Buddhism was the first of the great missionary faiths to take advantage of the mobility provided by the Silk Road to extend its reach far beyond its native ground. From its origins in north eastern India, Buddhism had already spread into the lands that are now Pakistan and Afghanistan by the 1st century BCE.
The religion that spread from India to China was Buddhism. It was spread along the Silk Road because merchants had converted and married people in China. This is how China has a lot of Buddhist people living in the country. It is also because the ruler, Kublai Khan. declared Buddhism was the offical religion of the Mongol Empire (which is now modern day China).
