Winding Road to The Wild West

By+Bai+Shi

The long-lost trade route that connected China with civilizations throughout Central Asia and Europe from the second century B.C. to the 16th century， the Silk Road， is now being restored to its former glory.

On June 22， during the 38th session of the World Heritage Committee， the trail entitled Silk Roads： the Routes Network of ChanganTianshan Corridor was added to its list of World Heritage Sites. The session， held this year in Doha， Qatar， is an annual UNESCO event designed to continually update its list of unique cultural wonders. During this years event， a total of 26 new sites were added to the list， bringing the number of World Heritage Sites to 1，007 across 161 countries.

According to UNESCOs World Heritage Committee， the Silk Road had， at the height of its 2，000-year-long usage， brought together numerous civilizations and “facilitated far-reaching exchanges in the activities of trade， religious beliefs， scientific knowledge， technological innovation， cultural practices and the arts.”

The Silk Road was pioneered by ancient Chinese imperial envoy Zhang Qian （164-114 B.C.）. In the more than 1，000 years that followed， it became a major trade route connecting the Middle Kingdom with multiple empires throughout Central Asia and stretching as far west as the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea in Europe. After a new maritime route from Western Europe to East Asia was opened in the late 15th century， though， the Silk Road gradually fell into decline. However， it played a vital role in promoting prosperity and cultural exchanges between both Eastern and Western civilizations in early history. Today， most countries along the old route have worked diligently to preserve Silk Road relics.

The Silk Road is the first site submitted to the World Heritage Committee in the form of a joint application from multiple countries， said Tong Mingkang， Deputy Director of the Chinese State Administration of Cultural Heritage. Additionally， it is the first time China has worked together with Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to promote a cross-border site.

The Silk Road， as recorded on the list， includes 33 temples， mountain passes， relics， and more in a vast road network that stretches some 8，700 km across China， Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan， the first of which is home to 22 of the historic sites. Kazakhstan holds eight， while three are in Kyrgyzstan.

Cross-border cooperation

“We have made great efforts in these past few years with our partners to get the Silk Road added to the World Heritage List. The international cooperation of our three countries is unprecedented and remarkable，” Tong said.endprint

“The Silk Road provides a successful model for China to emulate in the future regarding international cooperation for the protection of cultural relics with other countries，” said Chen Tongbin， Director of the Institute of Architectural History under the China Architecture Design and Research Group. She is an expert on the joint work team for the Silk Road.

A decades-long dream of preservation was achieved with the success of the 2014 Silk Road bid. As early as 1988， UNESCO began researching and assessing Silk Road heritage sites. The organization then carried out five international surveys in China and central Asian countries in the following decade.

In 2006， the Chinese Government first began the work of applying for a spot for the Silk Road on the World Heritage Sites list. The next year， China was joined by five Central Asian countries—Kazakhstan， Kyrgyzstan， Tajikistan， Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan—and the countries reached an agreement on jointly lobbying for the international route to be inscribed on the roster.

“At the beginning， no one knew how to prepare documents and plans for a crossborder heritage site，” said Chen. “The Silk Road is a very long network of routes involving many countries. The application work was so complicated that it was delayed year after year and got behind schedule.”

“The entire Silk Road from China to Italy is 10，000 km long， tracing its way through more than 20 countries，” noted Chen. “We found it impossible to put the whole Silk Road into one package.”

In 2011， the World Heritage Committee made a major adjustment to the Silk Road project： Experts on the committee suggested dividing the Silk Road into 54 corridors， which reduced organizational and paperwork difficulties. The committee encouraged countries to apply for separate corridors using multinational cooperation.

Based on their assessment， according to Chen， the original bid from China and the five Central Asian countries was divided into two parts： the Changan-Tianshan Corridor and the Amu Darya Corridor.

In January 2013， China， Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan jointly submitted paperwork for the Changan-Tianshan Corridor route to the World Heritage Committee. Over years of preparation， China has built a close partnership with the two countries， Chen said.

As for selecting the components included in the application， it depended largely on the degree of the relationship between the relic and the route， as well as its condition. The parts of the road weaving through China were home to 24 components when first announced in 2012； after strict inspection， the number was cut to 22.endprint

Chen also noted that the applied-for section of the Silk Road did not include all the ancient routes crossing through Chinese territory.

For example， Kashgar， a major city in southern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region， missed a chance at becoming a World Heritage Site. Kashgar was the transport hub between the northern and southern branches of the ancient Silk Road， thus the central crossroads of multiple cultures and religions. Today， innumerable ancient relics are preserved there.

Concerted preservation

Due to the multinational nature of the project， however， and after the three countries had considered all possible areas of preservation， the application team decided to give priority to the route along northern Xinjiang. Thus， said Chen， hopes of including Kashgar were abandoned during preparatory work.

“The purpose of inscribing the Silk Road on the list of World Heritage Sites is to better protect the historical relics along the ancient route，” Tong said.

Tong indicated that historical sites recognized by the list become world-class centers for education and tourism， and tend to generate greater economic and social benefits. More importantly， they are able to receive more preservation support， like financial aid from the World Monuments Fund， a non-profit that works to preserve the architectural integrity of significant monuments， buildings， and sites across the globe. Due to these factors， many countries eagerly apply for World Heritage Sites year after year.

“In fact， weve made efforts to improve protection of the sites in the past few years， and conditions of many spots along the Silk Road improved a lot even before the UNESCO application，” Chen said.

“In the future， we will continue to enhance preservation of the Silk Road. Whats more， we will focus on improving the international cooperation mechanisms behind cultural relic conservation， because sites along the Silk Road—throughout China， Kazakhstan， Kyrgyzstan， and other nations—are an integral whole，” Chen said.

However， Liu Qingzhu， a researcher with the Institute of Archeology under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences， warned that local governments must refrain from over-developing these sites.

Ancient habitats， routes， and temples are common treasures that belong to all people， said Liu. Being included on this list， a site will not only increase in popularity but will also drive up local tourism income and economic growth. However， excessive commercial development of a location will inevitably damage its original landscape and reputation， Liu said.

Joining the list of World Heritage Sites is not the be-all and end-all in efforts to protect the Silk Road. In fact， many places along the route are already in danger， particularly those surrounded by deserts and subject to wind erosion， Chen stressed. Learning how to preserve these relics in such a disadvantageous natural environment remains a major challenge to both archeologists and conservationists.

In addition to the Silk Road， the Grand Canal， another historical Chinese transportation system， was added to the list this year. So far， a total of 47 sites in China have been inscribed on the roster， ranking the country second in the world by number of World Heritage Sites.endprint