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The Ancient Tea-horse Road

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The fact that few of traces of the Tea-horse Road exist in Luding today can never deny the town’s role as an important post on that road.

Caravans from Ya'an loaded with heavily tea arduously tramped over the steep and dangerous Erlangshan Mountain to reach Luding onward to Tibet. The fact that the Tea-horse Road was renowned as the most dangerous road in this planet is fully evidenced by this small part.    

The passing caravans have disappeared and comedies and tragedies on this well-known road gradually wiped out from people's mind. Today, Luding is a very small and bustling town which is  a major connection point between Chengdu, Leshan and western Sichuan.

A Famous Battle on Luding Bridge

Luding is well-known in China as the site of what is often regarded as the most glorious moment of Long March which took place on the Luding Bridge. Luding Bridge is astride on the Dadu River and is a must point on the Sichuan-Tibet passage. On 29 May 1935 the Red Army led by Maozedong who later became the chairman of the People's Republic Of China arrived at the bridge only to find the Kuomintang who were waiting to beat them at the other side had removed the planks from the bridge and had it covered by firepower. In response to the Kuomintang's cruelty, 20 brave red armies crossed the bridge hand-over-hand armed with grenades and then defeated the Kuomintang army. This is a very famous chapter of the Red Army's difficult Long March, which has been included in textbook for primary schools.