It is known that Buddhist monks eventually also came along on this road to China. The scriptures that these monks brought were predominantly in Sanskrit, since they were Mahayana (versus the Pali-language Theravada Buddhist canon that was later brought to Southeast Asia).
When merchants and local kings patronized Buddhist institutions along the way to China, a network of Mahayana Buddhist society from India to China was thereby established.
Among the famous monks who came from India to China is Bodhidharma (440-528), who is regarded as the founder of Chan (Zen) Buddhism.
In later centuries, various Chinese Buddhist monks came to India and brought Buddhist scriptures back to China, where they were translated into Chinese.