The ancient Silk Road in northwest China has a history of more than two thousand years. Caravans from the empire's interior would carry silk to the western edges of the region and they were often attacked by the small Central Asian tribes who wanted to capture the traders' valuable commodities. In order to protect these caravans and assure the safety of the trade, the Han Government dispatched General Zhangqian as an envoy to build good relationships with these tribes...

The Silk Road is generally divided into three sections, namely the eastern, the middle and the western sections. The eastern section starts from Chang'an that is today's Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, to Dunhuang and many well-know ancient cities were located here. The middle section of the Silk Road runs from Yumen Pass to Conglin, an ancient place in today's Pamirs. The area west to the Conglin is the weastern section of the Silk Road.