A lost tradition is revived

As an institution, Dechang county's horse caravans stretch back to the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220).

The location was then a communications hub on the Southern Silk Road, linking present-day Sichuan with India through Tibet.

Driving horse caravans was a major source of employment in the area until the tradition began to fizzle out in the 1980s, following the opening of the Chengdu-Kunming Railway and the completion of the No 108 Highway, linking Beijing and Kunming.