From Xinhua News Agency via China Net:
China and central Asian countries on Friday made a blueprint to jointly apply for listing of historical sites along the ancient Silk Road (‰∏ùÁª∏‰πãË∑Ø) in UNESCO‘s world cultural heritage list in the next three to five years.
The 2,000-year-old Silk Road was mainly a trade route linking Asia and Europe. It extended from the city of Xi’an, capital of northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, to Europe via south and central Asia countries. It was 7,000 kilometers long, more than half of which is in China.
Along this road, gunpowder, papermaking and printing technologies were sent to the West, while Western mathematics and medicine came to China. [Full Text and more pictures]