Riding the New Silk Road Shipments depart from Chongqing Published: July 21, 2013 The network of routes known as the Silk Road connected Asia and Europe for centuries before fading in importance in the 1400s. Now, Hewlett-Packard has revived the route as a faster, overland alternative to shipping electronics from China to European markets by sea. A look at one section of the modern-day route, now more commonly traveled by train instead of by camel. Related Article " Photography and video by James Hill for the New York Times.