A history wrapped in pure silk

"The term Silk Road was coined at the end of the 19th century by the German geologist and Orientalist Ferdinand von Richthofen, who between 1868 and 1872 did extensive research in China," says Zhao Feng, director at the China National Silk Museum in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.

"Over the years people were tempted to call the road by other names - spice and jade for example, given that they were important commodities traded along the same route. But none of them amount to a serious challenge, for a reason," says Zhao who was also behind a previous exhibition at his museum titled Silks from the Silk Road.

Zhao pointed to a gilt bronze silkworm unearthed from Shaanxi province, whose capital, Xi'an, once served as the capital for a large part of the country's Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220). The city was also located at the starting section of the Silk Road, first opened during the reign of the Han emperor Wudi between 139 BC and 126 BC.