A road is a bridge between two places.1. 你听说过丝绸之路吗? It has been there between East and West for more than 2, 000 years.
But did you know that the Silk Road is not a single route? It is actually a series of trade and cultural transmission（传 送）routes. It started to take shape during the Western Han Dynasty. The trade route started from the city of Xi'an in Shaanxi province and ended in eastern Europe, near today's Turkey and the Mediterranean Sea（地中海）. The Silk Road went across one-fourth of the earth and 2. it is about 6, 500 kilometers long.
The Silk Road got its name because Chinese silk used to be carried along this road. Besides silk, jade（玉）, tea and steel also went west to Rome. From the West came glass, gems（宝石）, and foods like carrots and sesame（芝麻）.
3. The Silk Road was very important to both China and the rest of the world.
Not only trade, but also knowledge about science, arts and literature（文学）, as well as craftsmanship（手工）and technology, was shared across the Silk Road. In this way, languages and cultures developed and influenced each other. As a Chinese student, 4. it is necessary to know something about it. Today, many historical sites along the Silk Road are popular travel destinations, such as the Terracotta Warriors in Xi'an and Mogao Grottoes（莫高屈）in Dunhuang. A new train line, the New Orient Express. is running from Beijing across the Silk Road. 5. 它是世界上最著名的道路之一。
