While they never shared a border, the Roman and Han Chinese empires were aware of each other through the Silk Road. The Romans called the Chinese 'Seres' (The Silk People), and the Chinese called the Roman Empire 'Da Qin' (The Great Qin), viewing the Romans as a sort of 'counter-China' at the other end of the world. In 166 CE, Roman merchants (or perhaps an official embassy) claiming to represent Emperor Marcus Aurelius arrived at the court of Emperor Huan of Han. They arrived by sea via Vietnam rather than the land route, which was often blocked by the Parthians and Kushans who wanted to maintain their roles as middlemen. While direct diplomatic contact remained rare, the trade in Chinese silk for Roman glass and gold was so intense that the Roman Senate once tried to ban silk to stop the massive drain of Roman currency to the East.