Information on the Silk Road

The Silk Road, or simply the Silk Road. It refers to the land passage opened by Zhang Qian in the Western Han Dynasty (202 BC-BC 138), starting from Chang 'an (Jin 'an), passing through Gansu and Xinjiang to Central Asia and West Asia, connecting Mediterranean countries (this road is also called "Northwest Silk Road" to distinguish it from the other two traffic routes named "Silk Road" in the future). Because silk products have the greatest influence on the goods transported from the west, we got this name (and a lot of silk was shipped from China). Its basic trend was set in the Han Dynasty, including three routes: South Road, Middle Road and North Road. The Silk Road is a historically trans-Eurasian trade transportation line, which historically promoted friendly exchanges between Europe, Asia, Africa and China. China is the hometown of silk. In the trade through this route, silk is the most representative commodity exported by China. /kloc-In the second half of the 9th century, German geographer Richthofen called this land transportation route "Silk Road". Since then, historians at home and abroad have agreed with this statement, which is still in use today. After Zhang Qian passed through the western regions, it officially opened the land passage from China to Europe and Africa. This road starts from Chang 'an, the capital of the Western Han Dynasty, passes through the Hexi Corridor, and then divides into two routes: one starts from Yangguan, passes through Shanshan, goes west along the northern foot of Kunlun Mountain, passes through shache, goes west through Qingji, leaves Dayuejia, goes to rest, goes west through the plough (jiān, now Alexandria, Egypt, annexed by the Roman Empire in 30 BC), or enters the body from the south of Da Yue. The other one goes out of Yumenguan, passes through the former Cheshi country, goes west along the southern foot of Tianshan Mountain, goes out of Shule, crosses Qingji in the west, crosses Daguan Bay, and reaches Kangju and Chae Yeon (nomadic in the northwest of Kangju in the Western Han Dynasty, that is, the grassland in the North Caspian Sea, and belongs to Kangju in the Eastern Han Dynasty). The Silk Road in a broad sense refers to the long-distance commercial, trade and cultural exchange routes that have been formed since ancient times and spread all over Eurasia, even including North Africa and East Africa. In addition to the above routes, it also includes the Maritime Silk Road, which was formed in the Southern and Northern Dynasties and played a great role in the late Ming Dynasty, and the Southern Silk Road, which appeared at the same time as the Northwest Silk Road and replaced the Northwest Silk Road as a communication channel on the road at the end of Yuan Dynasty. The word "die Seidenstrasse" originated from China published by German geographer ferdinand von richthofen in 1877, sometimes referred to as the Silk Road for short. Although the Silk Road is the product of the economic and trade development promoted by countries along the route, many people think that Zhang Qian in China has opened a new era of Sino-foreign exchanges twice. And successfully opened the last bead curtain between East and West. Since then, this route has been stepped out of the "national highway", and ambassadors and businessmen from all countries have poured in along the road opened by Zhang Qian. From princes and nobles to beggars and prisoners, they all left footprints on this road. This east-west passage closely links the Central Plains and the Western Regions with Arabia and the Persian Gulf. After centuries of continuous efforts, the Silk Road extended westward to the Mediterranean Sea. Broadly speaking, the eastern section of the Silk Road reached South Korea and Japan, and the western section reached France and the Netherlands. Italy and Egypt can also be reached by sea, becoming the road of friendship for economic and cultural exchanges between Asia, Europe and Africa.

The route of the Silk Road

Generally speaking, the Silk Road can be divided into three sections, and each section can be divided into three routes: North, South and China. Eastern section: from Chang 'an to Yumenguan and Yangguan. The middle section (opened in Han Dynasty): from Yumenguan and Yangguan to Congling. Western section (opened in Han Dynasty): From Congling to the west via Central Asia, West Asia and Europe. The following are the names of important cities in various sections of the Silk Road (ancient place names in brackets). The route selection of the eastern section considers the safety and convenience of crossing Liupan Mountain and the Yellow River. The third line starts from Chang 'an, joins Wuwei and Zhangye, and then goes along Hexi Corridor to Dunhuang. Northern Line: Jingchuan, Guyuan and Jingyuan have the shortest routes to Wuwei, but it is not easy to pass water along the way. South Line: From Fengxiang, Tianshui, Longxi, Linxia, Ledu, Xining to Zhangye, but the road is long. Midline: Jingchuan to Pingliang, Huining, Lanzhou to Wuwei, with moderate distance and supply. Xi 'an (Chang 'an): Xumishan Grottoes, Maijishan Grottoes, Bingling Temple Grottoes Wuwei (Liangzhou) Zhangye (Ganzhou) Jiuquan (Suzhou) Dunhuang (Shazhou): Mogao Grottoes and Yulin Grottoes 10 century, the Northern Song Dynasty government opened a "Qinghai Road" from Tianshui to the western regions, bypassing the territory of Xixia, which became one after the Song Dynasty. The caravan on the Silk Road is located in the middle of Solkuri Basin in Fucheng, Xining, Tianshui. The route of the central region is mainly the western region, which changes with the change of oasis and desert. There are many forks and branches in the middle of the third line, especially the fourth town Anxi (established in 640). South Road (also called Yutian Road): It starts from Yangguan in the east, along the southern edge of Taklimakan Desert, and passes through Ruoqiang (Shanshan), Hotan (Yutian), shache and other places. Jing Congling. Yang Guan Ruoqiang (Shanshan) and Qi Munnia (Jingjue) are one of the 36 Western Regions in the Western Han Dynasty. Hotan (Yutian) Middle Road: It starts from Yumenguan, along the northern edge of Taklimakan Desert, and passes through Lop Nur (Loulan), Turpan (Auto Market, Gaochang), Yanqi (Yuli), Kuqa (Kuqa), Aksu (Gu Mo) and Kashi (Shule) to Fergana Valley (Dawan). Yumenguan Loulan (merged from Shanshan and now belongs to Ruoqiang County, Xinjiang) Turpan (Gaochang): Gaochang Old Town, Yarhar Ancient Town, Baizixi Thousand-Buddha Cave Yanqi (Yuli) Kuche (Qiuci): Qizil Thousand-Buddha Cave, Kumutula Thousand-Buddha Cave Aksu (Gu Mo) Kashi (Shule) North Hami, and the waterway is rich in Hami melon Urumqi. From the jungle west to Europe, it is the western section of the Silk Road, and its north, south and middle lines are connected with the middle line respectively. The route from Caspian Sea to Constantinople was opened in the middle of Tang Dynasty. Northern line: along the Aral Sea, the Caspian Sea and the northern shore of the Black Sea, Itil passes through broken leaves, Virote, astrakhan and other places to Istanbul (Constantinople). Urumqi Almaty (Kazakhstan) dzhambul (Virote, now Kazakhstan) tokmak (Broken Leaf, now Kyrgyzstan) Salai (Russia) Istanbul, Sark (Constantinople, now Turkey) Central Line: Starting from Kashgar, it joins the southern line via Fergana Valley, Samarkand, Bukhara and Mashhad (Iran). Kashgar or Peshawar, Kashgar: Khala Horin Avenue Kabul Bamiyan: The famous Bamiyan Buddha was destroyed by the Taliban in 200 1 year. South Line: Starting from Pamirs, you can enter Pakistan and India from Kashmir, and you can also travel to Europe from Peshawar, Kabul, Mashhad, Baghdad and Damascus. Mashhad (Iran) Sabze Valh Hecatompylos (Fandou and Xie) may be located between Iranda Mugan and Shahrud today. ) Tehran Hamadan Kerman sahan Bakubai (Iraq) Baghdad Abu Hareb Fallujah: Follow the Euphrates River to Aleppo. Ramadi Alipo (Syria) Damascus adana (Turkey) konya Antioch bursa Constantinople (Istanbul) In addition, there are the Southern Silk Road, which mainly communicates with South Asia, and the Maritime Silk Road along the coast.