7.4K reactions · 87 shares | From as early as 60 BC, business and trade occurred between Xiyu, or the western regions of the Han-Tang dynasties (roughly present-day Xinjiang) and Zhongyuan, a region otherwise known as the Central Plain area and the cradle of Chinese civilization. Ancient coins that circulated at the time facilitated business and trade between the west and central areas of ancient China for over two thousands of years. | CGTN | Facebook

In the shadows of Elizabethan England Dr John Dee (1527-1608) served Queen Elizabeth I as a trusted advisor on matters of science, astrology and navigation. Many are unaware that this Renaissance polymath may have been Englands first systematic intelligence agent, marking his confidential letters with the famed number 007 for the queen eye only. Advising on voyages to Canada and coining the term British Empire, Dee blended scholarly brilliance with clandestine service to secure Englands destiny