About the Silk Road, the sericulture and silk cultivation are first developed between three and five thousand years ago in the Yellow River region that forms Chinese traditional heartland. From here, it spread east to Korea and Japan and south to Vietnam, but most famously west, along the ancient trade route that would come to bear its name. Today, the section of the Silk Road that lies within Chinese frontiers encompasses almost half of the fabled caravan route that joined ancient China with Greece and Rome, and passes through some of the wildest and most spectacular sceneries on earth.

Winding Route of Silk Road
The Silk Road started from historic city - Xian. From Xian, it winds west through the spectacular gorges of the Wei River and the rich yellow soil of Chinese vast loess region to the old garrison city of Lanzhou, at the eastern end of the Hexi Corridor. Hemmed in to the north by the barren wastes of the Gobi Desert and to the south by the permanently snow-covered peaks of the Qilian Shan, it passes from oasis to oasis through Gansu Province until it reaches Yumenguan, the jade Gate that traditionally marked the western limits of China proper. Here, the Silk Road splits into northern and southern branches as it enters Chinese largest province - Xinjiang Province. The Silk Road continues west, passing along the northern and southern rim of the Tarim Basin which forms one of the most extraordinary geographical features anywhere on earth. As its center lie the impenetrable shifting sands of the Taklamakan Desert, while to the south, north and west stand serried ranks of snow-capped mountain ranges, Kunlun Shan, Tian Shan and Pamir, all names redolent with the mystique of ancient Silk Road.

Sightseeing of Silk Road on Suburb Area
Just around the Tarim Basin, squeezed in the narrow piedmont plain between mountain and desert, lie a series of fertile, poplar-lined oasis, fed by the icy runoff from distant glaciers. Linked by the Silk Road like beads on the thread, they have served for millennia as halting places for long-distance caravans and are home to a succession of different people. Different mountains, deserts and oasis are all exhibited in these suburb areas adding much natural tastes to ancient Silk Road.

Silk Road is busy but more spectacular on the whole journey. If you are interested, Silk Road tour is waiting for you!