In the second year of the Jianyuan reign of Emperor Wu of Han (139 BC), Zhang Qian volunteered to depart from Chang'an (now northwest of Xi'an, Shaanxi), and after thirteen years of hardships, he finally completed the journey of "chiseling through the air". Its itinerary can be divided into three stages:

Phase 1: Trapped in Longxi and Hexi

Zhang Qian and his delegation passed through Didao (now Lintao, Gansu) and advanced westward along the Hexi Corridor. When they reached the middle of the corridor, they unfortunately encountered Xiongnu cavalry and the entire team was detained. Zhang Qian was under house arrest in the Xiongnu for more than ten years, but later escaped during the chaos and continued his journey westward.

Phase 2: Expedition through the Western Regions and Central Asia

After escaping from the Xiongnu controlled area, Zhang Qian took a route south of the Tianshan Mountains and the Central Asian river region, passing through the following main nodes:

Northern provinces: passing through Cheshi (now Turpan, Xinjiang), Yanqi (now Yanqi, Xinjiang), Kuche (now Kuche, Xinjiang), arrived at Shule (now Kashgar, Xinjiang).

Ferghana Basin in Central Asia: Crossing the Congling Mountains and entering Guishan City in Dawan (now Andijan, Uzbekistan).

In the Hezhong region, it passed through the Kangju territory of Beitan City (now Shymkent, Kazakhstan) and finally arrived at the Blue City of the Dayue Clan (now Termetz, Uzbekistan).

Phase 3: Return from Nandao and Second Capture

After staying for more than a year, Zhang Qian returned to the east along the southern edge (south road) of the Tarim Basin, intending to bypass the main force of the Huns:

Passing through Shache (now Shache in Xinjiang), Yutian (now Hotan in Xinjiang), Jingjue (now Minfeng in Xinjiang), Qiemo (now Qiemo in Xinjiang), and Ruoqiang in Xinjiang.

To completely avoid the Xiongnu, Zhang Qian did not directly travel through the Hexi Corridor, but instead headed south into Qiangzhong (now the western part of Zhiduo County, Qinghai). Unexpectedly, he was captured again by the Xiongnu here and detained for over a year.

In the third year of Yuanshuo (126 BC), Zhang Qian took advantage of the internal turmoil of the Xiongnu and finally fled back to Chang'an.

Route summary:

Chang'an ➔ Didao ➔ Hexi Corridor (captured) ➔ Cheshi/Yanqi/Qiuzi/Shule ➔ Dawan (Guishan City) ➔ Dayue Clan (Lanshi City)/Kangju (Beitian City) ➔ Shache/Yutian/Jingjue/Qiemo/present-day Ruoqiang in Xinjiang ➔ Qiangzhong (captured again) ➔ Chang'an.Editor/Cheng Liting