THE TEA ROAD: FROM CHINA TO UZBEKISTAN (7-15TH CENTURIES)

Abstract

Five thousand years ago, the first tea was made in China. Only from the beginning of the Middle Ages people of neighboring countries of China recognized tea and until the Tang Dynasty, tea drinking was not widespread. Beginning of the 7th century tea brought Central Asia with the Tea Road. From this period he stretched from China to India. At the centre of this path was Central Asia, the ancient cities of Uzbekistan namely after Samarkand, Bukhara, Tashkent and the Ferghana Valley. It was the northeastern Tea Road that connected China with Central Asia and was much more ancient than other directions of this route.
 In the 7-15th centuries The Tea Road developed in different historical periods. During the Tang Dynasty in China, Sogdian merchants brought tea to Central Asia. During the Song Dynasty, it was traded by Central Asian merchants and opened their tea shops in China. The Samanid rulers were the patrons of the tea trade. Under the Ming and Timuridsempire, an intensive ambassadorial-diplomatic relationship between China and Central Asia was strengthened. During this period, among the various goods, the main article of Chinese exports was tea, which was exchanged for thoroughbred horses brought from Central Asia.
 Since the time of the Tang Dynasty, bilateral trade has been established with Central Asia, and as part of the Tea Road, there were several main and a number of experimental routes along which tea went to Central Asia. In these paths, there were customs points - cities that played an important role in China's trade and economic ties with Central Asia.
 Today, tea is considered a favourite drink of the peoples of Central Asia, including Uzbekistan. Green tea is imported to Uzbekistan from China and it has become a national drink for the people of Uzbekistan.