Modern merchants follow famous footsteps

Merchants from Central Asia check grapes at the fruit and vegetable export center in Horgos. Li Xiongxin / for China Daily

"The corporations in the cities within the economic belt have great potential, and we can complement each other's economies," Dong said, adding that Xi'an plans to invite Central Asian countries to set up consulates in the city to deepen cooperation.

As with any venture of this kind, an efficient transport infrastructure will be at its heart. As such, Xi'an plans to launch direct flights to Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, and Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, to promote the surveying and drilling equipment manufactured in the city to countries in central and western Asia, Dong said.

Tang Zongwei, deputy director of the administrative committee of Liangjiang New Zone in Chongqing, the only municipality in China's midwest, said: "The focus of the construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt relies heavily on transport connections."

Huang Qifan, the municipality's mayor, said, "Chongqing is one step ahead in taking the initiative in the economic belt." He pointed out that the municipality has been shipping goods to Europe via the trans-Eurasian railway network since 2011.

The Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe international railway, which begins at Chongqing, bridges East and West and connects North and South. Trains on the network take just 14 to 15 days to get to Europe, 20 days fewer than the cargo ships that sail from China's east coast ports. That makes rail an ideal transport medium for goods with a relatively shorter shelf life, he said.

The railway passes through Xi'an, Lanzhou, Urumqi and the Alataw Pass, where it crosses the border into Kazakhstan. It then continues through Russia, Belarus and Poland before ending in Duisburg, Germany.

Chongqing has already started to seek cooperation with Russia, which is about to establish a consulate in the municipality. Direct flights to several Russian cities will begin in 2014, and a Sino-Russian industrial park will be built in Liangjiang New Zone that focuses on aviation-related manufacturing, such as helicopter parts and engines.

Cultural leader

Further to the northwest, preparations are also underway in Gansu province, which, in addition to the potential trade benefits the economic belt will bring, is also keen to become a leader in the cultural sphere. To that end, the province is applying to launch a permanent International Culture Exhibition in Dunhuang city, which is famous for its well-preserved grottoes and frescoes, said Lian Ji, head of the provincial Publicity Department.