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Ming Silk Road Trade Routes

Type Object Region East Asia Time 1368–1644

Ming Silk Road routes covering overland Western Regions–steppe tributary roads and the southeastern maritime Silk Road, with mid-16th-century sea tra…

Timeline

  1. 1368–1435Gansu–Hami · NorthwestIn the early Ming, passes were set up in the Hexi region to manage travel of Western Regions states through tributary trade; Hami Guard served as the land gateway, with silk, horses, jade, and other goods circulating within an officially permitted framework.
  2. 1440–1540Ili Bali–Turpan · XinjiangIn the mid-Ming, relations were made friendly with Mongol Altan Khan and other tribes, steppe trade revived, and Western Regions cities exchanged cloth, livestock, and furs with the Central Plains through embassies and border markets, the land route continuing through intervals of war.
  3. 1551–1560Guangzhou–Malacca–Indian Ocean · Indian OceanAfter the Portuguese occupied Malacca, Chinese silk and porcelain shipped from ports such as Yuegang and Guangzhou were transshipped via Malacca to India, Persia, and Europe; maritime trade volume grew markedly in the 1550s, complementing the land route.
  4. 1567–1644Yuegang, Zhangzhou · FujianIn Longqing 1, Yuegang was opened to private overseas trade; with the maritime ban relaxed, merchant ships sailed to Japan and Southeast Asia, silk and porcelain exports scaled up, and the Ming maritime Silk Road entered a new privately led phase.

Sources