Wikipedia:Today's featured article/April 18, 2017
The Roman and Han Chinese empires saw an exchange of trade goods, information, and occasional travelers, as did the later Eastern Roman Empire and various Chinese dynasties. These empires inched progressively closer in the course of the Roman expansion into the ancient Near East and simultaneous Han Chinese military incursions into Central Asia. Mutual awareness remained low and firm knowledge about each other was limited. Only a few attempts at direct contact are known from records. Several alleged Roman emissaries to China were recorded by ancient Chinese historians. The indirect exchange of goods along the Silk Road and sea routes included Chinese silk, Roman glassware (example pictured) and high-quality cloth. Roman coins minted since the 1st century AD have been found in China. A coin of Maximian and medallions from the reigns of Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius were found in Vietnam. Roman glasswares and silverwares have been discovered at Chinese archaeological sites dated to the Han period. Roman coins and glass beads have also been found in Japan. (Full article...)