In opposition to the modern trade of your usual busy Chinese shopping mall, Beijing Road Pedestrian Mall, Guangzhou hides a well-kept secret, layers of China’s original trade route the Old Silk Road. Only discovered in 2002, the remnants over 3 dynasties – Song, Ming and Yuan are encased in glass and I found them fascinating to study and ponder. I remember hearing about the Old Silk Road as a child but I don’t think I realised how much action these roads had seen since the seventh century or the Old Silk Road’s true impact in opening up the world as it was then. Now I understood why I loved reading Marco Polo when I was in primary school as it really was describing a history so different from anything Australia had ever known.
