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One of the worlds most ancient and historically important trade routes, the Silk Road conjures up exotic images of camel caravans, windswept deserts and such legendary figures as Genghis Khan and Marco Polo. Extending from as far as the Indian kingdoms in the west to present day Xian in China in the east, the Silk Road had, by the third centry B.C.,already became a cross roads of Asia. 世界上最古老、历史上最重要的贸易路线之一_丝绸之路，总给人.种富有异国情调的印象：骆驼商队、狂风肆虐的沙漠，还有诸如成吉思汗和马可波罗等传奇人物。丝绸之路绵亘远长，西至印度王国，东到中国现在的西安，早在公元前3世纪，丝绸之路就已经成为了亚洲交通的十字路口。 Skirting the edges of the harsh and inhospitable Taklimakan desert, the Silk Road actually had several different branches, each passing through different oasis. All roads began in Changan . The northem route wound its way through places such as Turfan and Kuqa before finally ending at Kashgar. Them route followed the lower thnges of the Taklimakan eventually reaching the same destination. Numerous other routes were also plied through out the years, reaching all the way to Samarkand, Tashkent, India, and the Caspian Sea. 丝绸之路其实有数条支线，它们分别沿着环境恶劣、不适合人类居住的塔克拉玛干沙漠外缘，穿越不同的绿洲。所有的路线都是始于长安(西安)，北线蜿蜒经过了吐鲁番、库车，最后到达喀什格尔，南线沿着塔克拉玛干下缘前行，并到达同一终点。其他的许多支线也是历代都通行的，通往撒玛尔罕、塔什干、印度，及里海等地。 | 
