The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, commonly known as Xinjiang, is China’s largest province and is located in the northwest. With an area of 1.66 million square kilometers bordering eight countries – Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kirghizstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India – the province is indeed a bridgehead in Eurasia. With thousands of years of history and home to 55 ethnic compositions, comprising 61 percent of its total population of 22.64 million, Xinjiang is a melting pot of civilisations. It served as an important passage for the ancient Silk Road, which was a network of trade and commerce central to cultural interaction through regions of the Asian continent connecting the Occident to the Orient. Merchants, pilgrims, monks, soldiers, nomads and urban dwellers travelled along it to and from China and India to the Mediterranean Sea during various periods of time.
Extending over 6,500 kilometers, the Silk Road derives its name from the lucrative trade in Chinese silk carried out along its length, beginning during the Han Dynasty (206 BC to 220 AD). The Chinese, Greeks, Byzantines, Persians, Indians and Arabs all utilised this route for trade and commerce but also for political, cultural and religious integration. Besides these social, commercial and spiritual aspects, the Silk Road had a profound effect on pastoral as well as barbaric societies, erstwhile dwelling in isolation; they were drawn to the riches and opportunities of the civilisations connected by the routes. The marauders transformed themselves into skilled warriors, capable of conquering rich cities, fertile lands and forging strong military empires. The ancient Silk Road lost its utility with the development of the sea routes, most of which were quests for reaching the riches of China and India.
In September 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping unfolded his strategic vision for the new Silk Road Economic Belt during a speech in Kazakhstan. The principles, framework, cooperation priorities and mechanisms of the New Silk Road, also known as the One Belt, One Road initiative are to enhance regional connectivity and embrace a brighter future together. The vision incorporates routes panning through the continents of Asia, Europe and Africa, connecting the vibrant East Asia economic circle at one end and developed European economic circle at the other.
The new Silk Road focuses on bringing together China, Central Asia, Russia and Europe (the Baltic), linking China with the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea through Central Asia and the Indian Ocean. The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road is designed to go from China’s coast to Europe through the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean in one route, and from China’s coast through the South China Sea to the South Pacific in the other.
Amidst this mega visionary project, Xinjiang has a pivotal role. Currently, this scribe is touring China at the invitation of Xinjiang with a group of domestic and foreign media persons to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The hosts organised visits to the sites of the ancient as well as new Silk Route in Xinjiang with meticulous care. The tour comprised visits to the ruins of the second century Yar City, where excavations depict traces of the trade route, the various ethnic clusters, which have been supported by the Chinese government to establish trade and commercial enterprises portraying their ethnic traditions as well as industrial, commercial, historical and agricultural centres in Turpan, Fukang, Aksu, Wensu, Baicheng, Kuqa, Korla, Bohu, Yuli, Kashgar, Kizilsu, Chengji, Hutuki, Shihezi, Kuitun and Karamay.
Such an ambitious tour programme was perhaps necessitated to provide glimpses of the rich natural resources of Xinjiang along with its strategic location, astride the crossroads of civilisation and the preparations being made to launch the new Silk Road. Nature’s endowment to Xinjiang is in the shape of three snow-clad mountain ranges, spotless lakes, grasslands, meandering rivers, wind farms and deserts, which provide ample opportunity for tourism, sports and alternate energy while its mineral resources of precious and semi-precious stones, coal, crude oil and natural gas are additional revenue generating sources.
Xinjiang has made elaborate plans to celebrate its 60th anniversary as well as showcase the preparations for the New Silk Road project. The 2015 Eurasia Commodity and Trade Expo, cultural exchanges and other gala events mark some of the major national and international engagements.
Touring the length and breadth of this vast province, it is heartening to note that the western region of China is not only arriving at par with the development and affluence of the east but also some of the undercurrents of insurgency by a few misled Uyghurs, which briefly surfaced, are being squarely met with Xinjiang justifying its position as the pivot of the new Silk Road project. The vast multitude of residents of Xinjiang, belonging to all shades of ethnicity, is eagerly waiting to reap the benefits of this exciting new project.
The writer is a former group captain of PAF, who also served as air and naval attaché at Riyadh. Currently, he is a columnist, analyst and a television show host