Well, first of all, what IS the Silk Road?

If you look up the term 'Silk Road' in an encyclopedia, you will learn that the Silk Road was, in fact, a real road. It was a trail that connected Europe with China, Persia, and Central Asia, and it was used by travelers and traders for hundreds of years.

Historians believe that traders started using the Silk Road over two thousand years ago. The Silk Road got its name from the valuable silk fabric that traders carried from China to Europe.

Travel along the Silk Road was very difficult and extremely dangerous. Bandits lay in wait to rob travelers' caravans. Dry deserts with no water for miles and mountain passes with avalanches, heavy snow, and spring flooding made the road perilous at all times of year.

Traders usually used camels to travel the Silk Road and carry their goods from one place to another, because camels could travel a long distance without water. But camels couldn't carry extremely heavy goods over the mountains and across the deserts. As a result, the Silk Road was not used to carry raw materials - such as lumber. Instead, it was used primarily to transport small, luxury goods, which had a high price - such as silk and porcelain.

For many centuries, the Silk Road was the only way to travel between Europe and Asia. But then, in the 15th century, explorers discovered a way to travel by sea, traveling around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa. The sea route was long and dangerous, but it was safer than the Silk Road, and it allowed traders to carry many more goods by ship than they could carry by camel. After that, traders slowly stopped using the Silk Road.

When the Silk Road was in use, it let people do much more than just trade goods. It was a link between many different countries and cultures. People along the Silk Road traded culture as well as goods. They heard each other's music, viewed each other's art, and even experienced each other's religions.

To celebrate the Silk Road's role in connecting people, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. is dedicating its summer Folklife Festival this year to the Silk Road. The Festival, which will cover the Mall in Washington D.C. starting in late June, will showcase art, food, music, and materials from Mainland China, Central Asia, and Italy.

But how will all the Silk Road exhibits that will be part of the Folklife Festival get to Washington D.C.? Well, that's where the APL cargo containers come in.

This spring, 23 APL cargo containers have been sent to India and Pakistan to pick up art and artifacts for the Folklife Festival. The containers are now on their way back to the United States, traveling by ship, truck, and train, and the goods they are carrying will help recreate the feeling of the Silk Road for a modern-day audience.

Today, travelers no longer caravan along the Silk Road. But the sea lanes that APL's container ships travel form another kind of Silk Road. Containers, filled with goods from all over the world, help people experience the magic of far away places.

Study Questions:

1. One of the Silk Road's most famous travelers was Marco Polo, who wrote about his experiences as he traveled. Use the library or Internet to research Marco Polo's life and write a 1-page paper about what you learn. Why did he travel on the Silk Road? How long did his journey take?

2. Can you trace the Silk Road? Use an encyclopedia and an atlas to trace the route of the Silk Road. Then trace the sea route that explorers discovered in the 15th century.

3. Has the Silk Road come to your town? The Silk Road Project is bringing music, art, and culture from the Silk Road to cities and towns all over the world. Learn more about this traveling project at www.silkroadproject.org, and write about what you learn.

Check out past Trade Topics entries!