94 A NATURALIST IN WESTERN CHINA 



product so far as the fourth quahty is concerned, but the first 

 quahty, prepared at Yachou, is really very good tea. I was 

 surprised at the care and attention bestowed on its manu- 

 facture, the processes being as follows : After the leaves had 

 been sorted and graded they were steamed in a cloth suspended 

 over a boiler. The steamed mass was then put into collapsible 

 moulds, together with a little of the dust from smashed sticks 

 and leaves which had been treated with glutinous rice-water 

 to make it cohere, and then the whole was submitted to great 

 pressure. When the mould was removed the tea was in the 

 form of bricks (Chuan), each measuring ii inches by 4 inches 

 and weighing 6 English pounds. After being dried for three 

 days, these bricks are wrapped in paper on which the maker's 

 trade-mark is stamped, a patch of gold-leaf of minute pro- 

 portions or a plain piece of red paper to denote the quality 

 being also enclosed. Four of the bricks are then placed end 

 to end in a plaited bamboo-cylinder, and after this has been 

 fastened at the ends the tea is ready for transit. These 

 bamboo-cylinders, when filled with tea, are called " Pao " ; they 

 weigh 25 lbs. and measure about 4 feet in length. They are 

 carried on the backs of coolies to the town of Tachienlu, where 

 they pass into the hands of Thibetans. The bricks of the 

 finer quality teas and those intended for the interior of Thibet 

 and distant Lhassa, are removed from the bamboo-cylinders 

 and repacked, 12 together, in raw yak-hides, with the hair 

 inside and the free edges neatly sewn together. The inferior 

 quality teas are largely consumed in eastern Thibet and 

 are not repacked. From Tachienlu the packages are carried 

 on the backs of yak and mules to their destination. 



The " Pao " packed in Yachou city always weigh 18 catties ^ 

 (24 lbs. English), but in other places they vary according to 

 quality, being either 12, 13, 14, 15, or 16 catties, each town 

 having its own particular weight for the different qualities. 

 Tea from Yachou city and Yungching Hsien follow the main 

 road ; that from Mingshan and T'iench'uan a by-road. 

 Both routes converge at the town of Luting chiao, and there 

 pay toll on crossing the river. Either route is terribly difficult, 

 and one marvels how such loads can be carried by men over 



^ Catty =1 J English pounds. 



