The following story explores this journey through the lens of a traveler on the Silk Road. The Golden Apple of the West
In his home in northwest China, these were known as the fruits of immortality. Their skin was like velvet, and their flesh held the sweetness of a summer sunset. Li Wei was bound for the great markets of the West, following a path that would one day be called the Silk Road. Persica
The caravan moved with the slow, rhythmic sway of a hundred camels, their bells a constant chime against the silence of the Taklamakan Desert. Among the merchants was Li Wei, a man carrying a cargo more precious than the silk bundled on the lead animals: a collection of saplings carefully wrapped in damp moss and clay. The following story explores this journey through the