Silk Road Map

The Silk Road was an ancient trade routes that connected the East and west, it was central to the cultural interaction between the regions for many centuries. The Silk Road refers to the both the terrestrial and the maritime routes connecting East Asia and Southeast Asia with East Africa, West Asia and Europe.

The Silk Road derives its name from the lucrative trade in silk carried out along its length, beginning in the Han dynasty (207 BCE–220 CE). The Han dynasty expanded the Central Asian section of the trade routes around 114 BCE through the missions and explorations of the Chinese imperial envoy Zhang Qian.

His mission was originally intended to carry out the strategic intention of the Han Emperor Wudi to unite Darouzhi to fight against Huns. However, Zhang Qian’s journey had promoted a great variety of economic and cultural exchanges between Han Dynasty and the Western Regions. Because silk has become the dominate product traded from China, this great trade route later became known as the Silk Road or Silk Route.