Relates the attempts since 1553 of men from various nations to navigate the dangerous Northeast Passage through the Arctic to the Pacific Ocean.

Includes a description and history of exploration of the Northwest Passage, projection of future commercial use, analysis of the past and present legal status of the Passage and a discussion of the main policy implications of future use.

This volume is the first study of the entire history of the Northern Sea Route, from its earliest exploration to the twenty-first century. It includes the West-European search for a new waterway to the Orient (sixteenth to seventeenth century), the Russian Kamchatka expeditions (eighteenth century), and the navigation from Europe to the major rivers in north-west Siberia (late nineteenth to early twentieth century), as well as the Russian utilisation of the sea route in the Soviet epoch and later.

History and geographical characteristics of Northern Sea Route and legal regime.

《冰上丝绸之路》以详实的数据资料和生动的语言风格，介绍了“冰上丝绸之路”的重大意义，描绘了北极沿线地区复杂多变的自然地理环境和独具一格的社会人文环境，阐述了“冰上丝绸之路”建设的现状与发展前景，提出了在全球气候变化背景下，中国与各方共建“冰上丝绸之路”的应对之策。本书紧跟时代发展需要，解读中国与北极，是一部读懂中国的佳作。