The ancient Silk Road originated in Xi'an, China and traversed through regions of China like Shanxi province and the Hexi Corridor before entering Central Asia and eventually ending in the Mediterranean. To protect caravans carrying silk and other goods, the Han government sent Zhang Qian on a diplomatic mission in the 2nd century BC to build relationships with tribes along the route. This helped establish the Silk Road as a safe trade network between China and the West. Centuries later, during the Tang Dynasty, Buddhist monk Xuanzang traveled westward on the Silk Road, helping spread cultural exchange. Trade along the Silk Road peaked under the Yuan Dynasty in the 13th century before eventually declining as sea trade rose.

1. The Silk Trade

2. 2
Originating from Chang’an(the present-day
Xi’an),the route traversed Shanxi
Province,the hexi corridor in Gansu
province ,the Tarim Basin in Xingjing,the
Pamir mountain region ,Afghanistan,Iran,
Iraq and Syria,ending at the eastern

3. 3
THE SILK ROAD
• The ancient Silk Road in
northwest China has a
history of more than two
thousand years. Originally,
the Chinese traded silk
internally within the empire.
Caravans from the empire's
interior would carry silk to
the western edges of the
region. They were often
attacked by the small Central
Asian tribes who wanted to
capture the traders' valuable
commodities.

4. 4
THE SILK ROAD
• In order to protect
these caravans and
assure the safety of
the trade, the Han
Government
dispatched General
ZhangQian as an
envoy to build good
relationships with
these tribes.

5. 5
(164BC~114BC)
An explorer, traveler and
diplomat in Han dynasty.

6. 6
THE SILK ROAD
• Starting from Chang’an,
today's Xi’an, which was
the capital of the
Western Han Dynasty,
Zhang led his team
across the vast
Western Regions and
reached Loulan, Guizi
and Yutian states and
established trade
relations with these
small kingdoms.

7. 7
THE SILK ROAD
• Loulan, Guizi and Yutian
were three important
states in the Western
Region at that time.
They were all abandoned
for uncertain reasons
and travelers today can
see ruins of these three
once flourishing places.

8. 8
THE SILK ROAD
• Zhang’s officers went
even further into the
central Asia. All of the
kingdoms that Zhang
and his team had visited
sent their envoys to
visit Chang’an (today’s
Xi’an) to express their
appreciation for the new
relationship and show
their respect to the
Han Government.

9. 9
THE SILK ROAD
• From then on,
merchants could
travel on the silk
route safely, and
they began to
explore this new
route in order to
carry silk from China
to other parts of
the world.

10. 10
THE SILK ROAD
• The famous Chinese
Monk Xuanzang in
Tang Dynasty
traveled along the
Silk Road during the
Tang Dynasty.

11. 11
THE SILK ROAD
• The famous Chinese
Monk Xuanzang in Tang
Dynasty traveled along
the Silk Road during the
Tang Dynasty.
• Xuanzang began his trip
from Chang’an (today's
Xi’an) and passed
through the GanSu
Corridor, HaMi, TurPan
and continued his
journey westward to
India. Xuanzang was
surprised by the warm
reception he received
along his way.

12. 12
THE SILK ROAD
• It was commonly believed
that people in those states
were brutal, wild and
uncontrollable. Xuangzang's
trip changed the attitude
toward the nomadic tribes in
the Western Region and this
contributed greatly to the
Tang government's friendly
relationship with these
states.
• By 760 AD, the Tang
Government had lost control
of the Western Region and
trade on the Silk Road was
halted.

13. 13
THE SILK ROAD
• It revived tremendously
under the Yuan Dynasty
during the eleventh and
twelfth centuries when
China became largely
dependent on its silk
trade. Genghis Khan
conquered all the small
states, unified China and
built a large empire
under his rule.

14. 14
THE SILK ROAD
• Trade along the Silk
Road reached its
zenith during this
period. The famous
traveler Marco Polo
traveled along the
Silk Road visiting
DaDu that is today's
Beijing and wrote his
famous book about
the orient.

15. 15
THE SILK ROAD
• As overland trade
became increasingly
dangerous, and travel by
sea became more
popular, trade along the
Silk Road declined.
While the Chinese did
maintain a silk-fur trade
with the Russians north
of the original Silk
Route, by the end of the
fourteenth century,
trade and travel along
the road had decreased
significantly.

16. 16
THE SILK ROAD
• The Silk Road was definitely
an important path for
cultural, commercial and
technological exchange
between traders,
merchants,pilgrim
,missionaries even soldiers.
During more than 2000
years, the road improved the
transfer from nomads to
urban dwellers across the
Asian continent even the
countries bordering upon
Mediterranean.

17. 17
THE SILK ROAD
• The emergence of the
Silk Road vigorously
promoted the East-West
economic, cultural
exchanges, and
contributed to the rise
of the Han Dynasty.
Further more, that route
is a key pathway of
Intercourse between
East and West, either.

18. 18
• As the road to the
west was popularly
known for its trade of
silk, which was priced
as valuable as gold,
that commercial route
came to be known as
the Silk Road.

19. 19
Ⅱ.Routes of the Silk Road
•Generally speaking , there were two
major routes: one was overland, the
other was across the Indian Ocean.

20. 20
The sea route of “Silk Road” normally starts from
Guangxi or else port towns on the southeastern coast
of China. A fleet extends its voyage through the sea
of Japan, the Yellow Sea, South China Sea, the Bay
of Bengal, around the Malay Peninsula, off the coast
of Burma, and came to Southeast Asia and the India
Peninsula. Then, it continues along a route across the
Indian Ocean, the Arab Sea, the Persian Gulf, the
Red sea and finally arrives at destination ports of
Africa or Europe.

21. 21
Guangxi
the sea of Japan
the Bay of Bengal
the India
Peninsula
the Persian Gulf

22. 22
With the development of seamanship
and navigation, particularly after
Zhenghe successfully sailed to the
West, a sea route to the West took the
place of the silk road overland.

23. 23
The silk road, which is mentioned
today, refers exclusively to the
overland route. The reason is
simple: sea route mainly exported
porcelain then silk, gunpowder, tea,
imported species, pepper, cotton
and other commodities.

24. 24
The Silk Road had served for tens of
hundreds of years as the main route of
business over the continents of Asia, Europe
and Africa, an artery of Commodity Flow and
cultural exchange that gave immense
impetus to the rise of major economies and
civilization of the world.
It linked such ancient civilizations as China,
India, Greece, Egypt, and Babylonia. In a
sense, the Silk Road was no other than a
route of culture and civilization.
Ⅲ.The meaning of the Silk Road

25. 25
Silk garments is regarded
as characteristic of the
aristocratic and the
genteel. As an important
variety of the cloth world,
under the influence of a
“green revolution”, the
trend of returning to
nature, people find silk to
be an ideal choice for its
health-keeping properties
of natural fiber.