society on February 21st, 2013 in New York.
His journey starts in Jiuzhaigou (The Valley of Nine Villages), whuch is considered by Chinese photographers as the most photogenic place in China. It was here that Yamashita first heard of the ancient trade route, the Tea-Horse Road. This route was established roughly 4,000 years ago when Chinese merchants began trading tea to Tibetans, in exchange for horses, much in need for China's constant battles against mounted Mongol invaders.
Often mistakenly known as the Southern Silk Road, the Chamagudao has also served as a major channel for cultural exchange between China and Tibet. More recently this region has become plagued by many new environmental challenges such as a booming trade in chongcao, catetpillar fungus, a Chinese medicament much in demand which has lured whole villages to dig destructively through virgin lands.
There'll be a free live webcast of the talk on the 21st of February.
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| Photo © Michael Yamashita-All Rights Reserved |
