The Silk Road reaches its golden age
	Xuan Zang's pilgrimage to India
700 A.D.	Tang dynasty begins to decline, and with it, the Silk Road drops into a valley
800 A.D.	First porcelain made in China
	Gunpowder invented in China
	Compass begins to be used by Chinese
900 A.D.	Tang dynasty ends
	After short abruption, the Song dynasty reunites China
1100 A.D.	China divided into Northern Sung and Southern Sung
	Genghis Khan unites Mongols
	Silk production and weaving established in Italy
1200 A.D.	Kublai Khan establishes the Yuan dynasty in China
	Silk road trade prospers again
	Marco Polo leaves for the East
1300 A.D.	Third Silk Road route appears in the north
	Yuan dynasty ends and Ming dynasty begins
1400 A.D.	China closes the door to foreigners
	Threatened by strong Uigur power, Ming dynasty greatly reduces the trade along the Silk Road
1600 A.D.	Manchus invades the central plains of China and establish the Qing dynasty
1700 A.D.	The Manchus control the Gobi and Altai districts
1800 A.D.	German scholar, Baron Ferdinand von Richthofen firstly names this route as "Silk Road"
	Manchus take over the Tarim Basin, and Xinjiang province established under Qing dynasty
	Lost cities unearthed along the old Silk Road
1900 A.D.	Chinese revolution - end of Chinese feudal dynasties
	Europeans begin to travel in the Silk Road
	Karakoram highway from Islamabad to Kashgar built by China and Pakistan