Tangfan Ancient Road is a very important trading road in Chinese history. It is the necessary road from the middle land  of China (in the Tang Dynasty) to Qinghai, Tibet, Nepal and India. It started from Chang'an (present Xian City), passing Gansu, Qinghai, and finally reached Tibet. The whole road is 3,000 kilometers long. It played an important role in communications between Han people, Tibetan people and the outer world. Hence it is named "the South Silk Road".
For centuries, Tangfan Ancient Road worked like a bridge between Han and Tibetan people. The period of history can be traced back to the Han Dynasty. In the middle of the 7th Century, the leader of Tubo Songtsen Gampo admired Tang's culture and strong power of the country. To enhance the relationship with Tang, he sent the ambassadors to visit Chang'an, capital of the Tang Dynasty and met Li Shimin, Taizong of the Tang. He asked to make connections with the Tang through marriages alliance. So, in 641, Taizong sent his daughter Princess Wencheng to Tubo. She married Songtsen Gampo. Princess Wencheng entered Tubo through the Tangfan Ancient Road. It was her that opened the first page of the history of Tangfan Ancient Road. Since then, another princess was sent to Tubo. And the trade between Tang and Tubo became more and more frequent. The Tangfan Ancient Road was prosperous at that time. Nowadays, the former towers, stations, villages and temples built at that time can still be found along the road.
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