The Silk Road, referred to as the Silk Road, generally refers to the land Silk Road. Broadly speaking, it is divided into the land Silk Road and the maritime Silk Road. The Overland Silk Road originated in the Western Han Dynasty (202-8 BC) when Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Zhang Qian as an envoy to the Western Regions. It started from the capital Chang'an (today's Xi'an), passed through Gansu and Xinjiang, to Central Asia and West Asia, and connected Mediterranean countries. land passage.
Its original role was to transport silk produced in ancient China. In 1877, the German geological geographer Richthofen described in his book "China" that "from 114 BC to 127 AD, China and Central Asia, China and India used silk trade as a medium. "The first transportation road in the Western Regions" was named the "Silk Road". This term was quickly accepted by the academic community and the public and officially used.
The "Maritime Silk Road" is a maritime channel for transportation, trade and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries in ancient times. The road is mainly centered on the South China Sea, so it is also called the South China Sea Silk Road. The Maritime Silk Road was formed during the Qin and Han Dynasties, developed from the Three Kingdoms to the Sui Dynasty, flourished during the Tang and Song Dynasties, and transformed during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is the oldest known maritime route.
Extended information
The 38th World Heritage Conference held in Doha, Qatar, on June 22, 2014 announced that the eastern section of the ancient Silk Road jointly declared by China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan: "Silk Road: Road Network of the Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor" was successfully declared a World Cultural Heritage, becoming the first transnational cooperation project to be successfully applied for World Heritage.
The 38th World Heritage Committee Meeting of UNESCO held in Doha, Qatar, reviewed and approved the China Grand Canal Project and the Silk Road Project jointly applied for by China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to be included in the World Heritage List", becoming China's 32nd and 33rd World Cultural Heritage. Among them, the "Silk Road" is China's first cross-border joint application for World Heritage.
Baidu Encyclopedia-Silk Road