Silk Route

Back in the day (as in: late B.C. days to 14th century A.D. days), there was a network of trade routes aptly named the Silk Route. Far from being a smooth journey, the Silk Route got its name because Western history is written from the Western perspective, and the Silk Route...brought over a lot of silk. The Europeans of the time were gobbling up Asian luxuries: silks, spices, china (like, the blue and white dishes), gunpowder, paper (yeah, paper and gunpowder...thanks to super-old China for those), jade, exotic fruits...all that stuff Europeans didn’t have.

Since they were rarities, they became hot-ticket items fetching high prices...prices high enough to make it worth it to travel on foot (with camels and horses in caravans) all that way and back enough times to make the Silk Route.

The Silk Route is more than one road. It goes from Europe to China, as well as to Middle Eastern countries and today’s India. Places to stay, trade, get some food, and sleep popped up all along the Silk Route.

In another reality, the Silk Route might be named the Jade Route, since that was the commodity most responsible for laying down the initial Silk Route footpaths. From the Chinese perspective, maybe the Silver Route, since the Europeans were spending lots of silver to buy all those Asian goods. It even got to a crisis-level point in Britain eventually.

Today, China talks about reviving the Silk Route. Of course, they don’t mean literally...we’ll take our modern planes for a few hours over weeks on a camel, thanks. This notions the opening of trade with China to other countries in Asia, Africa, and Europe. And some day, Mars.