The Silk Road as a trade route came into being in the 3rd century B.C. and lived to see the 16th century of this era.
The trade towns situated along the Silk Road saw numerous devastating wars, destructions, fires, famine and plague. Some of them fell into oblivion leaving nameless ruins for their descendants, others not once perished in fire but revived again to amaze the world with their riches, the blue of the cupolas and the tracery terracotta lace-like ornamentation of mausoleums and mosques. For centuries the crowds of people speaking diverse languages filled bazaars, long caravans moved along dusty roads carrying precious gems and silks, spices and dyes, gold and silver, exotic birds and animals to sell them to Europeans.
The Great Silk Road is one of the most significant achievements in the history of the world civilization. The widespread network of caravan ways crossed Europe and Asia from China to the Mediterranean coast, and in ancient times served as important means of business relations and cultural exchanges between East and West. The longest part of the Silk Route lay across the territory of Central Asia and Kazakhstan. Caravans laden with silk from China, spices and precious stones from India, silver goods from Iran, Byzantine clothes, Turkic slaves, Afrasiabian ceramics, and many other goods, moved through the Kara-Kum and Kyzyl-Kum deserts, the boundless steppes of Sary-Arka; passed over the ridges of the Pamirs and Tien-Shan, the Altai and the Karatau Mountains; crossed the rivers Murgab, Amu-Darya and Syr-Darya.
On the way of the caravans there were rich settlements and towns - Marv (Turkmenistan); Buhara, Samarkand, Urgench and Khiva (Uzbekistan); Otrar, Taraz and Chimkent (Kazakhstan); Dgul, Suyab, Novokent, Balasagun, Borskon, Tash-Rabat, Osh and Uzgen (Kyrgyzstan).
The pioneer of the Great Silk road as considered by the historic tradition was Chzan Tsan, a Chinese diplomat who lived in the 1st century B.C. The fact that Central Asia had been carrying on trade Tien-Shan is verified by a big amount of Chinese coins, bronze looking glasses, silk remnants, fragments of china of Chinese production, which have been found by archeologists. Thanks to China silkworm breeding and paper manufacturing began developing in Central Asia whereas it was Central Asia, which China took up cultivation of grapes, alfalfa, onion, cotton, pomegranate, walnut, fig trees and cucumbers.
A modest commercial traveler called Franchesco Pegolotti of Bardi's firm in Florence came back home to Italy in 1355 after eight years of absence. He had covered thousands of Chinese leas, Arab farsahs and European miles of the Great Silk Road. He became the author of a book, which was titled "Trade practice, or a treatise on land division, trade measures, and other things the knowledge of which is necessary for merchants of all countries".
The paradox is that the ancient path of merchants of the East and the West got its name in the 19th century. The name was proposed by Ferdinand von Richthofen, the auther of classical works on the physical geography of China and the orography of Asia. Thus following his example this name is recognized all over the world. Warmly welcomed by the world public is the decision of the UNESCO on the realization of the international program "The Great Silk Road" - a route of dialogue, mutual understanding and rapprochement of cultures. The Great Silk Road like the Phoenix bird is starting its revival.

Almost the entire territory of Kyrgyzstan was crossed through by the routes of ancient travelers, which they used more or less frequently. Some roads became popular while others came to decline. However, there were several main lines.
The Northern branch ran through the Chu and Issyk-Kul Valleys. Near the Boom Gorge it diverged: one route led over Kastek Pass to the Northern Tian-Shan and farther along the Ili River; the other led to Jungaria via Issyk-Kul and Ili Valleys; the third one led to Kashgaria.
Middle branch of the Road started from the Fergana Valley, passed through Osh, Kashgar, and Jarkend, crossed over Alai, Irkeshtam, led to the west via Uzgen to the Valley of Naryn, and finally converged with the Northern branch in the upper reaches of Naryn.
The Southern branch led from the Vakhsh Valley to Kashgar and Jarkend.