It's also interesting once you realize that parts of the early modern era were shaped by the efforts of various European kingdoms to reestablish trading routes that were lost after the breakup of the Mongol Empire and, later on, the capture of Constantinople by the Turks.

True, but remember that Rome and China could trade without any Roman and Chinese person ever meeting.

My understanding of the Silk Road is that the cargo got reloaded many times and each individual leg was relatively short, at least in relation to the whole distance.