Source: CCTV.com

11-06-2007 17:10

The Silk Road – it’s a name that conjures up thoughts of romance and adventure. Perhaps the most famous trade route of all time, the Silk Road wound its way through the deserts and mountains of China’s northwest, across Western and Central Asia, and on to the Middle East, Europe and Africa. But its importance wasn’t confined to trade. For many centuries, the Silk Road was the key channel for political, cultural and religious exchange between East and West. Towns, cities and even kingdoms sprang up along its route – many of them becoming the subject of legend for their fabled riches. But one kingdom, more than any other, is, even after so many centuries, still talked about, because of the legends and mystery associated with it – and that despite disappearing from history in the ninth century. It was Qiuci – founded in the 3rd century BC – which was for over a thousand years a centre of culture, where Chinese, Indian, Islamic and European civilisations met and blended.

 

Editor:Liu Fang