Ancient Tea Horse Road – Site of the Qing Dynasty Gongxing Tea House

Ancient Tea Horse Road – Site of the Qing Dynasty Gongxing Tea House

The site of the Qing Dynasty Gongxing Tea House is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The site of the Gongxing Tea House is located at No. 187, Minzhu Road, Yandao Town, Yingjing County, Ya’an City. It sits at an elevation of 765.7 meters, with longitude 102°50'28.3" and latitude 29°47'39.8". The building covers a construction area of 1,025 square meters and a land area of 2,026 square meters. It is enclosed in a traditional quadrangle courtyard layout with three courtyards. The first and second courtyards were built in the late Ming Dynasty, while the third courtyard and the side courtyard were constructed in the early Qing Dynasty. The Jiang family of Yingjing has a long history of tea production. In the mid-Ming Dynasty, after relocating from Leshan’s Hongya to Yingjing, they traded tea with Kham and Tibet under the brands “Huaxing Hao” and “Gongxing Hao” (later renamed “Yuxing Hao,” meaning “prosper the nation and prosper the family”), creating the renowned “Ren Zhen Du Ji” brand in Kham and Tibet. The Gongxing Tea House also became the main production base for Yuxing Hao’s border tea. The courtyard’s central open space served as a tea drying area, while the surrounding rooms were used for tea processing steps including stepping on tea, piling, drying, sorting, brewing, and packaging (tying up). Finished teas were stored in dedicated warehouses. The tea produced enjoyed a high reputation across Tibet and the broader Tibetan regions.

The Jiang family compound consists of three courtyards with wooden structures, five bays in width and three bays in depth. Along the central axis, there are symmetrically arranged three-courtyard blocks on both sides. The front part of the overall architecture dates to the late Ming Dynasty, while the latter part is from the early Qing Dynasty. The entire structure is rectangular. The doors and windows are carved with theatrical figures and stories, including floral and animal patterns, all covered with gold foil. The carving work is exquisitely detailed, with accurate and vivid shapes.

Historical Value

The Yingjing section of the Ancient Tea Horse Road serves as a carrier of rich connotations, both tangible and intangible. It was a trade route and an economic lifeline—whether through tea-for-horse exchanges or barter trade, it connected inland China with the Tibetan region. It was also a path for cultural exchange and dissemination. Goods transported along the ancient road from Yingjing included not only tea, cloth, and daily necessities but also advanced production techniques. From the Tibetan areas came not just medicinal herbs and livestock, but also the desire for harmonious coexistence.

Artistic Value

The site of the Qing Dynasty Gongxing Tea House was built during the Qing Dynasty and remains well-preserved. Its architectural and artistic value is mainly reflected in its doors, windows, roof ridges, column bases, lifted pedestals, and decorative pedestals. The carvings are finely crafted and rich in meaning. Each openwork and relief carving reflects the aspirations and ideals of the house’s owners at the time, showcasing the mindset of a generation of ethnic capitalists in Yingjing, as well as the profound cultural values of loyalty, filial piety, etiquette, prosperity, wealth, longevity, and happiness in Chinese society. This residence provides important physical material for studying the characteristics of Ming Dynasty wooden post-and-lintel architecture, and holds significant cultural relic value.

Protected Area: The boundary extends eastward to residential buildings, southward to Xiaoping Mountain, westward to the Liu Family Compound, and northward to Minzhu Road.

Construction Control Zone: The protected area extends eastward to the school, southward to the irrigation channel, westward 100 meters beyond the Liu Family Compound, and northward 100 meters beyond Minzhu Road.

Yandao Subdistrict: In 2019, Yandao Town, Datianba Township, and Lietai Township were abolished, and Yandao Subdistrict was established. It administers the former administrative regions of Yandao Town, Datianba Township, Lietai Township, Nanluoba Village of the former Fucheng Township, Gucheng Village and Shanghu Village of the former Liuhe Township. The Yandao Subdistrict Office is located at No. 12, Xinmin Shangjie. … Yandao Subdistrict detailed information++