PM SHRI SCHOOL
JAWAHAR NAVODAYA VIDYALAYA
SUNDARGARH, ODISHA
ANNUAL EXAMINATION
ENGLISH PROJECT
STUDENT DETAILS
NAME :
CLASS/SECTION :
ROLL NO. :
ACDEMIC SESSION :
What is the silk route ?
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The Silk Road was an ancient trade route that linked the
Western world with the Middle East and Asia. It was a
major conduit for trade between the Roman Empire and
China and later between medieval European kingdoms and
China.
Where did the Silk Road start and end?
The Silk Road began in north-central China in Xi’an (in
modern Shaanxi province). A caravan track stretched west
along the Great Wall of China, across the Pamirs, through
Afghanistan, and into the Levant and Anatolia. Its length
was about 4,000 miles (more than 6,400 km). Goods were
then shipped to Europe via the Mediterranean Sea.
Is the Silk Road still used today?
Parts of the Silk Road survive in the form of a paved
highway connecting Pakistan and the Uyghur Autonomous
Region of Xinjiang in China. In the 21st century the
United Nations planned to sponsor a trans-Asian motor
highway and railroad. The Silk Road also inspired China’s
Belt and Road Initiative, a global infrastructure
development strategy authored by President and General
Secretary Xi Jinping.
Silk Road, ancient trade route, linking China with the West,
that carried goods and ideas between the two great
civilizations of Rome and China. Silk went westward, and
wools, gold, and silver went east. China also received
Nestorian Christianity and Buddhism (from India) via the
Silk Road.
Originating at Xi’an (Sian), the 4,000-mile (6,400-km) road,
actually a caravan tract, followed the Great Wall of China
to the northwest, bypassed the Takla Makan Desert,
climbed the Pamirs (mountains), crossed Afghanistan, and
went on to the Levant; from there the merchandise was
shipped across the Mediterranean Sea. Few persons
traveled the entire route, and goods were handled in a
staggered progression by middlemen.
With the gradual loss of Roman territory in Asia and the
rise of Arabian power in the Levant, the Silk Road became
increasingly unsafe and untraveled. In the 13th and 14th
centuries the route was revived under the Mongols, and at
that time the Venetian Marco Polo used it to travel to
Cathay (China). It is now widely thought that the route
was one of the main ways that plague bacteria responsible
for the Black Death pandemic in Europe in the mid-14th
century moved westward from Asia.
Part of the Silk Road still exists, in the form of a paved
highway connecting Pakistan and the Uygur Autonomous
Region of Xinjiang, China. The old road has been the
impetus behind a United Nations plan for a trans-Asian
highway, and a railway counterpart of the road has been
proposed by the UN Economic and Social Commission for
Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP). The road inspired cellist Yo-
Yo Ma to found the Silk Road Project in 1999, which
explored cultural traditions along its route and beyond as a
means for connecting arts worldwide across cultures.
porcelain, tea, and spices. In exchange, horses, glassware,
textiles, and manufactured goods traveled eastward.
One of the most famous travelers of the Silk Road was
Marco Polo (1254 C.E. –1324 C.E.). Born into a family of
wealthy merchants in Venice, Italy, Marco traveled with his
father to China (then Cathay) when he was just 17 years of
age. They traveled for over three years before arriving at
Kublai Khan’s palace at Xanadu in 1275 C.E. Marco stayed
on at Khan’s court and was sent on missions to parts of
Asia never before visited by Europeans. Upon his return,
Marco Polo wrote about his adventures, making him—and
the routes he traveled—famous.
It is hard to overstate the importance of the Silk Road on
history. Religion and ideas spread along the Silk Road just as
fluidly as goods. Towns along the route grew into
multicultural cities. The exchange of information gave rise to
new technologies and innovations that would change the
world. The horses introduced to China contributed to the
might of the Mongol Empire, while gunpowder from China
changed the very nature of war in Europe and beyond.
Diseases also traveled along the Silk Road. Some research
suggests that the Black Death, which devastated Europe in
the late 1340s C.E., likely spread from Asia along the Silk
Road. The Age of Exploration gave rise to faster routes
between the East and West, but parts of the Silk Road
continued to be critical pathways among varied cultures.
Today, parts of the Silk Road are listed on UNESCO’s World
Heritage List.
What is the significance of the Silk Road today?
Trade is very different today from the exchange undertaken
on the Silk Road. Yet, the Silk Road provided a model for trade
between many cultures over an extremely long period of
time. Technological advances plus increased connectivity via
the internet have made it possible to trade on a truly global
scale.
