What is the Silk Road?

The Silk Road refers to the ancient commercial trade route that started in ancient China and connected Asia, Africa and Europe. In terms of transportation methods, it is divided into the land Silk Road and the maritime Silk Road. The Overland Silk Road started from Chang'an, the capital of the Western Han Dynasty (and extended to Luoyang in the Eastern Han Dynasty). The Silk Road was a major road for economic, political, and cultural exchanges between the East and the West. Its original role was to transport silk produced in ancient China. Therefore, when German geographer Ferdinand Freiherr von Richthofen first named it the "Silk Road" in the 1870s, it was widely accepted. On June 18, 2014, the Silk Road "Chang'an" luxury special train tourist line starting from Xi'an began operation. It is expected that in 2015, all Silk Road routes including Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan will also meet tourists.