My history textbook claims the Silk Road was more than a trade route—it was also a channel for cultural and intellectual exchange between East and West. But after reading Marco Polo’s account, which covers a time when the Silk Road had already existed for a millennium, I’m doubtful. The geographic and linguistic barriers seem too great for ideas to travel effectively, and even Polo’s descriptions of the East are vague. Wikipedia mentions things like Buddhist temples along the Silk Roa...
