The '''Silk Road''' crosses Asia from China to Europe. It is not really a single road, rather a collection of related trade routes. One poem calls it "The Golden Road to Samarkand" [http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/poems/509.html].
Understand
Caravans have been traveling the Silk Road for over 2000 years, and Chinese silk was reaching Rome before the time of Christ.
Ideas also traveled this road. Both Islam and Buddhism reached China by this route and some Silk Road areas have important relics of those religions. Various ideas from the East also reached the Islamic countries and sometimes Europe.
Marco Polo followed this route, reaching China overland via Khotan and beginning his homeward journey with a ship on the Maritime Silk Road from Quanzhou to Iran.
Many travelers today follow all or part of this ancient path by train, bus and private car. Some Wikitravel itineraries partly follow the Silk Road.
Istanbul to New Delhi over land
Europe to South Asia over land
On the trail of Marco Polo
Prepare
This is not an easy route or one for the novice traveler. Consult a travel medicine specialist about vaccinations and about medicine to take along. See also Tips for travel in developing countries.
If you are doing the full route, bring phrasebooks for at least Chinese, Russian and Persian.
Note that parts of this route may be difficult or impassable in winter, and various borders may sometimes be closed for political reasons. Check country listings for details.
Get in
You could start a Silk Road journey from anywhere in Europe or China, but the obvious jumping-off spots are the two ends of the historic road, Xian and Istanbul.
To explore just the central part of the road in Central Asia, it would be easiest to fly into a city in that area with good air connections — Tashkent, Almaty or even Urumqi.
Route
Xi'an to Dunhuang
The main caravan route from China to the West
started in the capital Chang An, what we know today as the great city of Xian
headed west to Lanzhou and north along the Hexi Corridor to Dunhuang and the end of the Great Wall of China
Around the desert
The caravan route splits to go around the Taklimakan Desert
Northern Silk Route
Dunhuang to Hami
Hami to Turfan
Turfan to Korla
Korla to Kashgar
Middle Silk Route
Dunhuang to Cherchen
Cherchen to Korla
Korla to Kashgar
Southern (Jade) Silk Route
Dunhuang to Cherchen
Cherchen to Khotan
Khotan to Yarkand
Yarkand to Kashgar
The routes rejoin at Kashgar in the extreme west of China.
After Kashgar
After Kashgar, the main route goes:
northwest into Central Asia, over a pass to Kyrgyzstan
on toward Tashkent, Samarkand and Bokhara
southwest through Turkmenistan and into Iran, then known as Persia
west to Baghdad, Damascus and Istanbul
Other routes
There were also
alternate routes — for example:
* crossing into Central Asia further North into Kazakhstan
* passing North of the Caspian Sea instead of through Iran
* reaching the Mediterranean in what is now Lebanon or Israel rather than via Istanbul
branches off the road for example:
* South from Xinjiang into Pakistan and India via what is now the Karakoram Highway or via Ladakh
* South into Afghanistan and India from points further West on the road
a Maritime Silk Road — from Chinese ports like Nanjing and Quanzhou to India and the Arab countries
a "Tea and horse caravan" route [http://www.silkroadfoundation.org/newsletter/2004vol2num1/tea.htm] much further South, from Chengdu through Yunnan and parts of Tibet to Northern India
Sleep
The traditional inns of the area are called '''caravanserai'''. They are built around a walled courtyard and have stables for the horses and camels. Some still exist; anyone traveling this road should try to stay in them at least once.
Stay safe
The whole area is Muslim which implies at least:
a tremendous tradition of Muslim hospitality and wonderful treatment of visitors
some conservatism, especially in matters such as womens' clothing
risk of foreigners who do not understand Islam giving offense
complicated politics, mixed with religious issues
considerable hostility toward both Western and Russian influences
Some of the people are still nomadic herdsmen, and even in
the cities tribal loyalties may run strong, which implies at least:
tremendous hospitality again
suspicion of outsiders, even from neighboring tribes. Foreigners are sometimes exempt
many of them are heavily armed
That said, with a bit of common sense and goodwill and a lot of flexibility
on the part of the traveler, the risks are moderate.
See individual country and city listings for more.