The ancient tea-horse road is a trade route between Yunnan, Sichuan and Tibet in ancient times. Because tea from Sichuan and Yunnan is traded with horses and Tibetan medicinal materials and transported by caravans, it is called the ancient tea-horse road. The ancient tea-horse road connects Sichuan, Yunnan and Tibet, extending to Bhutan, Sikkim, Nepal and India, and reaching the red coast of Dacia and West Africa. According to the existing ancient cultural relics and historical documents, as early as the Han and Tang dynasties, this ancient road characterized by caravan carrying tea began to play a role.

The ancient tea-horse road starts from the origin of Yunnan Pu 'er tea (now Xishuangbanna, Simao and other places), passes through Xiaguan (Dali), Lijiang, Zhongdian (now Shangri-La), Diqing and Deqin, reaches Mangkang, Changdu, Bomi and Lhasa in Tibet, and then leaves the country through Zedang and other places in southern Tibet. It is the longest ancient trade route in the world. The total trip is above Wan Li. The ancient tea-horse road is magnificent, but it is a dangerous journey for the caravan that walked on the ancient road that year. The mountains in southwest China are high and the water traffic is dangerous. The mountain road is steep and winding, so it is impossible to drive cars at all. Under such conditions, the caravan has become the only suitable mode of transportation and a unique scenery on the ancient tea-horse road. It can be said that the ancient tea-horse road is a road trampled by manpower and horseshoes. From one valley to another, from one village to another, the caravan has walked out of a road to communicate life all over the country and become a link connecting the southwest. These caravans used to stop to collect goods, but later they became towns. Today, Old Town of Lijiang is the best preserved ancient city on the ancient tea-horse road, and is known as the "living ancient tea-horse town".