Silk Road Route Map

The Silk Road route map is as follows:

Main routes of the Overland Silk Road

Northern route: Starting from Chang'an (today's Xi'an) in China, passing through Gansu and Xinjiang, passing through Central Asia and Iran, and finally reaching the Mediterranean region. Middle line: Starting from Chang'an in China, passing through Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan and other places, entering the Indian subcontinent, and then passing through Indochina to reach Southeast Asia. Southern route: Starting from Guangzhou or Fujian in China, sailing by sea, passing through the Strait of Malacca, and arriving in Indonesia, the Philippines and other places.

Main routes of the Maritime Silk Road

Persian Gulf-Arabian Sea-Red Sea-Mediterranean Route: sail from the Persian Gulf along the Arabian Sea and Red Sea, and finally reach the Mediterranean region. Bay of Bengal-Strait of Malacca-South China Sea route: From the Bay of Bengal through the Strait of Malacca, enter the South China Sea, pass through the coast of the South China Sea, and reach Southeast Asia.

Branch routes of the Silk Road

There are also some important branch routes of the Silk Road, such as: the middle section: from the west of Yumen Pass and Yangguan to Congling. (Opened in the Han Dynasty) Western section: from Congling to the west through Central Asia and West Asia to Europe. (Opened in the Tang Dynasty) The following are the names of important cities on each section of the Silk Road (ancient place names are in brackets). When choosing routes in the eastern section, the safety and convenience of crossing Liupan Mountain and crossing the Yellow River should be considered.

Introduction to the Silk Road

The Silk Road refers to a series of land and sea trade routes connecting China with Europe, Central Asia, South Asia and the Middle East. It originated during the Han Dynasty of China, has experienced development and changes in many historical periods, and has become an important communication channel between the East and the West.

The Maritime Silk Road was a maritime channel for transportation, trade and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries in ancient times. The road was mainly centered on the South China Sea, so it was also called the South China Sea Silk Road. It was formed in the Qin and Han Dynasties and developed from the Three Kingdoms to the Three Kingdoms period. During the Sui Dynasty, it flourished in the Tang, Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties and is the oldest known sea route.

On June 22, 2014, the eastern section of the Overland Silk Road "Silk Road: Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor Road Network" jointly declared by China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan was successfully declared as a world culture Heritage has become the first project successfully applied for World Heritage status through cross-border cooperation.