Xuanzang went to Tianzhu to learn from the scriptures. Why did he go to the west? The west is full of deserts, snow-capped mountains and thieves. Why not take the south road?

This question should be answered in combination with the historical environment at that time ~ ~

I don't know if you know that Xuanzang actually smuggled (that is, crossed the border) to Tianzhu. At that time, the Tang government blocked the border and forbidden to leave the Tang territory without permission, while Xuanzang was just a nobody at that time, and it was impossible to get permission. So Xuanzang chose to go west, because as you said, the west basically belongs to human beings and it is difficult to survive. There were only a few outposts in the Tang Dynasty, and Xuanzang crossed the desert westward! Therefore, there is no possibility of being caught crossing the border (if Xuanzang moves from the south to Tianzhu, the south will be very prosperous ~ ~ and if you are found to cross the border and catch you back directly, even if you go to India, with the strength of the Tang Dynasty, India will not desperately shelter Xuanzang, a poor monk who has nothing to do with strength. As for Vietnam and Myanmar ~ ~ ~ Look at Xuanzang. . . These two countries did not exist at that time. You can see the Tang Priest stamping his feet here and there on the Journey to the West. In fact, they are all ethnic minorities in the Tang Dynasty. So I guess the reason why Xuanzang went west was to avoid the pervasive surveillance brought by the prosperity of the south. It's easy to get caught from the south ~ ~