Flourishing of Silk Road Caravan Trade

Timeline

1. 1291–1295Trade routes north and south of the Tianshan · TianshanCaravans set out west from Dadu, Hangzhou, and other cities, passing through the Hexi Corridor into the routes north and south of the Tianshan, and on to Samarkand, Baghdad, and elsewhere; though the khanates were politically divided, their interest in transit trade taxes kept the routes largely open.
2. 1293–1297Dunhuang · DunhuangThe Yuan dynasty maintained a postal relay system in the Hexi Corridor, and the Ilkhanate likewise protected trade routes to the Mediterranean; merchants paid tariffs and used official relay stations, forming institutionalized cross-border circulation.
3. 1298–1300Baghdad · BaghdadChinese silk and porcelain continued to flow in exchange for spices, gems, and horses from Central and West Asia through the end of the century; after the era of Marco Polo, overland caravan trade remained a vital link between East Asia and the Mediterranean world.