The route earned the name Tea-Horse Road because of the common trade of Tibetan ponies for Chinese tea, a practice dating back at least to the Song dynasty, when the sturdy horses were important for China to fight warring nomads in the north.
Ruten fik navnet te-hesteruten på grund af den fælles handel med tibetanske ponyer for kinesisk te, en praksis, der dateres mindst tilbage til Song-dynastiet, da de robuste heste var vigtige for Kina at bekæmpe krigende nomader i nord.