Abstract: This article summarized the major producing area and five selling pathway of brick tea. It is the first time in trying to intergrate our familiar Tea-Horse Road and Tea Route into the concept of “brick road”. The paper regarded the special status of brick tea in the northern ethnic minority areas is established by these factors such as the biological characteristics of brick tea itself, the economic and cultural characteristics and so on. The paper highlighted that brick tea possesses significant social functions. Around the production, long-distance transport and marketing of the brick tea, national association between the mainland and the northwest minority areas formed for thousands of years, producing the famous “Tea-horse Trade” economy and “Frontier tea” politics, creating the reputation abroad of the “Tea-Horse Route” and “Tea Route” culture. What's more, the brick tea also played a fundamental role in the formation of the northwest ethnic relations, town, political governance and brick tea culture.

Key words: brick tea, brick route, brick tea culture, social function