Kyakhta Tea Trade

The Russia-China border trade at Kyakhta that sent Chinese tea overland to Russia by camel and sledge.

Overview

The Treaty of Kyakhta of 1727 fixed the border between the Russian and Qing empires and made the twin settlements of Kyakhta and Maimaicheng the main legal point of exchange. Chinese tea, silk and rhubarb went north, and furs, cloth and leather went south. Tea came from Fujian and later Hubei by river, cart and camel across the Gobi, then by wagon and sledge across Siberia, a journey of many months. Kyakhta merchants became some of the richest in Russia. The trade lost its monopoly in the 1860s, when Russia gained access to Chinese ports, and the Suez Canal and later the Trans-Siberian Railway ended the caravan era.