1. Tea Smuggling & the “Flying Cash” System

• Tea bricks were used as currency along the Silk Road.

• Merchants developed “feiqian” (飞钱), an early banking system, to avoid carrying heavy tea.

• Pirates & Bandits: Caravans were often attacked for their tea cargo.

2. The Great British Tea Heist

• Robert Fortune, a British botanist, disguised himself as a Chinese merchant in 1848 to steal tea plants & secrets from Fujian.

• This led to India’s tea industry, destroying China’s monopoly.

• Fun Fact: The stolen tea plants were planted in Darjeeling & Assam, now world-famous regions.

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3. The Opium Wars & the Fall of the Tea Empire

• Britain’s tea addiction led to opium trafficking to pay for it.

• China’s ban on opium triggered the Opium Wars, forcing unfair treaties.

• Result: Hong Kong was ceded to Britain, and tea production spread globally.

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