The Silk Road is the name given to the extensive trade routes that existed for nearly two millennia between China, Central Asia, and the Mediterranean. The Road has had a unique role in foreign trade and political relations. It has left its mark on the development of civilizations on both sides of the continent of Asia.
Raw silk and silk fabrics that were carried by caravans to the Occident were worth their weight in gold. Today the silk route is in the process of being re-established and is mainly used for the lucrative transportation of crude oil or for the even more lucrative drugs trafficking. Since the independence of the central Asian countries, the silk route has seen increasing numbers of tourists and has thus again become path for cultural exchange. At the end of the 20th century, the land route between Europe and the Far East regained significance in political, economic and cultural terms.
The UNESCO project on an 'Integral Study of the Silk Roads: Roads of Dialogue' examines the various types of contact and exchanges which took place along these roads and their impact on the history and civilization of our modern world, shedding light on the many identities and common heritage of the peoples involved.

Information source: UNESCO Documentation Centre, UNESCO Intercultural Dialogue web site