For thousands of years, only humans and horses treaded the mountains of Southwest China as they followed an ancient pathway through the Chinese hinterlands and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
Along the unpaved and rugged pathway that was formed, commodities like tea, salt and sugar flowed into Tibet. Meanwhile, horses, cows, furs, musk and other local products made their way to the outside world. The road was called the tea-horse ancient road, and it stretched across more than 4,000 kilometers, mainly through Southwest China's Sichuan and Yunnan provinces and the Tibetan Autonomous Region.
Along the ancient road lived more than 20 minorities.Concentrations of beautiful and mysterious natural landscapes and traditional cultures developed in various sites, including Dali old city, Lijiang old city, Shangrila,Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon, Potala Palace. The road features temples, rock paintings, post houses, ancient bridges and plank roads. It is also home to many national minorities and their dances and folk customs.
Tens of thousands of traveling horses and yaks created a definite pathway with their hooves on the once-indiscernible road. Today, although even such traces of the ancient road are fading away, its cultural and historic values remain.
No matter what is happening in the world, three types of things in the tea-horse ancient road will continue to exist:the beautiful and rustic nature scene, inviolable religion and simple Tibetan people.
This ancient road features the imposing scenery and a soul-stirring quiet. Sometimes, things seem static and the surrounding mountains stand silent. There is a kind of beauty in the desolation that may easily lead people to believe they are experienced a prehistoric place when they visit.
参考中文译文
几千年来，在中国内地与青藏高原的群山之间，只有人类和他们的马匹循着这条古道穿梭于西南部的群山峻岭之间。
顺着这条行人走出来的崎岖不平的道路，一些商品像茶叶、盐和糖进入到了西藏。与此同时，马、牛、皮毛、麝香等当地产品也走向了外面的世界。这条道被称为“茶马古道”，绵延纵横4，000多公里，主要途径中国西南部的四川省和云南省，以及西藏自治区。
这条古道两边，生活着20多个少数民族。不同的地方有着各自美丽而神奇的自然风光和传统文化，比如：大理和丽江古城，香格里拉，雅鲁藏布江大峡谷和布达拉宫。古道的两旁有庙宇、岩石壁画、驿站、古桥和木板路，还有少数民族舞蹈和民族服装。
成千上万匹马和牦牛用它们的蹄子走出了一条清晰可见的道路，时至今天，虽然这条古道的踪迹已渐渐消失，但它的文化和历史价值仍然存在。
不管这个世界会发生什么变化，但是这条茶马古道的三样东西却会依然存在：美丽原始的自然风景，神圣的宗教，和淳朴的藏族人民。
茶马古道风景迷人，幽静僻远。有时，万物皆静，四面的群山寂静无语，这种荒凉寂静之美很容易把游人带进一个空灵的远古地带。