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The Silk Road is a historically important international trade (贸易) route between China and the Mediterranean (地中海). It began during the Western Han Dynasty and has been a bridge between East and West for over 2, 000 years
The ancient road started from Chang'an (now Xi'an) and ended in Eastern Europe, near today's Turkey and the Mediterranean Sea. It was about 6, 500 kilometers long and went across onefourth of the planet.
The Silk Road got its name in the 19th century because Chinese silk used to be carried along this road. Silk, jade, ceramics and iron went west to Rome. And from the west came glass, gems and food like carrots.
The Silk Road was very important to both China and the rest of the world. It was more than an ancient international trade route. Besides trade, knowledge about arts, science and literature, as well crafts and technologies was shared across the Silk Road. In this way, languages and cultures developed and influenced(影响)each other.
Today, China is trying to build the“21st Century Marine(海洋的)Silk Road”. With the help of APEC held in Beijing in November 2014, the dream of One Belt One Road(the “Silk Road Economic(经济的)Belt” and “21st Century Marine Silk Road”(“一带一路”)is coming true.
