Abstract: The idea of Silk Road was introduced into Chinese literature in the late 19th and early 20th century. From the 1920s on, Chinese translations adopted names like " the ancient road of silk business”, " the route access of silk trade”, and " the road of silk transportation”, etc.. Starting from the 1930s, the names and concept of Silk Road were disseminated and gradually accepted in China due to several reasons: the stimulation of Marc Stein and Sven Hedin’s explorations in the northwestern frontier, the development of the studies on Sino-Western communications, the enthusiastic support to " develop the northwestern areas”, the intellectuals’ translations, and the introductions from newspapers and the public media. But initially, the names varied. It took a long time to limit the expressions to " silk road” and " silk way”. Some scholars employed the foreign originated names and made them a conceptual tool in academic narratives. After the 1940s, the expressions won popularity in the academia and the public media. The most representative two, " silk road” and " silk way”, were even introduced into middle school textbooks. They became official expressions and received public recognition. Furthermore, many works envisioned the future of the " silk road”, discussing its strategic significance on economy and culture. Despite the fact that the regimes changed from one to another, the name and concept of Silk Road remained.