Whose courtesy name was Zi Wen, Zhang was born in Chenggu county of Hanzhong city in Shaanxi province. He was one of the greatest diplomats, envoys and adventurers in ancient China.

138 BC: Zhang Qian was assigned by Liu Che, an emperor of the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24), to lead a team of about 100 people to seek a military alliance with a country named Darouzhi in the west. During a journey that lasted 13 years, Zhang was captured twice by Xiongnu, a powerful tribal nomadic group on the then-border of northern China. This trip marked the opening-up of the ancient Silk Road and strengthened cultural exchanges between China and other countries.

Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form.