Chinese Chronology and Cycles

It is evident that the Chinese in ancient times knew of Bactria An ancient region in Central Asia, covering parts of modern Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan, and would consequently have been known to the Bactrians, because an ancient trade route existed between China and that country.

Chinese records of this trade seem to indicate a route from Sichuan original: "Sze-chuen" to Bactria. According to Colonel Yule in his introductory essay to Captain Gill’s River of the Golden Sand (page 40), this route probably passed through Tibet original: "Thibet". He contrasts these records with a remarkable passage from the Periplus original: "Periplus"; specifically the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, a 1st-century AD Greek travel guide for sailors of the 1st century AD. This text speaks of "Thin" and of its great city, "Thinae, from which raw silk, silk thread, and silk fabrics were brought overland through Bactria to Bharuch original: "Bary-gaza (Bhroch)"; an ancient port city in modern-day Gujarat, India." This is further supported by the statement of Ptolemy a century later, who says there was a road from the countries of the Seres and Sinae Ancient Greco-Roman names for the people of China to Bactria by the "stone tower" (that is, by way of Kashgar and the Pamir Mountains).

In the records of Sosnovsky’s original: "Sossnoffsky" expedition to China in 1874–1875 (see the Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, as cited above), he states:

"The Gobi Desert is far from being a wretched
desert where nothing but hardship and misery
await us. Water lies close to the surface. Near such
springs, and in the mountain valleys, grass is
found underfoot, suitable not only for camels but
for horses. In some places, a mantle of vegetation
extends for a considerable distance, providing
browsing ground for herds of wild animals,
including camels and asses. After an eight-day
march, we reach the fertile oasis of Hami original: "Khamil"." It