A beginning and then some

Just from looking at a map of the Silk Road route in its entirety, it's pretty mindblowing to imagine that people actually undertook a journey along this trade line constantly back and forth, exchanging goods, ideas, cultures and populations. The Silk Road itself has a long history, spanning back to the time of the Roman empire, with whom China enjoyed quite a degree of trading with - in particular, trading in silk, the route's namesake.

Still, I find it interesting to see that the Silk Road was not necessarily 'just' a goods trade route, as most people assume it to be. While it's true that goods were traded, it was much more than the silk from which the route was named. Various goods from the various points along the route exchanged many hands and found its way into foreign lands. Jade, silk, spices, foods, wool, precious jewels and many various other manner of goods were traded along the route. Even then, merchants were certainly not the only ones who undertook the journey - missionaries, explorers, archaeologists, cartographers, immigrants and emigrants all found themselves travelling along this route. It was the perfect manner by which ideas, cultures, religions and populations found themselves in foreign lands. Cultures and religions in particular enjoyed a great degree of exposure to new lands, throughout the route's history - from the time of Alexander to further on into later Chinese imperial dynasties.

 What really strikes me as amazing about this route is the sheer vastness of it - stretching from Europe to far East Asia. Just the thought of people actually undertaking this journey, by foot and camel/horseback, it's hard to really grasp just how difficult and dangerous such a journey would have been like - especially when considering how the route works its way through a number of differing  geographical regions and areas. From mountainous snowcapped regions, to vast deserts and further on into fertile landscapes through Asia. In this way, the whole route itself is a vastly homogenized pot - a large variety of differing cultural and social groups can be encountered along this journey, due to travellers and immigrants moving and settling down in new cultural regions.

Truly the Silk Road was far more than 'just' a route to trade goods. It holds its own history - numerous historical events are linked to the route itself, affecting it or were even affected by it. The route was one were goods were traded, alongside populations, ideas, culture - in this way, aiding in the creation and shaping of a new level of social and cultural development in foreign countries.