It would not be surprising to discover that the trade routes between China and the West were opened many centuries, even millennia, earlier than 200 B  C  , contrary to what is currently believed
After all, what made the Great Silk Road so attractive as a trade route linking China and the West -- level terrain, easily traversable mountain passes, and desert oases -- would also have made it an attractive route for the original emigrants to China from Africa and the Middle East, and this early migration began at least one million years ago
It is cited as conclusive evidence for the claim that trade links between China and the Middle East were established long before 200 B. C.