Silk Roads: Chang'an–Tianshan Corridor丝绸之路：长安-天山廊道的路网 · Sīchóu Zhī Lù — the trans-Asian trade network
A 5,000-kilometre stretch of the ancient Silk Roads, from the Han and Tang capital of Chang'an (Xi'an) across northwest China to the Tianshan mountains of Central Asia — a transnational listing of 33 sites where two millennia of trade, faith and ideas moved between civilizations.
The road that carried silk, and much more.
This property is a 5,000 km section of the vast Silk Roads network, running from Chang'an/Luoyang — the central capital of China under the Han and Tang — to the Zhetysu region of Central Asia. Taking shape between the 2nd century BC and the 1st century AD and used into the 16th, it linked multiple civilizations and enabled far-reaching exchanges of trade, religion, science, technology and art.
The transnational listing gathers 33 component sites across China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan — capital cities and palaces, Buddhist cave temples, beacon towers and forts, caravanserais and passes — that together map how goods and ideas travelled the corridor. In China they string from the Xi'an heartland northwest through the Hexi Corridor toward the Tianshan.
A serial, cross-border listing — not one place. Several of its Chinese components are famous in their own right and easy to visit from Xi'an; others are remote.
A corridor of many sites.
This is a serial, transnational listing of 33 sites across China and Central Asia. In China, the visit-worthy components cluster around Xi'an and along the route northwest. A few examples:
Weiyang & Daming Palaces, Chang'an 汉长安城・大明宫
The Han and Tang palace-city sites in Xi'an — the eastern anchor of the whole corridor, where the roads began.
Bin County & Maijishan cave temples 彬县大佛寺・麦积山
Buddhist cave-temple complexes along the route, showing the faith that travelled the road into China.
Han-dynasty beacon towers & passes 烽燧・关隘
The forts, beacon towers and passes of the Hexi Corridor that guarded and guided the caravans northwest.
Tianshan corridor sites 天山廊道
Sites reaching into Xinjiang and Central Asia, linking the Chinese heartland to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
The accessible Chinese components.
Most travellers experience the corridor through its famous, easy-to-reach sites around Xi'an and the northwest. These are the natural entry points.
Tap or hover a photo for access details.
Daming Palace, Xi'an 大明宫
The ruins and museum of the Tang dynasty's great palace-city in Xi'an — where the Silk Roads met the imperial capital.City Xi'an · Ticket site fee
Maijishan Grottoes 麦积山石窟
A haystack-shaped mountain honeycombed with Buddhist caves and clay sculpture, on the route west of Xi'an.Near Tianshui, Gansu
Bin County Great Buddha Temple 彬县大佛寺
A Tang cave temple with a 20 m Buddha, carved beside the road as it left the Chang'an plain.Near Xi'an
Toward the Tianshan 天山廊道
Beacon towers, forts and oasis sites strung along the Hexi Corridor into Xinjiang — the deep, remote end of the route.Where Gansu / Xinjiang
Spring and autumn, across the northwest.
May–June and September–October are best across the arid northwest, avoiding summer heat and winter cold. The route crosses desert and mountain, so conditions vary widely by component.
Treat the corridor as a theme, not a single trip. Its 33 sites span thousands of kilometres and three countries, so pick components along your route — the Xi'an palace sites and a cave temple or two are the easy start. A full Silk Road journey west to the Tianshan is a serious multi-week expedition.
For foreign travelers.
- Start with the Xi'an-area components (Daming Palace and a nearby cave temple) — they're the easy, high-reward entry to the corridor.
- Treat farther sites (Maijishan, Hexi Corridor, Xinjiang) as separate legs of a longer northwest journey.
- Each component is ticketed on its own; there's no single Silk Roads pass.
- Pair the theme with the Mogao Caves and Dunhuang further along the route. See our Mogao Caves guide.