In 97 CE, a Chinese envoy named
Gan Ying, sent by the general
Ban Chao, made his way from the Tarim Basin to Parthia and reached the
Persian Gulf. Gan Ying left a detailed account of western countries, although he apparently only reached as far as
Mesopotamia, then under the control of the
Parthian Empire.
While he intended to sail to the Roman Empire, he was discouraged when told that the dangerous trip could take up to two years. Deterred, he returned home to China bringing much new information on the countries to the west of Chinese-controlled territories.