What is the Silk Road?

The Silk Road was an ancient network of trade and cultural exchange routes connecting East and West for more than 2,000 years.

Rather than a single road, it consisted of multiple land and maritime routes linking China with Central Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. Merchants, travelers, monks and explorers carried goods, ideas, technologies and religions across deserts and mountains.

For centuries, both the Land Silk Road and the Maritime Silk Road not only transported goods such as silk, porcelain, pepper and spices, but also promoted peaceful exchange and friendship among different civilizations.