Xuanzang traveled from Chang’an to India between 629 and 645 and later recorded his Silk Road journey.
Xuanzang was a Tang-dynasty Buddhist monk, scholar, and translator. He left China in 629 despite restrictions on foreign travel and crossed Central Asian regions before reaching India. His journey took him through oasis settlements, mountain passes, and major Buddhist centers.
In India, Xuanzang studied Buddhist philosophy, visited important pilgrimage sites, and spent time at Nalanda, one of the period’s leading centers of learning. He returned to China in 645 with scriptures, images, and relics. At Chang’an, he translated many Sanskrit Buddhist texts into Chinese with imperial support.
His travel account, usually known in English as Great Tang Records on the Western Regions, describes geography, political states, customs, religions, and monuments. Later Chinese literature transformed Xuanzang into a central character in Journey to the West, but the historical monk was a real traveler whose record remains a major source for seventh-century Eurasia.