More Han Dynasty for you in this Part 3 episode with a special focus on the great diplomat and general Ban Chao.   Back in those Han Dynasty days Xinjiang was still considered very far away and not so easy to hold onto.  From the Han till the Tang, as Silk Road riches continue to grow along the trade routes, China will be in and out of the Western regions and face all kinds of competition for the great wealth contained within the Tarim and Turpan basins.

In this Part 2 episode we leave pre-history behind and look at Xinjiang's importance during the Qin and Han dynasties. Here is where the Han Chinese interaction with these lands far to the west began. Though a good portion of today's episode doesn't actually take place in Xinjiang, the story of the Yuezhi, Xiongnu, Zhang Qian and rise of Han Dynasty China is central to everything that follows later.