why did most merchants not travel the entire distance from china to the middle east to trade there goods

Question

anonymous · Answer

Answer: All of above.

anonymous · Answer

he trip would simply take too long. If one walked it would have taken an entire year to get to the Middle East, and it is simply not worth it. Trading near their homes for short distances would get them less profit, but ultimately they can have more transactions so therefore more profit. Another problem is the language barrier. Neighboring states would find some ways to communicate, but if suddenly Arab traders showed up in China, the foreign barrier cannot be overcome easily.