Wang Sanyun: to make Dunhuang Silk Road Expo a name card of China
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E-mail China.org.cn, August 15, 2016
Endorsed by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council of China, the Silk Road Dunhuang International Cultural Expo will be held in Dunhuang City, northwest China’s Gansu Province on September 20 and 21, 2016.
As the only comprehensive expo focused on international cultural communication in China, the annual event has so far attracted 74 delegations from fifty-eight countries and four international organizations, including four prominent political figures and 37 ministerial-level officials and ministers.
The Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiative, proposed by President Xi Jinping more than two years ago, has received warm responses from and active participation by various countries and international organizations.
Gansu Province, occupying a golden location along the ancient Silk Road, is committed to engaging in the construction of the economic belt and the maritime silk road, said Wang Sanyun, Secretary General of CPC Gansu Committee.
Gansu has a long history serving as a major trade routes of the ancient Silk Road.
Early in the seventh century during the Sui Dynasty, Hexi Corridor of Gansu, a historical trade route of the Northern Silk Road running northwest from the bank of the Yellow River, was the site for an International Expo. The expo, attended by diplomatic envoys from 27 countries, was unprecedented in scale and produced far-reaching influence. In the 1100 years from the Han and Tang dynasties to the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the corridor was travelled by numerous envoys and merchants
The Gansu section of the 6000-kilometer ancient Silk Road is over 1600 kilometers long, covering 11 cities whose combined population and GDP account for 80 percent and 90 percent of the province’s total respectively, said Wang.
Given its geographic advantage, the province sees the Belt and Road initiative as a historical opportunity to revive past glory.
Meanwhile, Gansu has rich cultural resources. It has been a strategic passage linking East and West and has played an irreplaceable role in promoting cultural exchanges between the East and the West since ancient times.
In 2013, Gansu was approved by the central government to build a zone for inheriting and Innovating Chinese civilization, which has resulted in accelerated cultural reforms and unleashed impetus.
Speaking of why Dunhuang was selected as the host of the event, Wang quoted Ji Xianlin, a prominent Chinese linguist, paleographer and historian, as saying that “Dunhuang and Xinjiang in China have been the only places in the world where Chinese, Indian, Greek and Islamic cultures converge in history.”
The expo consists of four types of activities: summits, annual cultural exhibition, component activities and cultural performances. Summits consist of one main forum, five sub-forums supporting the summit conference theme and five special forums. The main forum focuses on "Inherit the Silk Road Spirit and Facilitate Exchanges and Mutual Learning among Civilizations," in which the state leaders participating in the summits will deliver their keynote speeches.
France is the Guest of Honor at this year’s event.
The expo will deliberate and publish the Dunhuang Declaration in a bid to push for cultural consensus and cooperation intent among countries and regions along the Silk Road.
Preparations for supporting facilities and services have been progressing smoothly, according to Wang.
A new terminal of the Dunhuang Airport has been completed.
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