Use the two maps below to answer the following question: On the top, a map shows major trade routes from China, through the Himalayas, to the west. On this map, Samarkand lies just southeast of the Aral Sea in Persia and Bukhara lies just to the west of Samarkand. On the bottom, a map shows the major geographic features of India, China, Middle East, including rivers and altitude. This map shows elevation with green indicating the lowest elevation, yellow the next highest elevation, and orange the highest elevation. The areas shaded orange are the western part of the Arabian Peninsula, Persia, western and northern China. Areas shaded yellow are the central Arabian Peninsula, far northern Persia, far northern and some coastal areas of China, and southwestern India. All other areas are shaded green.
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Which of the following explains why there were no land routes for a direct passage from Delhi to Dunhuang?

Political tensions between India and China made it very risky to travel between the two cities.
There were too many rivers to cross between the two cities.
High mountains between the two cities made land travel difficult and time-consuming.
Both cities produced many of the same goods, so there was little need for trade between them.