Describe the Silk Road and its use and effect in China and the West

What will be an ideal response?

Essay responses should include these points:
Starting in Chang'an, the 5,000-mile-long network of caravan and sea routes carried luxury goods to Rome and brought back gold.
Spices, horses, metals, gems, and, most important, silk all traveled along the treacherous route through hostile territory.
Ideas also traveled along the famed route, including artistic styles and Buddhism.