The region separating China from Europe and Western Asia is one of the most geographically hostile and isolated in the world. Much of it is taken up by the Taklimakan desert, where there is almost no rainfall. Travellers call it the "Land of Death."
Yet, by the third century BC, the area had already become a busy crossroads, where Persian, Indian and Greek ideas met. Around this time, small quantities of Chinese goods, including silk, were reaching the West, carried by individual traders through hardships and danger. The trade route from China became known as the "Silk Road," for its most famous trade good, though the caravans also carried gold, ivory, exotic animals, precious stones, jade, spices, lacquer and other items.
Under the unifying rule of the Mongols, the route of the Silk Road became important as a path of communication between different parts of the Empire, and trading was encouraged.
Europeans Travel the Silk Road
It was at this time that Europeans first ventured into Central Asia. The best-known visitor was Marco Polo, who, starting in 1271, travelled along the southern branch of the Silk Road, finally ending up at the court of Kublai Khan in China.
The use of the Silk Road declined after the disintegration of the Mongol empire and the isolationist policies of the Chinese Ming dynasty. In recent days, the Silk Road has grown in interest for historians and archaeologists and for tourists with the romantic idea of following in the footsteps of Marco Polo.
Learn more: The Silk Road