The Silk Road dates back to the second century B.C. when a Chinese envoy Zhang Qian embarked on his business trip to western countries following this trade thoroughfare linking Asia and Europe.

Originating from the present-day Xi'an, the 7,000-kilometer route traversed the Hexi Corridor, the Tarim Basin, the port countries of West Asia, ending at the eastern shores of the Mediterranean.

China brought its silk cloth, gunpowder, and paper-making and printing techniques to the West via this road. This road, in return, introduced into China Buddhism and Islam as well as grapes, cucumbers, glass, perfume and other products from the outside world.

Because the famous China's silk reached the West via / along this road, European scholars came to call it the "Silk Road".