Overland Silk Road

Timeline

1. c. -200–1400Chang'an–Dunhuang–Samarkand · SamarkandFrom Zhang Qian's missions to the Western Regions in the Han dynasty, overland routes ran through the Hexi Corridor and along the northern and southern rims of the Taklamakan to Central Asian oasis cities, then branched toward Persia, Syria, and the Mediterranean; they peaked under the Tang and Song, and relay stations and caravan systems were still maintained through the Yuan-Ming transition.
2. 1400–1520Hami · HamiIn the early Ming, a guard was established at Hami as the eastern gateway for states of the Western Regions to offer tribute and trade; envoys and caravans from Central Asian states passed through here into the Hexi Corridor and on to the capital, where overland trade and the tributary system intersected.
3. 1521–1530Jiayuguan–Kashgar · Silk RoadIn the 1520s Mongol forces under Altan and others disturbed the north and Hami Guard's position weakened, but caravans via Jiayuguan, Dunhuang, and Kashgar still carried silk, porcelain, and tea in exchange for horses, jade, and Central Asian goods; meanwhile rising maritime spice routes gradually gave sea transport the edge over land for valuable goods, though northwestern frontier trade was never fully interrupted.