ABSTRACT
The Overland Silk Road in the Tang Dynasty experienced its peak and rapid decline. Although business travellers from some Western countries still travelled via Central Asia and the Western Regions on land, the role of the Overland Silk Road was significantly reduced compared with that of the Maritime Silk Road. However, the exchanges between the Sui Empire and the peoples of the countries along the Silk Road were not seriously affected. Coupled with the rise of the Maritime Silk Road, the cost to performance ratio of trade and exchanges by sea was higher, and Guangzhou, Quanzhou, and other places were emerging as the core areas of foreign exchanges. The Steppe Silk Road originated from the Hetao area of the Yellow River in China and gradually extended northwestwards through the Mongolian steppes. Zhang Qian’s expeditions to the Western Regions promoted the prosperity of the Gobi and Oasis Silk Road, while the Steppe Silk Road was snubbed.
