Dynasties & Defense
Built in the 15th century in Gansu Province, this site represents the westernmost section of the Great Wall
Jiayuguan
Inhabitants of the desert oasis at Hami relied on melting snows from this mountain range to irrigate their crops
What are the Tianshan mountains?
Chinese prisoners captured during conflict introduced the secret manufacturing process of this writing material to the Islamic world
What is paper?
Named for its signature Chinese fabric export, the Silk Roads also conveyed tea, porcelain, and glass
What is silk?
This specific northern region in Xinjiang is identified as being rich in oil deposits
What is the Karamai region?
Along with the Mongols, these two imperial Chinese dynasties conquered or dominated oasis towns like Hami to maintain trade routes
What are the Han and Tang dynasties?
Official records from the Tang dynasty indicate that the ethnically heterogeneous population of Hami reached approximately this size
What is 10,000 people?
Persian miniature paintings and tilework incorporated these two iconic mythical creatures from Chinese artistic traditions
What are the dragon and phoenix?
Powdered root from this plant grown in China became a prized European treatment for digestive ailments
What is rhubarb?
Desertification accelerated when Chinese peasants settled and farmed land in the steppes of this Autonomous Region
What is Inner Mongolia?
To protect merchant caravans beyond the Great Wall, Chinese authorities erected watch towers and stationed these military outposts
What are garrisons?
Name two of the three main crops cultivated by local farmers at the Hami oasis
What are wheat, millet, or peas?
Persian scholars transmitted knowledge to China in these two scientific disciplines
What are astronomy and medicine?
In the 16th century, overland Silk Road travel drastically declined following the discovery of these cheaper transport routes
What are sea routes?
In Xinjiang cotton farming, runoff from this chemical product contaminated local aquifers, causing severe health issues
What is chemical fertilizer?
This less foreigner-friendly Chinese dynasty came to power in the 15th century, eventually impinging upon and undermining Silk Roads trade
What is the Ming dynasty?
According to this famous European traveler, the residents of Hami were so hospitable that they lent their wives to weary travelers
Who is Marco Polo?
While Chinese motifs traveled westward, design elements originating from this region were integrated into Chinese textiles
What is Central Asia?
The Mongols instituted this commercial arrangement where investors entrusted capital to agent-managers to share business risks
What is the ortogh?
Supplying enough of this basic natural resource presents one of the most critical 21st-century issues for governments in North and Northwest China
What is water?
Beginning in the 2nd century BCE, powerful Chinese and Persian dynasties made long-distance travel viable by deterring these armed groups
Who are bandits?
Hami is located in this Chinese autonomous region, which forms part of the vast geographic area known as Inner Asia
What is Xinjiang?
Besides Buddhism and Islam, name two of the three other major religions mentioned that spread along the Silk Roads
What are Manichaeism, Zoroastrianism, or Nestorian Christianity?
According to the text, the total economic output of Silk Road trade dominated the national economies of the empires along its paths (True or False)
What is False?
Transporting modern oil and mineral wealth out of Inner Asia is uniquely challenging because the region lacks sea access, making it this
What is landlocked?