A Journey along the Silk Road

This section, "A Journey along the Silk Road", presents the main themes of this program from a geographical perspective.

  With our Silk Road Video and geographical information system, this section utilizes a geographical approach to allow people to see and enjoy the whole Silk Road via the Internet.

  1. The Silk Road Interactive Streaming Video Tour
  2. Silk Road Civilization Map (with the assistance and cooperation of the Academia Sinica computer center)
 

A. The Silk Road Interactive Streaming Video Tour
  • " In the first year two routes were completed (in China): Xi'an to Hami and Hami to Samarkand; including 18 cities, 129 pictures, and 2 videos.
  • " Now we have completed an additional six routes (in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India): Samarkand to 查拉拉城 (?), 查拉拉城 to Kashmir, Kashmir to Kau??mb?, Kau??mb? to Buddha-gay?, ?ra?a to Parvata, Allahabad, etc.; including 52 cities, 130 pictures, and 2 videos.

These videos, which have actually been filmed along the Silk Road, have been collected, recorded, and edited in order to allow those who do not have the opportunity to personally journey to the Silk Road to see and enjoy this great route, which stretches across half of central and western China and has had a tremendous influence throughout Chinese history. This web page has been designed to present the images of the Silk Road via Video Streaming technology. With this Streaming technology, users can simultaneously download information and view multi-media video images without having to wait for the download to be completed. In this way we can broadcast longer video images. In addition, this site has been designed so as to automatically change pages while an image is being broadcast, so people can watch the videos while also browsing the content of the web pages.

Moreover, "A Journey along the Silk Road" provides tour information for people who plan to travel to the Silk Road, including information on its places of historic interest and scenic beauty, as well as the culture and customs of its people. We also provide a glimpse of the culture and landscape of the Silk Road, including places such as the Turfan Basin in Xinjiang Province, Xining temple in Qinghai Province, and Yueya spring in Gansu Province, etc. We provide other necessary tour information, including route maps, places to stay, and local foods, in addition to historical introductions for each location.

B. Silk Road Civilization Map (with the assistance and cooperation of the Academia Sinica computer center):

This Silk Road Civilization Map of China has been completed in coordination with the Academia Sinica computer center GIS team. For each city on the map, users can zoom in on the images provided and can link to related web sites. In the future, we will utilize Silk Road elevation information and satellite imagery to construct a virtual Silk Road 3-D topographical model. Important landmark structures such as st?pas, caves, ancient cities, and other culturally and historically significant sites will be incorporated into this 3-D model. By moving the cursor over or by clicking on any one of these landmark structures, users can link to the geographical information system (GIS), related web pages and databases.