Tea Glorious Tea 
The first book on TEA鈥he CHA CHING, was written during the Song Dynasty by author Lu Yu, the Sage of Tea, (around 780 AD.) It was actually comprised of three vast volumes and covered the entire spectrum of tea growing, production and brewing. These extensively illustrated works were adopted by the Royal Court as THE national definitive compendium on the entire spectrum of Tea. After 1200 years, the CHA CHING remains an important reference book and master work on the subject, right up to modern times.
The power and superiority of the more modern Maritime Silk Road lay in the greatly increased speed, safety and economy achieved by transporting merchandise by ship compared with the centuries old, slow and hazardous, overland routes. As China鈥檚 traders realized the huge appetite of world markets鈥 for tea, as well as silk and porcelain鈥 they built impressive fleets of advanced, expertly designed merchant ships and set sail from important and rich east China ports like Quangzhou and Ningbo.
Then in 1405 to 1433, famed Chinese Admiral 鈥淶hang He鈥 made the first of 7 historic trading voyages, navigating his giant commercial fleets to South East Asia, Africa, Arabia and India. But, long, long before the sailing ships鈥orses and camels dominated the slow and perilous commercial land routes west, through China鈥檚 arid and barren Gansu Province to markets in Arabia and even Europe鈥o in very ancient times, the mysterious romance of the Silk Road was born.
Tea has always been a vital part of China鈥檚 economy. Back in the 鈥淕ood Old Days鈥 of the Great Wall it was actually used as money! Black Tea was formed into bricks and carried by traders as the caravans ventured west. At that time, a brick of Black Tea was as precious as gold and as important an international currency as the US Dollar is today.
This tranquil scene of beautiful sand dunes can be quite deceiving. Any time now, drifting sands and blowing sandstorms from the Gobi and Taklamakan Deserts can bury a stalled car or stranded traveler in less than thirty minutes. That鈥檚 why, this has been called 鈥淭he Land of Death,鈥 for as long as anyone can remember! Fact! Eight out of ten travelers who attempt to cross the desert on foot, dye. In Summer time, like today, temperatures climb into the mid 50 degree Celsius range. In winter, the bone chilling, biting cold wind, plunges temperatures down to lows of minus 20.
