Silk Road History and Tours

The Silk Road is about 7,000km long, starting from ancient Chang’an City (today’s Xi’an, China) to Persia (today’s Greece) and other areas around the Mediterranean. In Chinese Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), Emperor Wu was anxious to forge an alliance with the people of the Great Yue-chi of central Asia to offer common resistance to the Xiongnu (the Huns), Emperor Wu sent his general, Zhang Qian to the western region as an envoy but unfortunately was captured and it took ten years before he returned. Tales of heavenly horses and other discoveries interested the emperor and more expeditions were sent out, thus opening a direct line of communication between the interior of China and central Asia.

Later, the Han Dynasty began to exploit the western regions devoting huge resources of manpower and materials. The military strength and administrative organization of the Han dynasty allowed for the opening of an official post road along the southern and northern fringes of the Taklimakan desert. The road was extended beyond the Pamirs and connected up with existing roads in central, western and southern Asia. Chinese silk was shipped continuously to the West along these roads, while products from central and western Asia began to reach the Chinese interior in large quantities.

The flourish of Silk route not only had brought the precious price "silk" from China to West also established many other trades. Eastbound caravans brought gold, precious metals and stones, ivory, coral, spices, tea, paper, textiles, and chinaware, while westbound caravans transported furs, ceramics, incense, cinnamon bark and rhubarb as well as bronze weapons. Of course, besides the exchanges of merchandises, an abundance of cultural, religious, and philosophical ideas had gotten the chance to explore their way to other areas.

As time went by, the Silk Road was expanded and prolonged far to the far West, Roman Empire, with the increasing demands of material and culture exchanges. This well development of the network of the Silk Road is the precious wonder of mankind in our history. It enabled people in the past to interact with each other that results in the exchanges of culture, religion, technology, skills of art and so on. Because this great interactivities happened along the Silk Road, now today's' archaeologists and art historians will be able to excavate the properties in the influences of the multicultural under the ground to work together in order to reveal the true stories in the past.

Nowadays, Silk Road travel http://www.china-tour.cn/Silk-Road-Tours/ shows great appeal for adventurer, archeologists and culture learners to have a close look of the heritage and art along the Silk Road in the past. Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Gansu Province, China have been well-known to the outside world and a must-see along this route. Urumqi, Kashagar and Turpan are the main stops to touch the historical sites and present local life on such trips. Among the numerous China Tours http://www.china-tour.cn, the trip of Beijing – Urumqi – Karshagar – Turpan – Dunhuang – Lanzhou – Xian is the most popular for a Silk Road.