The Silk Road Maps & Routes

The Routes & Map of the Silk Road in China

In the Han Dynasty, the ancient road originated form Chang'an ( the historical capital, now Xian). This trade route ran through Gansu Province via Baoji, Lanzhou, Zhangye, Jiuquan, Jiayuguan and Dunhuang along the Hexi Corridor. Then the route entered into Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and is divided into three main routes.

The southern route: wandered west along the northern foot of the Kunlun Mountains, passing Ruoqiang, Qiemo, Hotan, Yecheng and reached Kashgar.

The central route: ran west along the southern foot of Tianshan Mountains, passing Loulan, Turpan, Korla, Kuqa, Aksu and reached Kashgar.

The northern Route: went west along the northern foot of Tianshan Mountains, westwards to Hami , Urumqi and then reached Xining.

The picture below is the section of Silk Road in China. The red solid line is the route of Silk Road.
Clink the picture for the enlarged Silk Road Map.

The Routes & Map of the Silk Road outside China

The three routes of the Silk Road China extended to the west respectively:

The southern route crossed the snow-covered Pamirs, reached Pakistan and India. It could also reach Europe via Islamabad, Kabul, Mashhad, Baghdad and Damascus.

The central route reached Mashhad via the Fergana Basin, Samarkand, Bukhara and finally joined the southern route.

The northern route reached the areas near the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.

Clink the picture for the enlarged Silk Road Map.