A Gold Token and the Tea-Horse Trade in a Beijing Exhibition

A gold token appeared among the objects in Beijing’s 2026 exhibition “Highland Silk Road: Light of Qutan.” The exhibition account described it as a state-backed credential for Ming tea-horse trade. An object small enough to fit in a gallery case thus pointed toward a much larger system of official authority and exchange.

The gold surface gives the credential a visible form. Its label identifies its role in Ming tea-horse trade, while its placement in the exhibition connects this administrative object to the wider story of goods moving along Qinghai routes.

The exhibition assembled 84 sets of artifacts and interpretive displays. Its objects included a Neolithic dance-pattern pottery basin, a Yongle-period gilded bronze Guanyin and a Tang-dynasty gold chain inlaid with turquoise. Pottery, religious sculpture, ornaments and a trade credential brought different forms of contact into the same exhibition.

The gold token added an administrative dimension to that collection. Beside painted and sculpted images, it represented a system in which exchange required recognizable credentials. The exhibition connected these distinct objects through Qinghai’s long history of routes, patronage and trade.