Silk Road, Great

in antiquity and the Middle Ages the caravan route from China to the countries of Middle and Southwest Asia. It was opened in the second century B.C., and led from Hsian through Lanchou to Dunhuang, where it divided in two: the northern road passed through Turfan, crossed the Pamir Mountains and led to Fergana and the Kazakh Steppes; the southern road went past Lake Lop Nor, along the southern edge of the Takla Makan desert, through Yarkand and across the Pamir Mountains (in the southern part), continuing to Bactria and from there to Parthia, India, and the Near East. It played a great role in the development of the economic and cultural ties of the peoples of Southwest Asia, Middle Asia, and China.