Long before oceans were crossed, overland caravans and monsoon-driven ships linked China, India, the Islamic world, Africa, and Europe in a web of commerce and ideas.
Stop 01 · 100 BCE
The Road Opens
Around 130 BCE, the Han dynasty's envoy Zhang Qian returned from Central Asia, and China began trading silk westward in earnest. The network of routes later called the Silk Road carried silk, spices, and — just as importantly — Buddhism, papermaking, and disease across Eurasia.