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Paul Salopek

Looking for shortcuts through the lush hills of western Sichuan, China, Paul Salopek's walking party gets lost in forests that have gobbled ancient footpaths.

Paul Salopek's walking partner Luo Xin (left), a historian, chats with Li Hong Bin in Qinglian, where he composes poetry and practices calligraphy.

Zheng Jia Shu, a lifelong tea picker, concentrates on plucking only the tenderest new leaves for high-quality brews.

Veteran tea picker Yang Shou Yin prays at Wu De Temple, high on a hill inside a tea plantation.

Yu Chengzhang divides his days among practicing martial arts, writing poetry, and picking tea.

Wu De Temple, dating from the Ming Dynasty, offers shelter to several aging tea pickers and a martial artist.

Then and now: Li Jin Hua, a cultural guide, shows off the interior of Joseph Rock’s house, preserved as a museum in a village on the outskirts of Lijiang, in Yunnan.

Sustainability expert Angela Yanfang Cun, a member of the ethnic Naxi minority, helps local communities protect Tea Horse Road landscapes from increasing impacts of tourism.

As a boy, Wang Chengsheng drove yak trains along Tea Horse Road pathways in southwestern Sichuan—until paved highways killed the trade in the 1970s. “People got excited when the caravans arrived,” Wang recalls. “They brought many good things.”