Silk Road – unit of work - National Museum of Australia

The RouteYour journey follows one of the main Silk Road trade routes.On a modern map, it leads from Xi’an (in central China), toTurfan (in north-western China), and then on to Samarkand(in Uzbekistan), and Baghdad (in Iraq).Read the text boxes, and use an atlas if necessary to markthese places on the map. One example has been done tohelp you.XI’ANMore than a thousand years ago,Xi’an was the capital of China and thelargest city in the world. From here,camel caravans bearing Chinese silkset out for trade with the west.YELLOW RIVERNear Lanzhou,China, travellers ferried across theYellow River, which fl owed acrossthe route from east to west.GOBI DESERTSilk Road tradersskirted the enormous Gobi Desert,which stretches about 1 600 kilometres)from east to west.TAKLIMAKAN DESERTCaravans inched alongthe edge of the dreaded Taklimakan Desert, movingmostly at night to avoid the scorching sun.TURFANTurfan is an oasis city, surroundedby mountains and desert. For many centuries,markets here provided food and drink toweary travellers and traders.TIANSHAN RANGETwo mountain rangesform a rocky wall between east and west: theTianshan and the Pamirs. Travellers climbedthe passes between these peaks, often pickingtheir way along icy or snow-covered trails.ZAGROS MOUNTAINSCaravans wound through theZagros Mountains on an ancientroad that ran along narrowvalleys and across rough terrain.AMU DARYAThe Amu Darya is apowerful river that runs from the PamirMountains to the Aral Sea. Travellersforded the river, avoiding the dangerouscurrents of summer and spring.SAMARKANDThis prosperous city was the homelandof the Sogdian people, who ran a vast trading networkalong the Silk Road. Merchants of many culturesmingled here, exchanging goods and ideas.BAGHDADThis city was once the capital of the Islamicworld and a remarkable centre of learning. Baghdadscholars studying maths, astronomy and medicinehelped form the foundation for science in the West.© National Museum of Australia and Ryebuck Media 20123