Ancient Tea Horse Road - Sui and Tang Dynasty Stone Carvings on Puto Mountain

Ancient Tea Horse Road - Sui and Tang Dynasty Stone Carvings on Puto Mountain

The inscriptions of the Sui and Tang Dynasty stone carvings on Puto Mountain are located on the cliff beside the ancient plank road of Puto Mountain, 2.5 kilometers west of Zaguangnao Town.

There are two stone inscriptions in total: the one on the right is the "Passage Record" from the ninth year of the Kaihuang era of the Sui Dynasty (589 AD), and the one on the left is a war-related inscription from the fifteenth year of the Kaiyuan era of the Tang Dynasty (727 AD). The Sui Dynasty "Passage Record" describes how, since Jiang Wei of the Three Kingdoms period first constructed the Puto Mountain plank road, the passage had fallen into disrepair over the centuries due to neglect. The governor of Huizhou, Xuda, then sent people to renovate the old road. The opening lines read: “Since the Shu chancellor Jiang Wei once traveled this way, for over three hundred years it has not been maintained. The mountains are overgrown with pine and grass, the riverbanks are eroded and muddy, monkeys fear the steep cliffs, birds lament the treacherous terrain, and both officials and commoners traveling back and forth must take the mountain paths, leaving people exhausted and birds weary, their strength completely drained.” The inscription covers an area of 80×50 cm. The "Passage Record" is the longest transportation-related inscription in China’s ethnic regions. The Tang Dynasty inscription records a major battle between the Tang and Tibetan forces in the fifteenth year of the Kaiyuan era. In mid-September, Tibetan troops attacked Weizhou (present-day Weiguan in Li County) of the Tang Dynasty but were defeated by the Tang garrison commander of Weizhou. The inscription is located 1 meter below the ground surface, covering an area of 50×60 square cm.

Protected area: Extending 5 meters outward in all directions from the center of the stone carvings.

Construction control zone: Extending 10 meters outward from the protected area.

Zaguangnao Town: A town under the jurisdiction of Li County and the county seat. Established as Zaguangnao Town in 1952, and in 1992, it incorporated Nongjiale Township. Located in the southeastern part of the county, 1.3 kilometers from the county seat, it covers an area of 197.5 square kilometers with a population of 10,000. National Highway 317 passes through the town. It administers seven village committees: Xinglong, Yingpanjie, Manaozhai, Kecunzhai, Ridizhai, Guantian, and Dasai’ergou, as well as two neighborhood committees: Xinjie and Laojie. The town’s township enterprises are mainly engaged in commerce, transportation, silica mining, brewing, and hydropower. Silica iron ore is exported to markets in Japan, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and elsewhere. The main agricultural products include wheat, corn, potatoes, ... More details about Zaguangnao Town++