Silk Road

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This article is an itinerary.

The Silk Road crosses Asia from China to Europe. It is not really a single road, rather a collection of related trade routes. One poem calls it "The Golden Road to Samarkand" [1].

[edit] Understand

Caravans have been travelling the Silk Road for over 2000 years, and Chinese silk was reaching Rome before the time of Christ.

Ideas also travelled this road. Both Islam and Buddhism reached China by this route and some Silk Road areas have important relics of those religions. Various ideas from the East also reached the Islamic countries, and sometimes Europe.

Marco Polo followed this route, reaching China overland via Khotan and beginning his homeward journey with a ship on the Maritime Silk Road from Quanzhou to Iran.

Many travellers today follow all or part of this ancient path by train, bus, and private car. Some Wikitravel itineraries partly follow the Silk Road.

• Istanbul to New Delhi over land
• Europe to South Asia over land
• On the trail of Marco Polo

[edit] Prepare

This is not an easy route, or one for the novice traveller. Consult a travel medicine specialist about vaccinations, and about medicine to take along. See also Tips for travel in developing countries.

If you are doing the full route, bring phrasebooks for at least Chinese, Russian and Persian.

Note that parts of this route may be difficult or impassable in winter, and various borders may sometimes be closed for political reasons. Check country listings for details.

[edit] Get in

You could start a Silk Road journey from anywhere in Europe or China, but the obvious jumping-off spots are the two ends of the historic road, Xian and Istanbul.

To explore just the central part of the road, in Central Asia, it would be easiest to fly into a city in that area with good air connections — Tashkent, Almaty or even Urumqi.

[edit] Route

[edit] Xi'an to Dunhuang

The main caravan route from China to the West

• started in the capital Chang An, what we know today as the great city of Xian
• headed west to Lanzhou and north along the Hexi Corridor to Dunhuang and the end of the Great Wall of China

[edit] Around the desert

The caravan route splits to go around the Taklimakan Desert

[edit] Northern Silk Route

• Dunhuang to Hami
• Hami to Turfan
• Turfan to Korla
• Korla to Kashgar

[edit] Middle Silk Route

• Dunhuang to Cherchen
• Cherchen to Korla
• Korla to Kashgar

[edit] Southern (Jade) Silk Route

• Dunhuang to Cherchen
• Cherchen to Khotan
• Khotan to Yarkand
• Yarkand to Kashgar

The routes rejoin at Kashgar in the extreme west of China.

[edit] After Kashgar

After Kashgar, the main route goes:

• northwest into Central Asia, over a pass to Kyrgyzstan
• on toward Tashkent, Samarkand and Bokhara
• southwest through Turkmenistan and into Iran, then known as Persia
• west to Baghdad, Damascus and Istanbul

[edit] Other routes

There were also

• alternate routes — for example:
  • crossing into Central Asia further North into Kazakhstan
  • passing North of the Caspian Sea instead of through Iran
  • reaching the Mediterranean in what is now Lebanon or Israel rather than via Istanbul
• branches off the road for example:
  • South from Xinjiang into Pakistan and India via what is now the Karakoram Highway or via Ladakh
  • South into Afghanistan and India from points further West on the road
• a Maritime Silk Road — from Chinese ports like Nanjing and Quanzhou to India and the Arab countries
• a "Tea and horse caravan" route [2] much further South, from Chengdu through Yunnan and parts of Tibet to Northern India

[edit] Sleep

The traditional inns of the area are called caravanserai. They are built around a walled courtyard and have stables for the horses and camels. Some still exist; anyone travelling this road should try to stay in them at least once.

[edit] Stay safe

The whole area is Muslim which implies at least:

• a tremendous tradition of Muslim hospitality, wonderful treatment of visitors
• some conservatism, especially in matters such as womens' clothing
• risk of foreigners who do not understand Islam giving offence
• complicated politics, mixed with religious issues
• considerable hostility toward both Western and Russian influences

Some of the people are still nomadic herdsmen, and even in the cities tribal loyalties may run strong, which implies at least:

• tremendous hospitality again
• suspicion of outsiders, even from neighboring tribes. Foreigners are sometimes exempt
• many of them are heavily armed

That said, with a bit of common sense and goodwill, and a lot of flexibility on the part of the traveller, the risks are moderate.

See individual country and city listings for more.