Where did the ancient Silk Road start and end?

The ancient Silk Road is an overland commercial corridor connecting the hinterland of China and other parts of Europe, and also the main road for economic, political and cultural exchanges between the East and the West. The following are the starting and ending points of the ancient Silk Road that I have compiled for you. I hope it will help you.

The beginning and end of the ancient Silk Road

The Silk Road was the main traffic artery from ancient China to Western Europe, stretching for1.4000 miles. If you only walk, it will take more than a year to complete a solo trip. The Silk Road played a great role in the economic development, politics and military affairs in ancient China. Where is the beginning and end of such a great Silk Road?

Generally speaking, the starting point of the Silk Road is in Chang 'an. Because Zhang Qian, the first person who opened the Silk Road, was from the Western Han Dynasty, and the capital of the Western Han Dynasty was in Chang 'an at that time, to some extent, we all thought that the starting point of the Silk Road was in Chang 'an. However, in the Eastern Han Dynasty, because the capital of the Eastern Han Dynasty was Luoyang, the starting point of the Silk Road in the Eastern Han Dynasty was Luoyang. Open the map and you can see that Luoyang is in Henan Province and Chang 'an is in Shaanxi Province. If you want to go to the western regions, if you start from Luoyang, you must pass through Shaanxi. Therefore, the starting point of the Silk Road is still determined by the times.

The Silk Road starts from Chang 'an or Luoyang, passes through Hexi Corridor and reaches Dunhuang. Here in Dunhuang, the Silk Road divides into two parts. The South Road passes through Loulan, Khotan, shache and other countries, passes through Qingji and Pamir to Da Yue, rests in peace, and finally reaches Tiaozhi and Daqin. The west road runs from Jiaohe, Qiuci, Shule, through Congling, to Dawan, and then from Xixie to Daqin.

Different from the starting point of the Silk Road, the Silk Road focuses on Daqin. But make no mistake, this Qin is not another Qin. Qin empire was not founded by Qin Shihuang. Daqin, which we are talking about here, is the collective name of ancient China for the Roman Empire and the Near East. But in fact, China did not reach Rome in ancient times. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, in 97 AD, Ban Chao led about 7,000 people to the Western Regions and arrived in the Caspian Sea. Ban Chao stopped at the Caspian Sea and let his men Gan Ying continue westward. So Gan Ying went all the way to the west coast of the Mediterranean, facing the Roman Empire across the sea. But at that time, other countries were transit points between China Silk and Rome, from which they monopolized and made huge profits. Therefore, interested countries are worried that the direct opening of the trade route between China and Rome will affect their interests. So Gan Ying was discouraged from exaggerating the legend of homesickness for Gan Ying, so he didn't arrive in Rome directly.

From the beginning and end of the Silk Road, we can see that ancient China crossed the Middle East and went straight to Europe, which was the greatest passage at that time.

Reasons for the Rise and Fall of the Ancient Silk Road

Speaking of the reasons for the rise and fall of the ancient Silk Road, people generally associate it with the political system changes in various historical periods in ancient China. In fact, with the change of dynasties and the change of political conditions, the Silk Road was opened and closed several times in history, and it also experienced great changes for more than two thousand years.

For about 1500 years, from the Han Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, the Silk Road has always served as a bridge for cultural and economic exchanges between Chinese mainland and the western regions, Europe and Asia. Especially in the Western Han Dynasty, the opening of the Silk Road closely linked the four most powerful civilized countries in the world. Since then, China, Guishuang, Rest in Peace and Rome have been interdependent, and economic and trade exchanges have reached unprecedented prosperity. This period is called the smooth period of the Silk Road.

During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, geopolitics in China was divided. Although the Silk Road still plays the role of a channel for international trade and cultural exchange, its political significance has weakened a lot. Therefore, the change of political environment is undoubtedly one of the reasons for the rise and fall of the ancient Silk Road.

In the prosperous Tang Dynasty, the Silk Road flourished again, and its glory once reached its peak, making Chang 'an a prosperous international metropolis that attracted worldwide attention. The prosperity of the Tang Dynasty lasted until the late Tang Dynasty, when the northwest region was controlled by ethnic minorities, and then the Silk Road was blocked again for 400 years. It was not until the rise of Mongolian grassland and the grand entrance of Mongolian Yuan Empire across Europe and Asia that the weather-beaten Silk Road regained its prosperity.

The Ming Dynasty had long-term contacts with western countries. At that time, the western world had entered the eve of the industrial revolution, the navigation industry was highly developed, and the Silk Road no longer assumed the important mission of the past. Therefore, from the perspective of the history of communication between China and the West, the Silk Road at this time has lost its former glory.

An important post station on the ancient Silk Road

When it comes to the important post station of the ancient Silk Road, we have to mention Daliangshan in Sichuan Province. Located among the mountains in southern Sichuan, Daliangshan Mountain starts from Dadu River in the north and borders Jinsha River in the south. It has a very special position in China, because it is not only an important post station of the Southern Silk Road, but also records the glorious historical footprint of the Red Army's 25,000-mile long March.

1980, the film crew who filmed the documentary of the ancient Silk Road made a special trip here, recorded the customs of Daliangshan on the film, and showed the world this mountainous area, which is called an important post station of the Southern Silk Road.

According to the film, Xiaoliangshan is located in the east of Daliangshan, north of Xiaoxiangling, west of Anning Valley and southeast of Jinsha River Valley. Looking down from the edge of the rock, the valley is deep and the broken landform is very obvious.

It is said that Yi people have lived in Daliangshan since ancient times, so the characteristics of minority life are particularly obvious in the folk customs here. The mountains here are about two to three kilometers above sea level, and the highest peak is nearly four kilometers. The mountains are steep, the hills are undulating, and the forest and animal husbandry resources are rich. People who have lived in Daliangshan area for generations have been living by farming and grazing all the year round. Over the years, the ecological environment has been kept relatively good, especially the nature reserve around Dafengding, which is a representative distribution area of giant pandas in China. At present, it has been listed as a national key nature reserve, which has been highly valued by the local government and people.

As an important post station of the Silk Road, Daliangshan has been an important passage to the southwest border of China since ancient times. Its unique cultural customs and beautiful natural landscape deeply infected every tourist who came here for sightseeing.

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