The Silk Road is the ancient trade route that starts in the old capital of Chang'an, the present-day Xi'an city and the center of politics, economy, and culture in a long period of ancient China.
丝绸之路是起始于古代中国的政治、经济、文化中心古都长安（今天的西安）的古代贸易路线。
It refers to the overland commercial route connecting Asia, Africa and Europe, which goes over the Longshan Mountain, follows Hexi Corridor, passes Yumenguan Pass and Yangguan Pass, reaches Xinjiang, stretches along the oasis and the Pamir Plateau, enters the Central Asia, crosses Central Asia, Western Asia and Southern Asia, and then leads to Africa and Europe.
它指的是连接亚洲、非洲和欧洲的路上商业路线。它跨越龙山山脉，穿过河西走廊，通过玉门关和阳关，抵达新疆，沿绿洲和帕米尔高原通过中亚、西亚和北非，最终抵达非洲和欧洲。
It also served as an important trunk road where the economic, political and cultural exchanges between the Orient and the West were taking place.
它也是一条东方与西方之间经济、政治、文化进行交流的主要道路。
In its very first beginning the function of the trade route is to transport silk, the fine, delicate, elegant and portable goods, representing the civilization of ancient China which enjoyed advanced agriculture and well-developed handicraft industry.
它的最初作用是运输那些代表了拥有先进农业和手工业的发达中国古代文明的那些精致、细腻、优雅并且轻便的丝绸。
Therefore, when the name of "Silk Road" was first given by the German geographer Ferdinand Freiherr von Richthofen in the 1870s, it was widely accepted.
因此，当德国地理学家费迪南Freiherr·冯·里希特霍芬最早在19世纪70年代将之命名为“丝绸之路”后，即被广泛接受。