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Silk Road

Type Object Region China Time c. 1–500

A network of overland trade and transport routes linking East Asia, Central Asia, West Asia, and the Mediterranean world, centered on the exchange of…

Timeline

  1. c. 1–100Hexi Corridor · GansuAfter Zhang Qian's two missions to the Western Regions, the Han established the four Hexi commanderies and built beacon towers and relay stations, forming a fixed trade route from Chang'an through Dunhuang and the Yumen Pass to Central Asia, and large-scale exchange of silk and Western Regions goods began.
  2. c. 100–220Tarim Basin oases · XinjiangBan Chao administered the Western Regions, keeping the southern and northern routes open; city-states such as Loulan, Khotan, and Kashgar became relay points; silk, lacquerware, and iron goods moved west, while grapes, walnuts, and gems entered the Central Plains from the east.
  3. c. 100–300Parthian and Arsacid corridors · IranChinese silk was transshipped to the Roman Empire through intermediaries such as Parthia, and Roman gold coins and glassware occasionally reached China; the Silk Road became a long-distance trade link connecting the two great Eurasian civilization spheres.
  4. c. 300–500Eurasian interior · Central AsiaDuring the Northern and Southern Dynasties, northern regimes maintained envoys and merchant traffic with Western Regions states, and Buddhist art spread east along the Silk Road; maritime trade also grew, but the overland Silk Road remained one of the main arteries of Eurasian exchange in goods and culture.

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