Experience
History's Greatest Journey
Whispers of a far land enter your ears. A land flowing with treasure more numerous than the sands of the Taklamakan and where the legends of China fills your mind with wonder. The Silk Roads beckon adventure, and perhaps something much more fulfilling. You take the step out to embark on a journey that surpasses the grandest of dreams, but also the most perilous of trials. All ideas and expectations are removed as you enter into far lands as a stranger.
In this interactive, choose-your-own-route across Eurasia, you assume the role of a merchant or explorer. The journey begins in Constantinople and from there the route diverges, and from the next outpost it branches again. Every route may be different, but they all lead to the Middle Kingdom - Hangzhou in eastern China.
Into the Silk Roads, you go.
Begin the
Adventure
As a stranger you begin this passage through history, but you may finish as family.
Explore the Silk Roads
Use the interactive map below to explore an outpost on the Silk Roads.
LEGEND:
Orange Icon indicates this location has a finished webpage and connecting routes.
Black Icon indicates this place has been charted but currently at work to bring it online.
About Our Quest
Early summer of 2016 we stepped into Western China for the first time. It was a totally different world than what we were accustomed to. Lamb kebabs were stables, donkey carts brought us to and fro, and layers upon layers of history interspersed with everyday life. This kicked off a newfound passion for the Silk Road - one which I invested hours upon hours researching. And a quest formed - to overland the route, chronicling the experiences along the way.
However, the more I researched, the more I realized it was not just a single road stretching from China to Europe, but rather interconnected veins crossing over all the highs and lows of Eurasia. Several main branches had numerous offshoots connecting towns and villages, ideas and treasures. A simple journey from Point A to Point B was out of the books; this will be an investment of time, resources, and many years to traverse the ancient highways. And it was a challenge we were willing to take on...
About the Silk Roads
Silk Roads evoke glorious days of past, mirages of exotic locales, and extraordinary tales, captivating explorers from Genghis Khan to Marco Polo to even myself. These interconnected series of ancient roads are the veins of the world where peoples, faiths, and countries are intricately blended together. The Silk Roads are also the passageway from East to West, and it is here where both sides of the world dramatically clash to form a truly unique landscape where innovations thrived. It is also here where civilizations and religions have formed, setting the blueprint to our ever so complex modern world. The Silk Roads are not just remote corners of the globe, forgotten and unimportant. Rather, the Silk Roads are perhaps the center of our complex globalization. The landscape of our planet would look vastly different if merchants, nomads, nobles, and explorers did not traverse the thousands of miles for hundreds of years. It's perplexing how such an important part of history can be so often overlooked and minimized.