How is the Great Silk Road connected with Kazakhstan?

It was Kazakhstan that was the first country to which the Chinese traders fell, following the Silk Road from China. The steppe warriors demanded from the merchants of the Celestial Empire a share of the goods or payment in gold for protection on the territory of their country. It was this “payment for protection” that laid the foundation for quitrent taxes, customs duties and other similar fees. In places where trade carts made stops, caravanserais arose, growing into villages and further into cities. Sairam, Yassy, Otrar, Taraz – all these cities owe their creation to the merchants of the Silk Road.