3085710 Head of a Sogdian merchant (ceramic) by Chinese School, Sui Dynasty (581-618); Musee Cernuschi, Paris, France; (add.info.: The Sogdians established a trading network across the 2,400 kilometres (1,500 miles) from Sogdiana to China. In fact, the Sogdians turned their energies to trade so thoroughly that the Saka (Scythians) of the Kingdom of Khotan called all merchants \'suli\', \'Sogdian\', whatever their culture or ethnicity. Sogdian contacts with China were initiated by the embassy of the Chinese explorer Zhang Qian during the reign of Wudi in the former Han Dynasty, 141-87 BCE.); Pictures from History/Pratyeka; Chinese, out of copyright.