Siberian Route

The much longer Siberian route started in Moscow as the Vladimir Highway and passed through Murom, Kozmodemyansk, Kazan, Perm, Kungur, Yekaterinburg, Tyumen, Tobolsk, Tara, Kainsk, Tomsk, Yeniseysk and Irkutsk.

One branch continued east to Nerchinsk while the other went south to the border post of Kyakhta where it linked to camel caravans that crossed Mongolia to a Great Wall gate at Kalgan.

It remained a vital artery connecting Siberia with Moscow and Europe until the last decades of the 19th century, when it was superseded by the Trans-Siberian Railway and Amur Cart Road.

Charles Wenyon, who passed by the "Great Post Road" in 1893, subscribed to the popular belief that "the best tea produced in China for the exportation goes to Russia".

It was imported primarily in the form of hefty hard-packed tea bricks which allowed each camel to carry large quantities in a more compact manner[3] and could also pass for units of currency.

The map of the Siberian route in the 18th century ( green ) and the early 19th century ( red ).
Monument marking the dividing line between Asia and Europe on the Siberian Route coordinate:56°49′55.7″N 60°21′02.60″E
Travellers in Yekaterinburg , 1789
Crossing the Angara at Irkutsk , 1886.