Tea Horse Road is a trading network of caravan paths winding through the mountains of Sichuan and Yunnan in Southwest China. From 6th - 20th century, this road carried tea out of the forests of Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces to the faraway lands of Tibet, Nepal, India and Burma, to exchange for horses and other products. 

Since 9th century, tea had been treated as a means of payment, strictly controlled by the government, to only buy horses from Tibet, which ancient China needed to fight against warring nomads, like Mongolians, in the North. Meanwhile, Tibetans needed tea to help them digest fat for living on plateau where teas and vegetables cannot grow.

Year 2017 marks the first ever year of Tea Horse Festival, which is to promote the spirit of hardship with its mystical appeal, to encourage people stepping out of comfort zone, to challenge themselves with unknown difficulties and eventually grow from it. 

The aim is to re-brand Tea Horse Road as an “ Magical Mystery Journey” with encounter of an imaginary Tea Horse beast that represent hardship of this road. The festival intends to change audience perspective of hardship and eventual make them understand that it is actually to help them become better.

Shan-hai Ching, is a Chinese classic text and a compilation of mythic geography and myth. It is the source and origin of the ancient Chinese mythology. The book became like a map to Tea Horse Road, which recorded what people encounter along the journey with both fabulous and accurate description. There were up to 450 gods and deities mentioned. It recorded more than 100 diplomatically related realms, 550 mountains and 300 rivers, along with the geographic and cultural information of the nearby realms. The Classic of Mountains and Seas also recorded up to 277 different animals.

In Shani-hai Ching, one theory believes that the mistranslation caused the strange description of exotic people and animals.

In old days, Chinese ancestors would used ‮٠٢-‬ة‮&‬r‭ ‬(loan characters) to replace ones that meant abstractly and had not invented yet, but shared the same pronunciation. Eventually, the mistranslation endowed a totally different story.

  

 The six symbols each represents a story related to Tea Horse Robber and the original tradition and based on Chinese pictograph. They are tied together with the main identity and serve as an extension into different event brand design.

"There is a beast in between woods, called Tea Horse. It has a horse face and snake body, with two big eyes. Tea Horse would steal teas from tea porters on the road."

  

  

"Ear Tea can float on water, with a mild bitter and sweet taste. It can cool down your body and help with digestion. You will feel more delighted and have more strength, if taking it for a long time. "