Tang-Dynasty Silk Road Routes

Timeline

1. 701–741Hexi Corridor · Hexi CorridorTang established the Anxi and Beiting protectorates in the Western Regions with connected post roads; Central Asian merchants entered Chang'an via Dunhuang and Liangzhou, Sasanian Persian descendants and Sogdian merchants were active along the Silk Road, and Buddhism, Nestorianism, and Zoroastrianism spread with the merchants.
2. 751–763Talas · KazakhstanAfter the defeat at Talas, Tang garrisons in the Western Regions were reduced, though overland trade did not cease immediately; the outbreak of the An Lushan Rebellion further pulled Hexi troops eastward, and the Tibetan Empire seized the Hexi Corridor, sharply reducing the safety of the main route from Chang'an to the Western Regions.
3. 764–800Eurasian overland transport network · Central AsiaAfter Tibet held the Hexi Corridor, overland routes from Chang'an to the Western Regions largely detoured through the Uyghurs or southern border trade ports; meanwhile maritime trade flourished in Guangzhou and Quanzhi, and though local overland segments persisted in the mid-Tang, the overall focus shifted eastward and split north-south.