From the route of the ancient tea-horse road, it is not difficult to find that Changdu is an important hub on the ancient tea-horse road. It is not only the only place where Yunnan-Tibet Road and Sichuan-Tibet Road pass, but also the intersection of these two roads. In fact, the ancient tea-horse road was not opened up and utilized until the rise of Sino-Tibetan tea-horse trade in the Tang and Song Dynasties. As early as before the Tang and Song Dynasties, this road from self-defense to Tibet, passing through Linzhi and Changdu, with Changdu as the hub, already existed and flourished, and became a very important channel to connect and communicate ancient cultures of Sichuan, Yunnan and Tibet. It is not only an important channel for the migration and flow of ancient ancestors between Weizang and Sichuan and Yunnan, but also an important channel for the spread and exchange of ancient civilizations in Sichuan, Yunnan and Tibet. From the perspective of archaeology and cultural relics, as far back as 4 ~ 5 thousand years ago, there appeared a large-scale and long-lasting ancient human settlement site like Qamdo Karuo Site. This shows that at least in the late Neolithic period, the ancient culture represented by Karuo culture in Changdu area has been quite prosperous. The reason why Changdu can produce such a developed ancient culture at such a young age is because Changdu is located on an important channel for the exchange and dissemination of ancient civilizations in Sichuan, Yunnan and Tibet. From Karuo culture, we can not only see the factors and characteristics of primitive culture in western Sichuan and northwest Yunnan, but also see some influences of primitive culture such as Majiayao in the upper reaches of the Yellow River. At the same time, we can also find our own characteristics, which shows that Karo culture has strong composite cultural characteristics. It is not an isolated primitive culture, but has extensive contacts and exchanges with the primitive cultures in the surrounding areas. This characteristic of Karuo culture just shows that Changdu area at that time was not only a channel for communication and contact between Wei Zang and primitive culture in western Sichuan and Yunnan, but also an important hub for the spread and gathering of various primitive cultural factors.

In addition, a large number of sarcophagus tombs, commonly known as "sarcophagus burial", have been found in Ganzi and Aba Autonomous Prefecture in western Sichuan Plateau and Hengduan Mountain area in northwest Yunnan. This kind of sarcophagus is densely distributed in the upper reaches of Minjiang River, Yalong River Basin and Jinsha River Basin. Although there are some local differences between western Sichuan and Yunnan, their main features and cultural features tend to be consistent on the whole, and their era lasted from Shang and Zhou Dynasties to the Eastern Han Dynasty. It is worth noting that sarcophagus burial has been found not only in Mangkang, Gongjue and Changdu in Changdu area, but also in Du Pu in Linzhi, Zi Long, Cuona, Naidong and even Renbu and Sakya in Kaze area. Scholars have clearly found that the sarcophagus burials in Tibet are closely related to those in western Sichuan and Yunnan, especially in Changdu and Linzhi, which basically belong to the same cultural system as those in western Sichuan and Yunnan. From the distribution point of view, it is more telling. Western Sichuan and Yunnan are the most popular, concentrated and found areas of sarcophagus burial. At present, most sarcophagus burials found in Tibet are concentrated along the main passages leading to Tibet in the western Sichuan and central Yunnan Plateau. As we know, from the western Sichuan-Yunnan plateau across the Jinsha River, Lancang River and Nujiang River, passing through Changdu-Linzhi-Shannan-Xigaze, this is the main passage from the western Sichuan-Yunnan to Weizang, and it is also the most convenient and easy route. Generally speaking, the road chosen by the ancients was mainly along the river. Most sections of this route are just natural passages formed by rivers. The ancient tea-horse road (along Yunnan-Tibet Highway and Sichuan-Tibet Highway) is along this passage. Therefore, from the burial of the sarcophagus, it can be proved that the route of the ancient tea-horse road with Changdu as the hub has long been an important channel for the original residents of Tibet, Sichuan and Yunnan to communicate with each other. The history of this passage being opened can be traced back to the late Neolithic period or earlier, at least four or five thousand years ago.

Second, the ancient tea-horse road is the highest and most difficult to pass in human history.

Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is the highest altitude and the largest plateau in the world, and it is called "the roof of the world" or "the roof of the earth". Therefore, it is no problem to say that the ancient tea-horse road is the most civilized road in the world. Because it is the highest highway in the world, it almost crosses the whole Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and its traffic difficulty is second to none in the ancient civilization of the world. It is said that the ancient tea-horse road is the most difficult civilized road in the world, which is mainly manifested in the following aspects: First, the Hengduan Mountains on the eastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, where the ancient tea-horse road passes, is the most complex and unique alpine canyon area in the world, so its rugged and difficult passage is also rare in the world. Along the ancient tea-horse road, there are peaks and clouds, free rivers, high mountains and fast rivers. As Mr. Ren Naiqiang said in the Outline of Kangzang History and Geography: "The Kangzang Plateau stands in the middle of Asia, just like a stone on the ground, with nothing around it. Except for the Indus River basin in the west and the Yellow River basin in the northeast, the other six sides are steep and steep. Especially at the junction with Sichuan Basin and Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, except Junban, there are cliffs everywhere and bird paths are turbulent. All kinds of new vehicles are difficult to display here. " According to statistics, it takes about 4,700 miles to reach Lhasa via the Sichuan-Tibet Tea Ceremony. There are 56 stops, 5 1 crossing, 15 ropeway crossing, 10 railway crossing, 78 mountain crossing,1/a mountain with an altitude of more than nine thousands of feet and 27 mountains with an altitude of more than five thousands of feet. I can't get there for three or four months. The Qing Dynasty vividly described the steep and rugged ancient tea-horse road. Jiao's "Tibetan Travel" records: "Skiing on the ice and worshipping the post are like a piece of silver light. Looking down, I was shocked, creepy and dying ... I was sincere all my life and never suffered. " Zhang's "The Latest Examination in the Furnace" records that every time he reads May from the Arrow Furnace to Lhasa, "the difficulty of walking is unprecedented in his life." Du Changding's Journey to Tibet records the Yunnan-Tibet tea ceremony, saying, "Twelve dry roads are Zhongdian Avenue, and the road ends at one foot, connecting twelve floors. When two riders meet, they will first avoid the mountainside ridge and then cross the road. The sky is high and the clouds are light, overlooking the mountains and endless deep ditches ... The only danger is that you have never lived. " The difficulty of the passage of the tea ceremony can be seen. Secondly, it is extremely cold along the ancient tea-horse road, with thin oxygen and unpredictable climate change. The phenomenon of "miasma" and "making people want to die" recorded by Qing people is actually a mountain reaction caused by severe hypoxia. The ancients mistook it for "miasma" because they didn't know it exactly. The climate along the ancient tea-horse road is the so-called "four seasons a day", which can experience heavy snow, hail, scorching sun and strong wind at the same time, and the temperature changes greatly. During the year, the climate change is more intense, and the folk proverb says: "On the second and third days of the second day, the mountains are closed by heavy snow; Four, five, six, tears streaming down her face; 789, take it easy; Ten wintersweet, crawl like a dog. " The difficulty of the journey can be imagined. For thousands of years, tea has been transported to all parts of Tibetan areas in this way. There is a saying among Tibetans that the more tea climbs, the more precious it is, which vividly reflects the difficulty of tea in Tibetan areas. "The History of the Ming Dynasty and the Records of Food Goods" contains: "From Diaomen, Li and Ya, it is at most dry and hidden in Wu, and the tea land is more than 5,000 miles." Such a long and dangerous plateau road makes the ancient tea-horse road the most difficult road in the world.

Third, the ancient tea-horse road is a symbol and link of ethnic relations and national unity between China and Tibet.

China is a multi-ethnic country, so the history of China is also a history of multi-ethnic integration. The ancient tea-horse road witnessed the historical process of the gradual integration of Han, Tibetan and other ethnic groups in southwest China. We know that the characteristics of Han civilization are agriculture and Confucianism; Tibetan civilization is characterized by plateau areas and Tibetan Buddhism, both of which have profound connotations, but there are also some differences. So, what factors make the two closely linked in the process of historical development? Tibetans are a nation that has played an important role in the historical stage of China. Although there are many reasons why Tibetans have become a member of China's multi-ethnic family, it is certain that this ancient tea-horse road connecting Han and Tibet has played a very important role in it. In other words, the economic complementarity and interdependence between Han and Tibet are the important reasons why they are all members of the Chinese nation today. Therefore, the significance of the ancient tea-horse road is obviously not limited to the tea-horse exchange in history. In fact, it is not only an important channel for the exchange and integration of Chinese and Tibetan civilizations in history, but also the main link for the emotional and psychological communication and closeness between the two peoples. Just like the Tibetan heroic epic Gesar said, "The goods of the Han Dynasty were shipped to Bo (Tibetan area), but we don't produce these things here? No, this is just to connect the hearts of the people of Tibet and China. " This is the Tibetan people's most thorough and straightforward understanding of the nature of the ancient tea-horse road and tea-horse trade. Therefore, the ancient tea-horse road is a symbol and link of Sino-Tibetan ethnic relations and national unity, both in history and in reality.

Fourthly, the ancient tea-horse road is the best and most colorful national cultural corridor in western China.

The western Sichuan-Yunnan and eastern Tibet areas where the Ma Ancient Road passes are typical Hengduan mountains in China, and also typical earth fold areas formed by the extrusion of South Asia plate and East Asia plate. The Minjiang River, Dadu River, Yalong River, Jinsha River, Lancang River and Nujiang River pass through here from north to south and from west to east respectively, forming the most unique mountain canyon landform in the world. Due to the barrier of mountains and deep valleys and the inconvenience of foreign exchange, the national culture in this area presents two outstanding characteristics: First, the cultural diversity is extremely prominent. Traveling along the ancient tea-horse road, anyone can deeply feel a phenomenon, that is, with the advance of the car, the architectural style, clothing, customs, spoken language and even religious beliefs of the houses in front of and behind the house are always as changeable as lanterns, which makes you overwhelmed. For this phenomenon, the local proverb has an image summary, which is called "different sounds in five miles, different customs in ten miles". This multicultural feature makes the ancient tea-horse road a charming and colorful national cultural corridor. Second, it has accumulated and retained rich national culture in its original form. Most of the valley areas where the ancient tea-horse road passes are channels for the migration and flow of ancient nationalities, and many ancient ancestors left traces here. There are still many primitive ancient cultural factors accumulated and preserved in local culture, language, religion and customs, and there are also many historical mysteries and clues to solve these historical mysteries. For thousands of years, cultural exchanges and communication have been going on silently and continuously, not only between the Han nationality and Tibet, but also between Tibet and other ethnic minorities in the southwest and even among ethnic groups in Tibet. There are not only conflicts and collisions between national cultures, but also positive interaction, integration and assimilation. In fact, it is this ancient tea-horse road that spans thousands of miles and crosses many different nationalities (or ethnic groups), languages and cultural areas on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It is like a ribbon, connecting them organically, so that they can not only maintain their own characteristics, but also communicate with each other and develop together. Therefore, the ancient tea-horse road is not only a corridor where national cultures converge, but also an attractive area where various national cultures exchange and interact and retain their own inherent characteristics. As Mr. Fei Xiaotong said, this area "contains many historical relics that are still alive and should be a valuable garden of history and language science".