Silk Road City

Text by Zhao Lei Translation by Bian Jiajin Photos by CFP

Silk Road City

Text by Zhao Lei Translation by Bian Jiajin Photos by CFP

The success of a Silk Road city is not only about its level of eco-nomic growth, but also about how much contribution cultural construction has to the development of the whole society. The combination of economy and culture is a prominent feature of the era of globalisation, and also one of the major characteristics of the appeal of “Belt and Road” cities.

In this regard, Silk Road cities in China need to focus on their own exquisite resources to introduce high-quality tourist and cul-tural products with strong brands to showcase a friendly attitude towards tourists. In late 2014 I visited the United Kingdom. While we were heading towards downtown Edinburgh from the airport, a local friend pointed at an urban complex and said:“This is our new town. It's from the 18th century.” I thought I heard him wrong, so I asked: “If the new town is from the 18th century, then what about the old town?” My friend answered proudly: “The old town is from the 14th century.” At that moment, I suddenly un-derstood something: Time is indeed money, but it means that our goal should be doing great things that can endure time.

Another time when I visited Italy, there was a building at the Pi-azza Venezia. It appeared to be a little shabby. But after someone told me its history, I couldn't help but admiring it. This ancient building was made up of three parts: the foundation was an ancient Roman architecture from 2000 years ago; the main part was a medieval Roman architecture from 1000 years ago; and the annex building was a Renaissance building from 500 years ago. A building that ingeniously blends three different his-torical eras together showcases a nation's responsible attitude towards its history and culture. No wonder it's “the eternal city”. Every piece of its masonry breathes so the appeal will last.

For China, “Belt and Road” is not only a great opportunity for economic growth, but also a demand for the rise of the Chinese culture. The goal of Chinese Silk Road cities should be to esca-late the curiosity of international society to a genuine apprecia-tion and recognition.

Zhao Leiprofessor at the Institu te for International Stra tegic Studies of the Pa rty School of the Centr al Committee of the CP C, a director of the Res earch Office for Interna tional Relations and Na tional Unity. Mr. Zhao heads a key research project on the Belt and Road Initiative at CPS, and is the founder of th e forum “The Belt and R oad 100”.趙磊中共中央黨校國際戰略研究院教授、國際關系與國家統一研究室主任、中央黨校“一帶一路”重點研究課題主持人，“一帶一路百人論壇”發起人。