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Routes and Services

Maritime Silk Road

Historic Trade Routes and Sea Lanes

The Maritime Silk Road was a network of sea lanes connecting Chinese ports to Southeast Asia, India, the Arabian Peninsula and East Africa, carrying silk, porcelain, spices and other goods for well over a thousand years. It complemented the overland Silk Road and has been invoked in recent decades as part of China's 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiative. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Significance
Sea-borne counterpart to the overland Silk Road, linking Chinese ports to Southeast Asia, India, Arabia and East Africa; invoked again as part of China's 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiative. 1
Route Type
Historic maritime trade route network 1
Termini
Ports of southern China to Southeast Asia, India, the Arabian Peninsula and East Africa 1
Operational Status
Historic 1
Operational Status
Operational Status (category)
Historic / Discontinued 1
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Maritime Silk Road
Wikipedia
  • Lead section, sentence dating the route from the 2nd century BCE
    It began by the 2nd century BCE and flourished until the 15th century CE.
  • In Category: Routes and Services
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