2. Opening the Silk Road The opening of the Silk Road helped the development of many countries. The Road was established in the Han Dynasty for political contact. It was made possible by the expansion of Han military campaigns, Han beating back nomadic people in northwest China. The Silk Road got its name from a German geographer Barn Ferdinand Van Richthofen. The first major step in opening the Silk Road between east and west came with the expansion of Alexander the Great ’ s empire into central Asia. They founded the city of “ Alexandria the Furthest ” at the mouth of the Fergana Valley. This later became a major staging point of the Silk Road. Zang Qiang was another major helper in the opening of the Silk Road. Often called the “ Father of the Silk Road ”, Qiangs travels opened the way for trade between China and western neighbors. He got sent on a mission to form an alliance with western people to try to defeat the Huns. Although he did not succeed with his mission, he learned about culture of the west.

5. Routes There were many routes on The Silk Road. The Silk Road was actually a series of caravan tracks stretching 4,000 miles across China, central Asia, Northern India and area around the Mediterranean Sea. There were many dangers along the Silk Road. Bandits often attacked travelers. Desert sandstorms sometimes buried travelers. Another danger is that mirages sometimes lured travelers off the main trail The Pamir Mountains were a major landmark of the Silk Road. With some peaks over 20,000 feet, travelers often experienced headaches, dizziness, and ringing in their ears due to the lack of oxygen. Many of the mountain passes were narrow and dangerous. The eastern Silk Road was very interesting. “From Luoyang, the Silk Road led west along the Gobi Desert to Dunhuang in northwestern China. This part of the route was protected from the North by the Great Wall,” (Frey 236). The Northern route had many features. “It travels northwest through the Chinese province of of Gansa and splits into three further routes. Two of them follow mountain ranges north and south of the Taklamakan Desert to rejoin at Kashgar. The other goes north of the Tianshan Mountains through Turfan, Talgar and Alamaty.” (http://en.wikipedia.org) Finally, the southern route is very interesting. It is mainly a single route. It goes through northern India, then Turkestan-Khorasan and into Mesopotamia and Antolia.

6. Conclusion In conclusion, the Silk Road helped both Asia and Europe form into the places they are today. The opening of the Silk Road was crucial to the later benefits to Europe and Asia. Many products were shipped throughout Asia. There were many routes going on the Silk Road. The Silk Road linked many classes of people.

8. About The Author Levi S is a 12-year-old boy in 6 th grade. He lives in Santa Cruz CA. His favorite subjects are social studies, science, and math. In his free time he likes to play soccer, bird watch, hike, and play the clarinet. His dad is a doctor and his mom is an artist. He decided to write about the Silk Road because he wanted to learn about different products and cultures of ancient Asia. When he is an adult he would either like to be a professional soccer player for Valencia, Real Madrid, or Chelsea, or he would like to be a wildlife photographer for National Geographic. He loves to take pictures of animals and he has a leopard gecko, some fish, a cat, and four chickens. He loves to play soccer and he often rides his bike to soccer field