The trade route followed trails through the Taklamakan (part of the Gobi) desert in China and through mountain passes of the Hindu Kush, Tian Shian and Karakorams down into Pakistan and India and west into Central Asia. That trade route started about 400BC and continued to about late 1500 or early 1600 AD untill the sailing route to the far East was discovered around the tip of Africa by Bartholomew Diaz a Portuguese navigator. . . .it was more safe and speady to go that route than by camel caravan.

The items of trade was not really gun powder but silks, spices, jewllery and presious/semi presious stones going to the Mediterranean area of Europe, the returning items were ceramics, blown glass, presious metals and cotton. Gun powder was discovered during the Song Dynesty 960 – 1279AD in China, however there are references to the Alchemist Wei Boyang who in 142 AD produced something that ‘ignited and danced around’. Gun powder was secret stuff and they wanted to maintain control over that since it gave them the advantage over their enemies. . . .it was not traded.

Realize that a caravan did not leave China and continued to the Med, they had certain stops at oassisis where they off loaded everything and there was another trader who bought all or part of the load and then formed another caravan to the next oassis where the same procedure took place but to different tribes and dealers. The average caravan traveled twenty six miles per day before unloading and resting the animals for a day or two or maybe a week of trading before continueing to the next stop. It was too risky to continue since they did not speak the language or did not belong to the same clan into the next territory etc. Ware leaving China could conceivably take years to reach the Med at ten times the original cost, that also goes for the return journey.

The ad for the Silk Rd may have been hawkers yelling out their ware while at an oassis. . . . .but certainly some smart merchant also had signs up exclaiming, “Ten camel loads of fine silk’ or 5 Kilos of opium for two horses. . . .BTW I have a 1860’s opium pipe I bought in Xi’an and it still has residue in it. . . .would I put it in my mouth. . . . .? Not unless I am prepared to see a respitory clinic for the rest of my life. It is a nice souvenir. I also have Chinese money coming out of the ruins of Gauchang a city that Ghengis destroyed. Good luck with your project