ABSTRACT
For many past centuries, the Shan-Dai territories have been crossed by communication routes allowing low- and high-tide flows of pilgrims, diplomats, and the most valuable goods to move. This chapter in detail studies events in the late 19th century when British and Qing imperial forces sought to gain control of the movements and value of these flows. The effects of the Panthay Revolt in Yunnan together with a diminished Burmese kingdom resulted in unexpected opportunities for a British expedition to make their first journey ever between Bhamo in northern Burma and Momein (today: Tengchong) in Yunnan in 1868. By using the documentation generated by this expedition, this study traces a complex social web of relations that travellers on these routes had to negotiate.
