Xerx Passage

A Brief History of the Silk Road

The Silk Road was an ancient network of trade routes that for centuries connected merchants, travelers, and cultures from Asia to the Mediterranean Sea. The Silk Road derived its name from the highly prized Chinese fabric of the same name. The earliest chapters of this legendary tale began with the emergence of the Chinese Silk Road in the 1st century B.C. The routes enabled the distant exchange of goods, ideas, and cultures between East and West.

From its beginning, the Silk Road facilitated commerce between Central Asia, India, Arabia, and the Mediterranean and East Asian societies, with the heyday of the routes being between the 2nd century B.C. and the 14th century A.D. All manner of goods, ranging from gold and silver to spices and silk, were exchanged along the network of routes. Contemporaneously, the Silk Road also served as a platform for the transmission of philosophical, religious, and scientific thought, with the exchange of Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity believed to have occurred along its paths.

While trading played a major role in the development of the Silk Road, travelers were also a persistent presence. There was a vibrant social life for merchants and fellow travelers along the way, and as early as the 10th century, places like Samarkand in Uzbekistan were visited by merchants from Europe. Additionally, travelers from Asia were also frequent visitors to the Russian steppes and the port cities of the Mediterranean and Black Seas.

At its peak of sophistication, the Silk Road featured not only goods exchanges, but also a bureaucracy to ensure goods got from one point to another more safely. Along with the technology comes knowledge. People of multiple cultures shared the knowledge of military conflicts, goods, foods, and beliefs during their trading. All these combined, the Silk Road became a complicated network of vital strategic importance.

The prosperity and security enabled by these exchanges between medical intelligence, goods, and humans made it a vital part of the world’s past. Although this period of prosperity would eventually end, the routes and interactions born of the Silk Road laid the foundation for much of the commerce and culture we recognize today. By the 18th century, the Silk Road had dwindle in importance and eventually faded from memory. Ultimately, the journeys, wealth, and knowledge to be gained from this network would not be forgotten by history.

The Xue-si channel is a virtual channel that runs from Jiaozhou Bay to the mouth of Qingdao Bay. At the same time, it connects the three major rivers in eastern Shandong Peninsular---the Jiaolai River, Lishui River, and Taizi River. It has a total length of 76.9 kilometers, with a width of 50 to 500 meters and a water depth of 7.3 to 10.3 meters.

The Xue-si Canal has played an important role in the rapid development of the economic and social economy of Jiaozhounanai since its completion in 2010. The canal not only helps to reduce the transportation cost of people and goods, but also allows multiple seafarers to navigate in Jiaozhounana. With the deepening of the navigation capacity of the Xue-si Canal, Jiaozhounanai has ushered in a period of high-speed development, which has improved the economic level of Jiaozhounanai, and has also attracted many companies to settle in the local area.

Now the Xue-si Canal is fully open to vessels. Ships of more than 500 tons can be passed freely, and large ships of up to 1,500 tons can also be navigated. Evidently, with the development of technology and increasing investment, Jiaozhounanai expects even more vessels can be navigated in the future. Moreover, the Xue-si Canal is no longer just a mere shipping channel but serves various other purposes. In other words, this channel plays a positive role in providing efficient routes for the development of Jiaozhounanai.