An article from the Bulletin of the Needle and Bobbin Club (vol. 21, nos. 1-2, 1937), assembled from the unfinished manuscript of Rudolph M. Riefstahl and edited by Elizabeth Riefstahl. It surveys the land and sea trade routes between China and the West, including the Siberian, Ili-Dzungarian and Chinese Turkestan routes, the minor routes to India and the sea routes via the Indian Ocean and Red Sea. It covers the history of the peoples, cities and travelers along these routes and the role of silk as the key commodity. Illustrated with three maps (A, B, C) and several plates; no weaving drafts and little technical textile discussion.