Regions — the tea map of China in scenes
Thirty-two maps of the tea atlas, one scene each: the peoples who really live on that land — or whose caravan routes really crossed it — picking, carrying and drinking tea together. Documented neighbourhood, never an invented contact.
At one stone mortar on the slopes of Fenghuang: a Hakka grinds leicha, a Yao beats oil tea, and a She picker has brought fresh leaf from near Chaozhou.
Zhuang and Yao have bound old-cultivar leaf from the Longji terraces into one bale, and a Gin carrier takes it seaward through Beihai to the Beibu Gulf.
Blang and Jino have picked leaf from the ancient trees of Banna, and a Naxi trader loads a tong of pressed cakes onto the Chama Gudao caravan road toward Lijiang.
A She grower withers fresh leaf on a sieve in the tea gardens of Fu'an, while a Hakka from neighbouring Tingzhou has come for leaf for his leicha.
Bouyei and Gelao have handed over maojian and taicha in a single bale, and a Sui shipper takes the load downriver on the Duliujiang below Sandu.
Three lineages of ground tea around one iron pot in southwest Hunan: Tujia and Miao have brought the leaf, and a Dong pounder works the roasted tea with a pestle.
A Ya'an brick of 边销茶 border tea sets out for the mountains: Qiang and Yi warm their clay jars at the hearth, while a Tibetan stands by the bale, ready to carry it to Kham.
A She grower stands over a sieve of fresh leaf in the 惠明茶 gardens of Jingning county, while a Han buyer keeps a step back, judging the leaf he will carry to the canals.
A tea yard in southern Anhui: the picker has brought in the day's leaf, and the keeper stands by a stone mortar of ground tea, a living remnant of Tang and Song.
A 川-stamped brick from Yangloudong is pressed and bound for the steppe: a Tujia presser stands by the still-warm stack, a Mongol a step off — the 青砖茶 will go into suutei tsai.
A transfer point of the Great Tea Road at Sheqi (赊店): a Han carter has landed a tea chest from the river boat, and a Hui waits a step off to lead the wagons north toward Kyakhta.
Fu brick with golden bloom is pressed at Jingyang: the Hui yard keeper stands by the fresh stack, the Han press hand half a step back — the loads will go on to Gansu and Xinjiang.
Transshipment at Hekou: a Han loader packs Wuyi leaf into a boat chest, while a She carrier brings leaf down from the border hills of Jiangxi.
In the Wuzhishan rainforest, Li and Miao gatherers pick leaf together from wild big-leaf tea trees, each blade as long as a hand.
Trade by a lower Yangtze canal: a Han seller has opened a chest of curled, downy leaf from the lake gardens and meets the buyer's eye.
A Gaoshan gatherer comes home from the community forest with a back-basket heaped with wild mountain tea, stiff sawtooth leaves picked from feral trees.
Port trade at Yantai: a Hui shopkeeper stands by an export chest of pressed tea, while a Han clerk sees the cargo off on the coastal run.
Two customs at one table in Jilin: the Manchu host serves milk tea, and the Korean guest answers with barley boricha.
Xinjiang around an opened bale of brick tea: a Tatar carrier stands by the weighing weight, a Uyghur boils spiced tea in a copper kettle, and a Kazakh holds a bowl of milk tea.
Barter and tea at the Himalayan border: a Lhoba offers a rattan basket, a Monba tips a basket of Motuo leaf, and a Tibetan churns chasuima in a wooden churn.
Tea on the caravan road: a Mongol station keeper ladles out suutei tsai, a Daur courier waits by the kettle, and an Evenki trader has brought a brick from the taiga trade.
Qing-era Beijing around a lacquer tray: a Han shopkeeper scoops out leaf, while the Manchu household serves milk tea in a covered guest cup.
The treaty port of Shanghai: a weigher bends over a matting-wrapped tea chest, while the comprador keeps the tally and looks straight at us — the cargo is bound for the ocean ships.
Chongqing around a hemp-corded bale: a Tujia grower brings fresh leaf from the hill counties, and a Han boatman takes the load down the Yangtze.
A tea-horse yard at Hezhou: a Bonan ferryman has taken the bale from the Linjindu crossing, a Dongxiang muleteer stands ready to load, and a Yugur waits for the brick bound for the Qilian.
The Huanghe near Xunhua: a Salar has brought the fu-brick bale off a skin raft, a Tu agent receives it at Dangar against the tally, and an Amdo Tibetan takes a brick for chasuima.
The eight-treasures tea of Ningxia: a Hui host has laid out the sanpaotai — saucer, bowl and lid — with the dry treasures on a brass tray while the tea steeps.
Kalgan on the Kyakhta road: a Han carter has brought the tea chest this far, and a Mongol caravaneer takes it onto the camel leg toward Kyakhta.
The counting house of the Shanxi Jin merchants: silver is tallied and a wagon train fitted out, while a Mongol guide hires on for the steppe leg of the road.
Naizicha in a banner village near Shenyang: the Manchu household serves milk tea, and their Sibe neighbour drinks it by the same custom.
The trading post of Sanxing (三姓) on the lower Sungari: a Daur courier hands a bale of brick tea to the river run, a Hezhe takes the load, and an Oroqen comes for the taiga barter.
A Russian tea firm's warehouse in the port of Tianjin: a Han weigher checks brick tea off the river boats, while a Russian clerk keeps the ledger before the steamers load.