Sips of the Silk Road highlight legacy of traders

The dates are from present-day Pakistan, the roasted cumin from Xinjiang.

"It's a drink that captures the essence of the Silk Road," says Beijing's amiable barman Badr Benjelloun of one of his favorite cocktails, From Kashgar with Love. Kashgar, an oasis city in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, is the westernmost Chinese city and it has become virtually synonymous with the ancient trade route.

The routes are much more than a chapter for history books - they represent a cultural legacy that lives on today, even in food and drink.