The opening ceremony of the Kashgar Branch of the Silk Road Archaeological Cooperation Research Center was held recently at Kashgar University. This is the first sub-center to be established in the country after the establishment of the National “Silk Road Archaeology Cooperative Research Center” in Xi’an on April 25, 2023.
The Silk Road Archaeological Cooperation Research Center, initiated by China in 2021 and jointly built by the five Central Asian countries, will carry out archaeological cooperation, heritage protection, cultural exchanges and personnel training on the Silk Road in Central Asia, West Asia and South Asia. It is an open and shared platform for archaeological cooperation and cultural exchanges between China and countries along the Silk Road.
The Kashgar Branch of the Silk Road Archaeological Cooperation Research Center is based on Kashgar's important historical and geographical position in the ancient Silk Road cultural exchange, and under the guidance and support of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Administration of Cultural Relics, It was established through friendly consultation between the Silk Road Archaeology Cooperative Research Center, Kashgar University, Shandong Provincial counterpart Support Xinjiang Work Headquarters, Kashgar Regional Culture, Radio and Television and Tourism Bureau, and is positioned for field work, academic research, personnel training, cultural exchanges and other functions.
“The Kashgar Branch of the Silk Road Archaeological Cooperation Research Center will take Kashgar as the core and focus on the theme of the Silk Road to organize, discover and protect cultural relics in Kashgar, especially academic research on the fourth cultural relics survey, cultural relics survey and exploration for the construction of the China-Kyrgyz-Uzbekistan Railway, and ‘Kunlun culture.’” Said Zhao Rong, director of the Silk Road Archaeological Cooperation Research Center.
Translated by Lena.