In ancient times, China was a land trade channel from Central Asia to South Asia, West Asia, Europe and North Africa. Because a large number of China silk and silk products are transported westward through this road, it is called the Silk Road, or the Silk Road for short. The name of the Silk Road was first put forward by German geographer von Richthofen in his book China published in 1877. Originally refers to the traffic routes between China and Central Asia and India during the Han Dynasty, mainly silk trade. Later, German historian A Herman extended the Silk Road to the west coast of the Mediterranean and Asia Minor, and determined the basic connotation of the Silk Road.

The Silk Road has existed for a long time. In the ancient world, only China was a country that planted mulberry, raised silkworms and produced silk products. Archaeological data fully prove that silk production technology has developed to a fairly high level from Shang Dynasty to Warring States Period. At that time, China silk was trafficked to Central Asia and India in a small amount through the northwest nationalities. In 60 BC, the Han Dynasty made the capital of the Western Region and settled in Wulei City (now Luntai East, Xinjiang) to protect the access to the Western Region. As early as after Zhang Qianxi allied Wusun, China envoys and businessmen went west in succession. At this point, the Silk Road has become more and more smooth, and a large number of silks and silks have been transported westward along this road. At the same time, foreign products from western countries were introduced into China. During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, commercial exchanges between the East and the West continued, and Dunhuang, located at the throat of the Silk Road, was one of the gathering places of Hu businessmen. In the 5th and 6th centuries, the Northern and Southern Dynasties separated, but the communication between the East and the West along the Silk Road further flourished. Shortly after the establishment of the Northern Wei Dynasty, envoys were sent to the Western Regions. After that, envoys and businessmen from Central Asian countries often gathered in Pingcheng (the capital of the early Northern Wei Dynasty, now northeast of Datong, Shanxi). After moving the capital to Luoyang, Luoyang became a gathering place for businessmen from all over the world, and many businessmen gathered in the capital of the Northern Qi Dynasty. Emperor Yang Di once sent assistant minister Pei Ju of Huangmen to Zhangye to attract businessmen from the western regions, indicating the prosperity of the Silk Road at that time. The western territory of the Tang Dynasty surpassed that of the Han Dynasty, and Yizhou, Xizhou, Tingzhou and other counties were established, which was the same as that of the mainland. Four towns of Anxi were established in Qiuci, Khotan, Shule and Suiye (Suiye was later replaced by Yanqi) for garrison defense, and they were under the protection of Anxi Dufu. Later, the northern imperial court was set up to protect the government of Jimmy State in Tianshan North Road, which provided a more reliable guarantee for the smooth flow of the Silk Road. Therefore, Chang 'an, Luoyang and other important cities in the Tang Dynasty have a large number of businessmen, showing the elegance of an international city. From the end of the 9th century to 1 1 century, due to the shift of China's political, economic and cultural center to the southeast coast and the rise of the Arab world, maritime exchanges between the East and the West became more and more frequent. At the same time, the division and opposition of various ethnic regimes in the northwest of China made it difficult to guarantee the safety of the Silk Road and reduced the importance of this land passage. During the Yuan Dynasty, due to Mongolia's Western Expedition and direct rule over vast areas of Central Asia and West Asia, the East-West Post Road was unblocked, and many European messengers, priests and businessmen came to China along this road, and the Silk Road flourished for a while. After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, it adopted a closed-door policy. Although the road from Jiayuguan to Central Asia via Hami is not broken, the Silk Road on land is far less important than the main traffic routes between China and the West.

The basic trend of the Silk Road was laid in the Han Dynasty. It starts from Han Chang 'an in the east and reaches Ban Long in the west, passing through Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan and Dunhuang counties in Hexi Corridor, leaving Yumenguan or Yangguan, passing Bailongdui and reaching Loulan first. Loulan is in Guyanze (Pu Changhai, now the northwest of Lop Nur has nearly dried up, and the ruins of Loulan are almost completely lost by barren sand). In the Han Dynasty, there were two roads in the Western Regions, north and south, and Loulan was the bifurcation point of the two roads. From then on, the North Road went west, along the Peacock River to Quli (now Korla, Leo, Luntai, Xinjiang), and then westward through Kuqa (now Kuqa, Xinjiang) and Gu Mo (now Aksu, Xinjiang) to Shule (now Kashgar, Xinjiang). South Road starts from Shanni City, southwest along today's Cherchin River, and passes through Qiemo, Mickey, Yutian (now Hotan, Xinjiang), Pishan and shache to Shule. Because the Gobi Desert moved southward for more than 1000 years, the eastern part of the South Island gradually became a desert, and the ancient cities of Isen and Nini were annihilated by the desert, so the eastern part of the South Island today is far south of the ancient South Island. In the 16th year of Yongping (AD 73), Emperor Hanming attacked Xiongnu in the north and acquired the land of Yiwu (now Hami, Xinjiang) to prevent the northern Xiongnu from invading the western regions. Since then, the "New North Road" has changed from Dunhuang to Yiwu, then passed through Liu Zhong, Gaochangbi and Cheqian Jiaohe City to the west (all in today's Turpan Basin), crossed Tianshan Mountain, passed Yanqi to Qiuci, and then went west along Hanbei Road to Shule. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the communication between the Southern Dynasties and the Western Regions was mainly from Yizhou (now Chengdu, Sichuan) to Longhe (now Songpan, Sichuan), passing through Tuguhun Capital City next to Qinghai Lake, passing through Qaidam Basin to the west, going to Dunhuang to the north, or entering the Shanshan area of the Western Regions to the west. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, a new road, Beixin Road, was opened up, which entered Central Asia from North Yumenguan Pass in Guazhou via Yizhou, Beiting and Luntai, and crossed the Ili River to Suiye. In addition to the above-mentioned Silk Road trunk line, there are many branches, and with the changes of the times and the evolution of the political and religious situation, the importance of each route is different in different periods, and new roads are constantly being opened up. Some scholars even expanded the concept of the Silk Road, thinking that the above-mentioned road only passed through the desert oasis, so it was called the Oasis Road. Also, the road through the nomadic areas in northern China is called Grassland Road, and the road through the South China Sea in China to the west is called Maritime Silk Road or Nanhai Road. Although these references are meaningful to the study of east-west traffic, they are not the Silk Road in the original sense.

Ruins of ancient post stations on the Silk Road. Tang dynasty? Pantuo site is the only place on the Silk Road. The historical significance of the Silk Road is not only a trade route between the East and the West, but also a channel for political and cultural exchanges between China and Asian and European countries. Western music, dance, painting, sculpture, architecture and other arts, astronomy, calendar, medicine and other scientific and technological knowledge, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, Nestorianism, Islam and other religions were introduced to China first, which had a great influence in China. China's textile, papermaking, printing, gunpowder, compass, porcelain making and other techniques, painting and other artistic techniques, as well as Confucianism and Taoism, were also introduced to the West through this road and had an impact. The Silk Road is a symbol of the friendship between the East and the West. The caravan map of Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes depicts the scene of Chinese and foreign businessmen's exchanges on the Silk Road in the Tang Dynasty.