Relations between China and the Roman Empire during the first and second centuries AD have recently been the subject of growing interest. Pieces of woven silk discovered mainly in the Syrian Desert city of Palmyra and in Dura Europos on the Euphrates, present so far the only material remains from the Mediterranean testifying to the contacts of the two distant Empires. But what about the materials that traveled in the other direction, from the West to the East? This paper intends to give an overview of the state of the research concerning this particular question from an archeological perspective. Chronologically, it focuses first on the Hellenistic period that has so far provided only very scant and indirect proof for imports of Western objects into China, and then on the Early and Middle Roman Imperial periods that provided a few material testimonials, mainly of Roman glass. The article ends with a short look on a particular piece of silk that has been found in Palmyra and testifies to the awareness of Chinese artisans of Western iconography.