The Silk Road

is a documentary television series produced by Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) that first aired throughout the 1980s. The travelogue traced the ancient Silk Road from Chang'an (modern day Xi'an) to Rome covering the history, archaeology, culture, religion, and art of countries along the route. The series first aired in Japan on 7 April 1980, with sequels being broadcast over a 10-year period. It took a total of 17 years from conception to complete what many consider a landmark in Japan's broadcast television history. The intention of the program was to reveal how ancient Japan was influenced by the exchange of goods and ideas along the trade route. Background In September 1972, an NHK director covered Japanese Prime Minister Tanaka Kakuei's visit to Beijing, China. During the visit, Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai invited journalists and reporters for their support in introducing China to the rest of the world, which signalled the thaw of post-war Sino-Japanese relation. The director proposed Silk Road could be the subject of a TV program to illustrate cultural exchange between China and the rest of the world. The executives of NHK supported this idea, but by mid-1970s the camera crew for another program had not been able to enter the Silk Road region. A breakthrough came after various negotiations by the end of October 1978, with Deputy-Premier Deng Xiaoping's visit to Japan. On New Year's Eve 1978, permission was granted and a joint project with China Central Television (CCTV) was born. It was the first time a foreign television crew was granted entry into the Silk Road region within Chinese territory, who captured the country at the beginning of the economic reform. The historic documentary also reflected international tension in the Central and Western Asia regions at the time, as it was produced in the immediate aftermath of the Soviet–Afghan War and during the Iran–Iraq War.