The Silk Road in China

The traditional Silk Road starts from Chang 'an, the ancient capital of China, passes through Central Asian countries, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Syria, reaches the Mediterranean Sea, and ends in Rome, with a total length of 6,440 kilometers.

This road is considered to be the intersection of ancient eastern and western civilizations connecting Asia and Europe, and silk is the most representative commodity. For thousands of years, nomads or tribes, businessmen, Christians, diplomats, soldiers and academic researchers have been moving around along the Silk Road.

With the development of the times, the Silk Road has become the general name of all political, economic and cultural exchanges between ancient China and the West. There is the "Northwest Silk Road", and Zhang Qian in the Western Han Dynasty opened the official passage of the western regions; There is the "Prairie Silk Road" that goes north to the Mongolian Plateau, then west to the northern foot of Tianshan Mountain and enters Central Asia.

There is a rugged "Southwest Silk Road", from Chang 'an to Chengdu, and then to India. There is also a maritime trade "Maritime Silk Road" from coastal cities such as Guangzhou, Quanzhou, Hangzhou and Yangzhou, from Nanyang to the Arabian Sea, and even as far as the east coast of Africa.

Extended data:

Maritime Silk Road:

It covers a wide range, including Central Asia, South Asia, West Asia and Europe. In history, there are many countries, complex ethnic relations and frequent changes in routes, which can be roughly divided into three roads: south, middle and north:

1, the westbound South Road starts from Congling, crosses Kush Mountain to Kabul, and then divides into two roads, all the way westbound to Herat, joins the middle road from Cheng Lang, then westbound via Baghdad and Damascus, reaches Sidon or Beirut in the eastern Mediterranean, and then turns to Rome by sea; The other line goes south from Peshawar to South Asia.

2. The Middle Road (Hanbei Road) runs through the Green Ridge in the northwest of Langcheng, one with the South Island Society, and the other with Tehran and the South Island Society.

Beixin Road is also divided into two branches. After passing (now Fergana), Kang (now Samarkand) and An (now Bukhara), we went west to Mulu and Zhongdao Society. After crossing the Ross River, follow the Syr Darya River to the northwest, bypass the Aral Sea and the northern shore of the Caspian Sea, reach Tana on the east coast of the Azov Sea, turn to Kerch by waterway, and reach Constantinople.

The Maritime Silk Road originated in Qin and Han Dynasties, flourished in Sui and Tang Dynasties, flourished in Song and Yuan Dynasties, reached its peak in the early Ming Dynasty, and declined in the middle of Ming Dynasty due to the maritime ban. The important starting points of the Maritime Silk Road are Quanzhou, Panyu (now Guangzhou), Mingzhou (now Ningbo), Yangzhou, Dengzhou (now Penglai) and Liujiagang.

There may be two or more starting points of the Maritime Silk Road in the same dynasty. The biggest ports are Guangzhou and Quanzhou. From Qin and Han Dynasties to Tang and Song Dynasties, Guangzhou was the largest commercial port in China. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the sea ban was implemented, and Guangzhou became the only port open to the outside world in China. Quanzhou originated in the Tang Dynasty and became the largest port in the East 1 during the Song and Yuan Dynasties.

References:

Baidu Encyclopedia-Silk Road