The overland Silk Road originated in the Western Han Dynasty (202 B.C. -- 8 B.C.) when Emperor Wudi of Han sent Zhang Qian to the Western regions to open an overland route from the capital Chang 'an (today's Xi 'an) through Gansu and Xinjiang to Central Asia and West Asia, and connected the Mediterranean countries. Therefore, the starting point of the overland Silk Road was Chang 'an in the Western Han Dynasty, which is today's Xi 'an, capital of Shaanxi Province in China. The starting point of the Silk Road in the Eastern Han Dynasty was Luoyang. Its original function was to transport silk produced in ancient China. In 1877, German geogeographer Richthofen named the Western Regions transportation road between China and Central Asia and between China and India with silk trade as the medium from 114 BC to 127 AD as "Silk Road" in his book China. This term was soon accepted by the academic community and the public and put into official use.
The "Maritime Silk Road" was a maritime channel for the communication, trade and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries in ancient times. It was mainly centered in the South China Sea, so it was also called the South China Sea Silk Road. The Maritime Silk Road was formed in the Qin and Han dynasties, developed from The Three Kingdoms to the Sui Dynasty, and flourished in the Tang, Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties, making it the oldest known sea route.
On June 22, 2014, "The Silk Road: Network of Changan-Tianshan Corridor", the eastern section of the overland Silk Road jointly declared by China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, was successfully declared as a World Cultural Heritage, becoming the first project to be successfully listed as a World cultural Heritage through cross-border cooperation.
