Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang’an-Tianshan Corridor
Location: Zhetsyu Date of Inscription: 2014
This property is a 5,000-kilometre section of the extensive Silk Roads network, stretching from Chang’an/Luoyang, the central capital of China in the Han and Tang Dynasties, to the Zhetysu region of Central Asia. It took shape between the second century BC and first century AD and remained in use until the 16th century, linking multiple civilisations and facilitating far-reaching exchanges of activities in trade, religious beliefs, scientific knowledge, technological innovation, cultural practices and the arts. The 33 components included in the routes network include capital cities and palace complexes of various empires and Khan kingdoms, trading settlements, Buddhist cave temples, ancient paths, posthouses, passes, beacon towers, sections of the Great Wall, fortifications, tombs and religious buildings.