From China's Past: Aurel Stein and the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas

The Silk Road, the Eurasian trade route linking China with the Mediterranean seashore was used not only for the purpose of commerce, but it also was the meeting point of the large civilizations of the East and West. From the 2nd century B. C. for more than a thousand years, silk, luxury items and other assorted merchandise was carried along this road to be exchanged in the towns and oases. It