About JeffFuchs
Bio
Having lived for most of the past decade in Asia, Fuchs’ work has centered on indigenous mountain cultures, oral histories with an obsessive interest in tea. His photos and stories have appeared on three continents in award-winning publications Kyoto Journal, TRVL, and Outpost Magazine, as well as The Spanish Expedition Society, The Earth, Silkroad Foundation, The China Post Newspaper, The Toronto Star, The South China Morning Post and Traveler amongst others. Various pieces of his work are part of private collections in Europe, North America and Asia and he serves as the Asian Editor at Large for Canada’s award-winning Outpost magazine.
Fuchs is the Wild China Explorer of the Year for 2011 for sustainable exploration of the Himalayan Trade Routes. He recently completed a month long expedition a previously undocumented ancient nomadic salt route at 4,000 metres becoming the first westerner to travel the Tsa’lam ‘salt road’ through Qinghai.
Fuchs has written on indigenous perspectives for UNESCO, and has having consulted for National Geographic. Fuchs is a member of the fabled Explorers Club, which supports sustainable exploration and research.
Jeff has worked with schools and universities, giving talks on both the importance of oral traditions, tea and mountain cultures. He has spoken to the prestigious Spanish Geographic Society in Madrid on culture and trade through the Himalayas and his sold out talk at the Museum of Nature in Canada focused on the enduring importance of oral narratives and the Himalayan trade routes.
His recently released book ‘The Ancient Tea Horse Road’ (Penguin-Viking Publishers) details his 8-month groundbreaking journey traveling and chronicling one of the world’s great trade routes, The Tea Horse Road. Fuchs is the first westerner to have completed the entire route stretching almost six thousand kilometers through the Himalayas a dozen cultures.
He makes his home in ‘Shangrila’, northwestern Yunnan upon the eastern extension of the Himalayan range where tea and mountains abound; and where he leads expeditions the award winning ‘Tea Horse Road Journey’ with Wild China along portions of the Ancient Tea Horse Road.
To keep fueled up for life Fuchs co-founded JalamTeas which keeps him deep in the green while high in the hills.
For more information on Jeff’s expeditions and his recent events click here
A yellow bolt of colour blazes from just outside of the hut. Drying kernels of corn create a carpet of bright yellow. Lean mountain chickens make haste to strut into the shaded areas and a family dog looks to have … Continue reading →
Posted in Explorations, Tea
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Tagged Aini People, ancient tea culture, Ancient tea mountains, Ancient Tea Tree, Bang Po, hani, Hani People, Indigenous tea culture, Jeff Fuchs, Nannuo, Nannuo Mountain, Pa San, Puer tea, Puerh tea, tea exploration, Tea harvesting, tea mountains, tea mountains of yunnan, Yunnan tea, Yunnan tea mountains
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Interview with Jeff Fuchs on EZ in the City
Upcoming talk at Museum of Nature in Ottawa Canada on the importance of trade and Puer in the Himalayas. Thyme and Again EXPOSURE Gallery
Looking at the sky we see fierce white monotones and wind’s power, below in front of us on the earth lies a different story. An avalanche’s disintegrating power has rearranged the land in front of us. A brutal black surge … Continue reading →
Posted in Explorations, Mountains
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Tagged Amdo, Amne Machin, Asia, avalanche, China travel, circumambulation, Expedition, exploration, Himalayan Trade, Himalayas, Jeff Fuchs, kora, Mountain, Nam Chu, Nam River, Nomad, Qinghai, Qinghai travel, sacred mountains of Tibet, Salt Road, tibet travel, tibetan trade route, trekking, Tsalam, Valley, Xiadawu, Xining, Yak
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We are moving higher yet – moving into ‘higher than highlands’ on a sheet of ice that is perhaps 2 km’s wide. It blankets the valley with its wide, white grace giving the landscape a clean and almost clinical … Continue reading →
Posted in Explorations
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Tagged Amdo, Amne Machin Camp, Amne Machin south face, Amne Machin south valley, Aron Mu River, ascend, circumambulation, climb, Mor'do, Nom'sho, okra
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Funnelling into us, the winds arrive coming straight down from the mountains. There is snow too, mere bits of it at first, and the body instinctively draws comfort. Heat in the mountains for me is a hobgoblin that drains and saps me, creating a seething monster. The cold lights up the entire system giving the mind and body new energy and renewed hope. Amne Machin is just beyond. Continue reading →
Posted in Explorations, Mountains
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Tagged altitude, Amdo, Amne Machin, ancient nomadic salt road, buddhism, caterpillar fungus, China travel, circumambulation, Expedition, exploration, Golog, Golok, Himalaya Trade, Himalayan Trade, Himalayas, Jeff Fuchs, Michael Kleinwort, Mountain, mountains, Nomad, nomadic, Nomads, Salt, Salt Road, Salt Route, Tibetan mastiff, Tibetan-Qinghai Plateau, Trade, Trade Route, Traders, tsaka, Tsalam, Wind
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We awake with a shudder to mountain cold and the realization that something has changed overnight regarding our ‘team’. Clear air with a hint of blue in the sky as dawn gives way to day waits…. while by the fire … Continue reading →
Posted in Explorations, Mountains
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Tagged Amdo, Amne Machin, ancient nomadic salt route, buddhism, Caravan, China travel, circumambulation, Darde Lhatso pass, Expedition, exploration, Golog, Golok, Himalayan Trade, Himalayas, Jeff Fuchs, Mountain, Nomad, nomadic hair, Nomads, Qinghai, sacred mountains, sacred mountains of Tibet, sacred snow mountain, Salt, tibet travel, Tibetan, tibetan trade route, Tibetan-Qinghai Plateau, Trek, Tsalam, Yak
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Our two yak stand still in the blowing white snow; around them there is nothing to suggest a specific time-period and looking at their ice-encrusted wool I imagine a time long ago when gas-spewing, noise machines on wheels hadn’t yet … Continue reading →
Posted in Explorations, Mountains
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Tagged Amdo, Amne Machin, ancient salt road, buddhism, China travel, circumambulation, Expedition, Ge Re Monestery, Himalayan Trade, Himalayas, Jeff Fuchs, Nam River, Nomad, Nomads, Qinghai, sacred mountains, sacred mountains of Tibet, sacred snow mountain, Salt, Salt Road, Tibetan mastiff, tibetan trade route, Tibetan-Qinghai Plateau, Tsalam, Yak, Yak Wool
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