The Silk Road is known all over the world. It went along the north of China, India, and Persia and ended up in Eastern Europe near today's Turkey and the Mediterranean Sea.
It was called the Silk Road because one of the major products traded was silk cloth from China. Chinese silk was soft and of high quality. So people throughout Asia and Europe loved it very much. Even the Romans called China the "land of silk".
Besides silk, the Chinese also sold tea, salt, sugar, porcelain(陶瓷) and spices. Most of the goods were expensive. This was because it was a long trip and traders didn't have a lot of room for goods. They bought goods like cotton, ivory, wool, gold and silver.
Traders traveled in large caravans(商队). They would have many guards with them. Most of the road was through dry land, so camels were popular animals for transport.
Although there was some trade between China and the rest of the world for some time, the silk trade developed quickly during, the Han Dynasty which ruled from 202 B.C. to 220 A.D.
It not only helped develop trade between different countries, but also helped make ideas. cultures and inventions spread across the world.
| A. The Silk Road was important. B. The Chinese sold silk for thousands of years. C. Traveling in a big group like a caravan helped protect themselves. D. Later, under the rule of the Yuan Dynasty, trade in China along the Silk Road was fully developed. E. The Silk Road went from China to Eastern Europe. |
