Following flaxen threads

Travelers found openminded locals during the journey including those in Samarkand in Uzbekistan.[Photo provided to China Daily]

Plans for a Silk Road "economic belt", proposed by China, have revived hopes that this ancient trading route can once again be a source of new economic strength - both within China and between Asia and Europe.

A Silk Road belt would help economic development in western China., but proponents such as China's President Xi Jinping are eager to re-create the prosperous era of the whole region that existed during the time of the ancient Silk Road.

After taking a cargo ship across the Caspian Sea and trekking though the deserts of Central Asia, they completed the first leg of the trip at Almaty in Kazakhstan in late June.

They returned briefly to Belgium to avoid the blistering Central Asian summer and then set off again in October to complete the journey to China.

The second leg took the travelers along the same route designated in the Chinese government's New Silk Road policy, which aims to open up ancient commercial routes to new forms of trade with Central Asia. It included Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan.

The group's six-month adventure coincided with a major rebuilding project along the ancient trade routes, in which China has plowed huge investment into infrastructure projects, including road networks, electricity grids, high-speed trains, oil and gas pipelines, and other commercial ventures.

Chengdu is the hub of the new Southern Silk Road and the Chinese government's policy to strengthen trade relations with Myanmar, Bangladesh and India.

For most Europeans, this is a part of the world that is virtually unknown, but Vyncke and his colleagues say they returned to Belgium "very much enriched" by the experience.

For fellow traveler Lutgart Dusar, 63, it was a question of "now or never".