Alicia Heyblom

1st hour
10/6/14
Silk Road
The Silk Road is a series of trade routes extending 4,000 miles from China and India to the
Mediterranean Sea. The Silk Road gets its name from the trade of Chinese silk. Beginning in the
Han Dynasty (206 BC to 220 AD) the Silk Road was a significant factor in the development of
civilizations in China. Silk wasnt the only good traded on the Silk Road, Various technologies,
religions, philosophies, silkworms breading, silk spinning, and paper making were included, but
the bubonic plague was also traveled across the Silk Road. The main traders on the Silk Road
included the Chinese, Romans, Persians, Armenians, Indians, and Bactrians. The Silk Road
begins in modern day Xian and reaches Dunhuang where it spreads into three different routes
including the southern route, central route, and the northern route.

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/silk-road/culture.htm