The Silk Road or Silk Route refers to a historical network of interlinking trade routes across the Afro-

Eurasian landmass that connectedEast, South, and Western Asia with

the Mediterranean and European world, as well as parts of North and East Africa. The land routes were
supplemented by sea routes, which extended from the Red Sea to coastal India, China and Southeast
Asia.

Extending 4,000 miles (6,500 km), the Silk Road gets its name from the lucrative Chinese silk trade along
it, which began during the Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE). The central Asian sections of the trade
routes were expanded around 114 BCE by the Han dynasty,[1]largely through the missions and
explorations of Zhang Qian,[2] but earlier trade routes across the continents already existed.[citation needed]In
the late Middle Ages, transcontinental trade over the land routes of the Silk Road declined as sea trade
increased,.[3] In recent years, both the maritime and overland Silk Routes are again being used, often
closely following the ancient routes.

Trade on the Silk Road was a significant factor in the development of the great civilizations
of China, India, Ancient Egypt, Persia, Arabia, and Ancient Rome, and in several respects helped lay the
foundations for the modern world. Though silk was certainly the major trade item from China, many other
goods were traded, and various technologies, religions and philosophies, as well as the bubonic
plague (the "Black Death"), also traveled along the Silk Routes. Some of the other goods traded included
luxuries such as silk, satin, hemp and other fine fabrics, musk, other perfumes, spices, medicines, jewels,
glassware, and even rhubarb, as well as slaves.[4] China traded silk, teas, and porcelain; while India
traded spices, ivory, textiles, precious stones, and pepper; and the Roman Empire exported gold, silver,
fine glassware, wine, carpets, and jewels. Although the term the Silk Road implies a continuous journey,
very few who traveled the route traversed it from end to end; for the most part, goods were transported by
a series of agents on varying routes and were traded in the bustling markets of the oasis towns.[4] The
main traders during Antiquity were the Indian and Bactrian traders, then from the 5th to the 8th century
CE the Sogdian traders, then afterward the Arab and Persian traders.

As it extends westwards from the ancient commercial centers of China, the overland, intercontinental Silk
Road divides into the northern and southern routes by passing the Taklimakan Desert and Lop Nur.

The northern route started at Chang'an (now called Xi'an), the capital of the ancient Chinese Kingdom,
which, in the Later Han, was moved further east to Luoyang. The route was defined about the 1st century
BCE as Han Wudi put an end to harassment by nomadic tribes. The southern route was mainly a single
route running from China, through the Karakoram, where it persists to modern times as the international
paved road connecting Pakistan and China as the Karakoram Highway. 

History
Hellenistic era
The first major step in opening the Silk Road between the East and the West came with the expansion
of Alexander the Great's empire into Central Asia. In August 329 BCE, at the mouth of the Fergana
Valley inTajikistan he founded the city of Alexandria Eschate or "Alexandria The Furthest".[14] This later
became a major staging point on the northern Silk Route.

Modern day
The last link of a railway route along the Silk Road was completed in 1990, when the railway systems of
China and Kazakhstan connected in Alataw Pass (Alashan Kou). Currently (2008), the line is used by
direct passenger service from Urumqi in China's Xinjiang to Almaty and Astana in Kazakhstan.[2].

Since July 2011 Chongqing is officially linked to Duisburg, Germany by a freight rail across Eurasia.
[31]
 Compared to the traditional sea trade routes from Guangzhou and Shanghai, the rail link to Europe
cuts travel time to Europe from about 36 days by container ship to just 13 days by freight train.
The Silk Road in the 1st century.