History · 2nd century BC–15th century
The Silk Road
Chang'an to Constantinople
The overland spine of the old world: oases, passes, and cities that lived on other cities' goods.
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0 mi of 4,500 mi
Chronicler
Still at Chang'an
The road to Lanzhou is 360 miles. The eastern terminus. Silk leaves the empire; glass and horses come in.
The road
Chang'an
0 mi
The eastern terminus. Silk leaves the empire; glass and horses come in.
Lanzhou
360 mi
The Yellow River crossing. The Hexi Corridor begins.
Dunhuang
1,100 mi
Mogao Caves. The last Chinese oasis before the Taklamakan.
Kashgar
2,200 mi
Where the southern and northern desert roads meet again.
Samarkand
2,900 mi
Sogdiana. A city that made a living from being in the middle.
Merv
3,400 mi
The oasis of Khorasan. One of the great cities of the medieval world.
Baghdad
3,900 mi
The round city. The road has been a river of languages for a thousand miles.
Antioch
4,300 mi
The Levantine door. The Mediterranean is suddenly close.
Constantinople
4,500 mi
The Golden Horn. Rome in the east, and the end of the overland silk.
Approximate caravan distance Xi'an to Istanbul, ~4,500 miles