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While focusing on Greece and North Macedonia, I will argue that the hegemony of authorized heritage discourse reveals the dominance of Hellenophilia, which has been continuously reinforced since the nineteenth century by archaeological discoveries of the ancient Greeks. The heritage narratives around the Warrior Hero statue in Skopje (2011) and the New Acropolis Museum in Athens (2009) glorify the ancient past and exclude other historical periods and cultural/ethnic influences, which creates a pregnant imaginary for Eurocentrism, while the hegemony of heritage sites is being harnessed for political agendas. Contrary to that, a celebration of shared civilizational heritage is being forged around imaginings of a glorious antiquity of East and West conjoined by the new Silk Road, specifically between China and Greece, emphasizing it via archaeology, heritage sites, and museums related to the Silk Road. This article is an attempt to demystify the domineering force of Eurocentric heritage studies and practice that suppress multi-cultural views, and ask whether heritage narratives constructed around the new Silk Road’s identity and shared past that look beyond borders can rebuild a dialogue of transnational heritage.

Smell mattered in medieval China. Through the sense of smell, people navigated the natural and social world, structured human-divine relationships. Medieval Chinese texts are replete with references to smells of people, things, and places. Mediated through the minds of their recorders, olfactory accounts vividly reveal hitherto overlooked patterns of the beliefs and ideas that people in medieval China had on the human person, their surrounding world, as well as the unseen realms of the dead and divine. This study traces historical smells of medieval China and examines how the people navigating that smellscape made sense of their olfactory perceptions. It analyses the moral significance of olfaction in medieval China and its expression in ethno-cultural discourse as well as in the relationship with the unseen worlds of ghosts, spirits, and the divine. Through its analysis, this dissertation makes two interrelated claims: first, for medieval Chinese people, smell was not only a physical sensation, it also embodied a combination of social, moral, and cosmological significance. It was the conduit to the worlds of the gods and the spirits; it was a marker of social status and cultural alignments; it symptomised virtue or moral decadence; and it could also signify a divine manifestation. Second, smells were not only perceived, but also constructed. Conscious of the social, moral, and cosmological connotation odours implied, medieval Chinese literati employed smells – both in their own right and in the form of rhetoric – to create and assert social and cultural distinctions. Smells separated us from the Other, the poor from the wealthy, the virtuous from the corrupted, the civilised from the barbarians, and the sacred from the profane. This study situates medieval Chinese olfactory history in the context of an increasingly open world characterised by dynamic cross-cultural contacts, remaking of demographic and religious landscapes, as well as growing knowledge about hygiene and medicine. Building on the established scholarship in multiple disciplines, this first study on smells and smelling in medieval China seeks to contribute to the understanding of medieval views and practices regarding the body, identity, religion, culture, and society., Benefactors' Scholarship, St John's College, University of Cambridge; Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation Dissertation Fellowship; Studentship from Glorisun Foundation and Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Cambridge

The increasing role of China in the world economy every year turns attention to the foreign policy of the Chinese government. Chinas direct investments abroad are of interest today, especially given the fact that China has announced strategies and initiatives such as: Go Out, The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Made in China 2025 (MIC25). Moreover, the EU countries play a significant role in the regional diversification of Chinese investments abroad. Chinese investors have long stopped investing in all industries and countries, and have focused on most promising industries, mainly in developed countries. Today, one of the most ambitious projects in China is The Belt and Road Initiative, where the EU countries play a key role. In this regard, it becomes important to analyze Chinese investments in the New Silk Road projects in the EU countries. The purpose of the research is to identify the main industries and countries of greatest interest to China based on the analysis of the ten largest transactions of China within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative in the EU countries.

The first possible example of the communication network that miniaturizes the world through the internet today is the Silk Road, which dates to ancient times. The main land route connects China via Turkestan and Iran to Mesopotamia and finally to the ports on the Mediterranean coasts. The Silk Road, which was actively used until the 16th century, lost its security due to the long conflicts in Asia and left its function to sea routes. Since the 19th century, the increase in railway transportation and the use of oil as fuel and the development of highways provided easy access to the abandoned areas on the Silk Road route. After the Chang'an-Tianshan corridor of the Silk Road was registered as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2014, many projects have been developed. This study discusses and aims to make an example of how the caravanserais on a route selected from the Anatolian Caravan Roads developed through the Silk Road can be brought into sustainable cultural tourism with a contemporary approach. The caravanserais on the Konya-Antalya/Manavgat route determined for this purpose were considered as a cultural route and a culture-tourism scenario was developed by use of digital technologies as well as contemporary conservation approach.

Bu araştırma, Kelime İlişkilendirme Testi (KİT) aracılığıyla ortaokul öğrencilerinin “İpek Yolu” kavramına yönelik bilişsel yapılarını ortaya koymak amacıyla yapılmıştır. Araştırma tarama modelinde gerçekleştirilmiştir. Veri toplama aracı olarak araştırma için hazırlanan kelime ilişkilendirme testi kullanılmıştır. Öğrencilerden kendilerine verilen süre içerisinde “İpek Yolu” anahtar kavramı hakkında akıllarına gelen ilk kelimeleri kelime ilişkilendirme testine yazmaları istenmiştir. Araştırmanın çalışma grubu maksimum çeşitlilik örneklemesi ile seçilmiş, 2019- 2020 eğitim öğretim yılında Ankara ve Şanlıurfa illerinde öğrenim gören 277 ortaokul öğrencisi oluşturmuştur. Bu öğrencilerin 141'i Ankara, 136'sı Şanlıurfa ilinden olup 96'sı altıncı sınıf, 86'sı yedinci sınıf ve 95'i sekizinci sınıftır. Araştırma sonucunda “İpek Yolu” kavramına ilişkin elde edilen kelimeler tablolaştırılarak incelenmiş, tekrarlanan kelimeler dikkate alınarak belirlenen kesme noktaları doğrultusunda kavram ağları oluşturulmuştur. Araştırmada ortaokul öğrencileri tarafından İpek Yolu kavramına yönelik 305 farklı kelime üretilmiştir. Bu kelimeler içinde en çok tekrar edilen kelime ''Çin'' (f=108) olmuştur. Bu kelimeyi çoktan aza doğru takip eden diğer kelimeler ise ''yol'' (f=102) ve ''ticaret'' (f=99) kelimeleri olmuştur. Ayrıca altıncı sınıflarda en çok tekrar edilen kelime ''Çin'' (f=47), yedinci sınıflarda en çok tekrar edilen kelime ''yol'' (f=38) ve sekizinci sınıflarda ise ''ticaret'' (f=54) kelimesi olmuştur. Öğrenciler tarafından İpek Yolu hakkında üretilen kelimelere ve frekanslarına bakıldığında ticari ilişkilerin ve ulaşımın ön plana çıktığı kelimelerin türetildiği görülmüştür. Öte yandan sınıf düzeyleri arasında, nitelik bakımından sınıf düzeyi arttıkça kısmen farklılıklar olsa da bu farklılık çok belirgin görülmemiştir., This research was conducted to reveal the cognitive structures of secondary school students regarding the concept of the Silk Road through the Word Association Test (WAT). The research was carried out in the scanning model. The word association test prepared for the research was used as a data collection tool. The students were asked to write the first words that came to their minds about the key concept of the Silk Road in the word association test within the time given to them. The study group of the research consisted of 277 secondary school students studying in Ankara and Şanlıurfa provinces in the 2019-2020 academic year, that are selected by maximum diversity sampling. Of these students, 141 are from Ankara and 136 from Şanlıurfa, 96 of them are 6th grade, 86 7th grade and 95 8th grades. As a result of the research, the words obtained related to the concept of the Silk Road were examined in detail by tabulating, and conceptual networks were created in line with the cut points determined by considering the repeated words. In the research, 305 different words for the concept of Silk Road were produced by secondary school students. The most repeated word among these words was "China" (f=108). Other words that followed this word and were repeated many times were "road" (f=102) and "trade" (f=99). In addition, the most repeated word in 6th grades was "China" (f=47), while in 7th grades the most repeated word was "road" (f=38), while in 8th grade it was "trade" (f= 54). When the words produced by the students about the Silk Road and their frequencies were examined, it was seen that the words in which commercial relations and transportation came to the fore were derived. In addition, there was no difference in the comparison between the application class levels. It was observed that similar answers were given in terms of quality in all classes.

The article describes the Chinese initiative “One Belt, One Road” by the example of its implementation in the region of Southeast Asia. At the same time, the paper investigates the prehistory of the formation of this project. Therefore, the article notes that the positions of Southeast Asian countries on the initiative proposed by China vary greatly and depend on political realities. Based on the analysis of the political and economic situation of the countries of this region the attitudes of Myanmar, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines and Japan to this Chinese initiative are highlighted in detail. The paper notes that the recent coup in Myanmar 2021 has further complicated the business environment in the country, not only putting Chinese projects at direct risk, but also threatening Beijing's economic interests in the country. In addition, the article characterizes the key risks and problems of the implementation of PRC initiatives. It is established that there are many problems on the way to the implementation of the said program.

This paper proposes three measures for a new archaeological study on the Silk Road. First, a systematic understanding is required for the archaeological achievements on the Silk Road made during the Soviet Era before the 1990s. Nowadays, many scholars in East Asia, including South Korea, rely on literature written mainly in English to study and understand the Silk Road. However, the Silk Road’s archaeological excavations were mostly made before the 1990s, that is, they were not well known in South Korea and the West. Therefore, a systematic understanding of those achievements can be the basis of new international research. Bernshtam’s achievements representing the studies until the 1960s are good examples. They have recently led to the joint publication of an art catalog on South Korea and Kazakhstan’s gold culture. Second, we should move away from the narrow nationalism advocated by nowindependent countries and pursue the research at the international level. The real value of the Silk Road should lie in finding common ground beyond borders and ideology. Thus, it is necessary to understand the research trends in individual countries, including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Russia. The Asian Archaeology conference held annually by the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage of South Korea is one of excellent examples of such an effort. Finally, archaeological research on the Silk Road should move forward not just as an academic pursuit but also as a means of global cultural cooperation. In this regard, active collaboration with international organizations, such as UNESCO, is crucial. As such, if these three aspects are considered together, the international archaeological research on the Silk Road led by South Korea in the new phase of the 21st century will contribute to the Silk Road research in the new era.

This paper discusses the historical exchanges, communications, and circumstances that initially enabled the opening of trade routes between China and the Hellenistic and Greco-Roman world. In addition, it explains how ancient Greeks first became aware of China, and the original premise of trading silk for horses. Historical Chinese texts are analyzed to identify references to the Hellenistic and Greco-Roman world in an attempt to elucidate the extent of official interactions between the two cultures. Historical and archaeological sources confirm that trade existed for millennia before Western Europeans traveled to China during the Age of Exploration. The thesis describes how silk and disease traveled from east to west and explains the historical conditions that allowed the exchange of ideas, practices, beliefs, and culture.

The cultural background of the proliferation of early paper in Central Asia and its use outside China has rarely been explored. Since written sources are inconclusive regarding the origins and spread of papermaking, archaeological and material evidence assumes increased importance. The preserved manuscripts found along the Silk Road have been used as a key source in the study of religion, literature and the cultural history of Central Asia. They have, however, rarely been viewed as artefacts in their own right, with their own specific form and produced by a specific technology. Paper is one of the most important physical aspects of a manuscript and at the same time bears witness to early papermaking technologies. As an introduction to the vol­ume Asian paper as writing support, this article outlines the early history and technology of pa­permaking as revealed by the oldest manuscripts in existence, those found along the Silk Road.

Two big ancient civilizations – Roman and Chinese – created important legal systems which were to influence legal development in Europe and in China respectively. Archeologic discoveries prove there has been exchange of goods between both empires. China was exporting silk to Rome, Romans were exporting glass to China. In 2nd century BC, Han dynasty emperor opened a commercial route later named “Silk road”. Chinese were protecting their exports by military convoys applying their legal regulations. On some spots, they transmitted their goods to intermediators who were dealing with Roman merchants. Romans were using their ius gentium. For maritime trade Chinese opened ports under state surveillance in today’s Vietnam. There are no proofs that Chinese were interested in Roman law and vice versa. Although Romans were visiting Han dynasty court no official Chinese envoy has ever visited Roman officials.

Book review: Frankopan, Peter. The New Silk Roads: The Present and Future of the World, London: Bloomsbury, 2019, 368 pp.

This paper compares the lantern ceilings of Han and Wei-Jin period tombs in China with similar contempora-neous and earlier examples found in Korea and Anatolia. Highlighting 13 tombs with illustrations, I question whether or not such visual and technological connections imply the transmission of architectural knowledge across long distances during or prior to the opening of the Silk Road. By tracing specific roofing techniques to burials in the 4th – 2nd century BCE near the Black Sea and Northeast Asia, I suggest that the corbel vault—from where the lantern ceiling emerged—had been widely distributed across Eurasia probably via the no-madic “steppe highway,” setting the stage for later flourishing of the square-and-diamond lantern structure before Buddhism entered the global stage.

The ancient Silk Road formed the first bridge between the East and the West forming an important network that extended over land, but also included sea trading routes. This paper examines how a historic network of routes enabled the exchange not only of silk and other expensive goods, but also cultures, ideas, discoveries and religions, shaping the world as we know it today. It is being discussed how the case of the interconnection between the Chinese and Greek civilizations through the mutual exchange of artistic ideals proves to be a timeless pattern governing the interaction between cultures transcending historical periods, cultural spheres of inspiration and geographic locations.

Türkiye is becoming a new base in the global supply chain due to its geopolitical position and the cost advantages it provides. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, logistics problems, especially production and transportation costs, have further strengthened Türkiye’s position in this context. Türkiye’s strategic location, strong logistics infrastructure, costeffective and qualified workforce, along with a liberal investment climate, offer a suitable environment for international companies. Türkiye ranks well in the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index, which evaluates countries’ logistics performance in customs, transportation, and infrastructure. Türkiye has served as a bridge between the east and west since historical times. During the Seljuk period, caravanserais and other infrastructure and service areas were established in Anatolia to support commercial activities. The Silk Road, which had an important place until a certain period of the Ottoman Empire, lost its importance due to other developments. The “One Belt One Road Project” initiated by China, still in progress and planned to be completed in 2049, will make Türkiye even more important in terms of the global supply chain in the next 10 years. İpekyolu follows the northern and southern routes in Anatolia. With China’s “One Belt One Road Project”, the Silk Road will regain its former importance as the “Modern Silk Road”. Chinese President Xi Jinping fi rst mentioned the Land and Sea Silk Road project in one of his speeches in 2013. It has been decided to name these two projects as the “Belt and Road Initiative-BRI” or the “One Belt One Road-OBOR” project. The word belt constitutes the land route of the project, which includes highways, railways, oil and natural gas pipelines, and infrastructure investments. The word road includes the sea routes covered by the project. The routes of these corridors are provided by multidimensional corridors in the direction of Asia-Europe instead of a single route. Within the scope of this project, many infrastructure investments are made in Türkiye as well. In this study, the cost advantages that Türkiye will provide to the global supply chain will be evaluated due to both its cost and geographical location and the infrastructure investments made.

The paper provides insights into an assemblage of glass finds from the citadel of Kafir Kala and the site of Cholaktepa both in the proximity of Samarkand (Uzbekistan). Located along one of the major Eurasian branches of the Silk Roads, passing through Samarkand, Kafir Kala is among the most relevant centres to better understand the Islamization of the Middle Zeravshan Valley in the early 8th century. During the excavations, hundreds of fragments of ceramics, and a conspicuous amount of glass finds were recovered. Chrono-typological study allowed identifying objects for everyday use like bottles, cups with handles and bowls with re-folded rims; fragments of decorated bottoms with a honeycomb pattern, showing a distinctive rosette stamp, were also identified. Moreover, glass debris from Cholaktepa, 11 km west of nowadays Samarkand, provided evidence for the occurrence of glass working. Compositional analyses, by electron microprobe (EPMA) for major and minor elements and by Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) for trace elements, have been carried out on selected fragments, aimed at investigating the compositional features of finds and their raw materials, to establish comparisons with published assemblages pertinent to neighbouring geographical areas and comparable chronological spans. All the glass fragments are silica-soda-lime in composition, made by using plant ash as fluxing agent, except two samples made by using natron. Compositional data show a link to the Ferghana Valley in Uzbekistan, where a local glass manufacture has been identified.

The article is concerned with studying the inclusive globalization strategy of «One Belt, One Road». It is defined that this initiative should contribute to the so-called rebirth of the great Chinese nation and serve the realization of the following goals: formation of a wealthy middle class and the building of a democratic socialist State. The Silk Road Economic Belt aims to promote the free movement of economic factors, efficient allocation of resources, deepen market integration, and support the coordination of economic policies of countries along the «One Belt, One Road» initiative, expanding and deepening regional cooperation, creating an inclusive and balanced architecture of regional cooperation in which all parties obtain benefits and opportunities for sustainable development. It is defined that to date there are already such results of cooperation between countries within the framework of the «One Belt, One Road» initiative: Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) – an international financial organization, which aims to promote international financial cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region, to finance projects from constructing roads and airports to sphere of services; The University Alliance of the New Silk Road (UANSR), whose tasks are defined as follows: improving the quality of education at universities in the countries that have joined the alliance; facilitating the economic growth of the Silk Road Economic Belt countries; establishing international relationships between universities in conducting joint research in the economic and political sectors; cultural activities to help strengthen diplomatic ties between the countries; developing educational exchange programs between universities; Strategic Union of Higher Education Institutions and the Tourism Union of the «One Belt, One Road» Cities. The cooperation of countries within the «One Belt, One Road» initiative is developing and deepening very quickly, which leads to interest in further study of this problematics.

The geographical dispersion of the Silk Road generates a number of problems with the availability of its heritage for visitors. ICT can at least partially address these problems. This article discusses the concept of extending the Silk Road museums’ offer with virtual reality (VR) technologies, which has been tested based on a virtual exhibition, developed through a long-term cooperation between Lublin University of Technology and museums in Samarkand in the field of 3D digitization and dissemination of their exhibitions. A survey of a group of spectators was conducted and its results are discussed. It revealed that VR is a promising technology, widely accepted among spectators and well suited for the specificity of the Silk Road museums, and it could be used primarily to complement traditional exhibitions.

Aims & Backgrounds: Analyzing how the international rail network is being developed and expanded from Iran to Afghanistan and China, either directly or through Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, can facilitate transport and cultural links with Europe and the Western world. Construction of a railway from Khawaf in eastern Iran to Herat, Afghanistan, and the creation of the Herat Railway Corridor to Kashgar, China are the main focus of this article which create a good basis to develop infrastructure, economic investment especially in mines and facilitation of interaction among countries. When this strategic plan is completed and implemented, it provides a good framework for infrastructure development, economic investment, especially mining, interaction and exchange between countries. The geopolitical and geostrategic position of this land makes it a geoeconomic situation. Conclusion: Despite the important functions, threats and challenges to this strategic plan are; 1- Delays by the Iranian government in completing the Khaf to Herat railway, 2- Possibility of Russian railway extension from Mazar-e-Sharif to Herat and Kabul following the construction of a newly constructed railway from the Heiratan area on the Uzbekistan border to Mazari Sharif, 3- Possibility of extension of Indian subcontinent railway from Spin Boldak Pakistan to Kandahar Afghanistan and weakening Herat geoeconomic situation in near future. Any neglect of the railway construction on the Khaf route to Kashgar will result in irreparable international losses for European countries, China and the countries of the region, especially Iran and Afghanistan in the future.

The introduction of wheat into central China is thought to have been one of the significant contributions of interactions between China and Central Asia which began in the 3rd millennium bc. However, only a limited number of Neolithic wheat grains have been found in central China and even fewer have been directly radiocarbon dated, making the date when wheat was adopted in the region and its role in subsistence farming uncertain. Based on systematic archaeobotanical data and direct dating of wheat remains from the Xiazhai site in central China, as well as a critical review of all reported discoveries of Neolithic and Bronze Age wheat from this region, we conclude that many wheat finds are intrusive in Neolithic contexts. We argue that the role of wheat in the subsistence of the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age of central China was minimal, and that wheat only began to increase in its subsistence role in the later Bronze Age during the Zhou dynasty after ca. 1000 bc. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s00334-019-00732-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

© 2019 Elsevier Ltd The site of Samdzong is composed of a series of shaft tombs situated at 4000 m altitude in the Himalayas. Recent archaeological expeditions have recovered an exceptional metal assemblage including gold and silver masks, copper vessels, iron daggers, brass bangles and a bronze medallion. The richness and variety of the collection provided an unusual starting point to investigate trade and regional exchange patterns in the period 450–650 CE, in combination with data from other materials. Here we present a stylistic, metallographic, elemental and isotopic study of a selection of the metal objects. The results suggest a South Asian origin for the bulk of the metals, while evidencing a variety of technological and cultural traditions that show connections with Central Asia and the Silk Road. This is one of the first comprehensive analyses of archaeological metal objects from the High Himalayas, offering a baseline for future comparative studies.

Three dimensional digitization of cultural heritage resources gains a lot of attention from the European Union and the United Nations, which is clearly revealed in current strategic goals and financing perspectives. Existing methodological approaches to 3D scanning in a prevailing number of cases assume that the procedure of scanning is performed in places that are closed to tourists, at least for the time of scanning. However, closing an exhibition for tourists or moving an artifact to be scanned is not always possible. Thanks to the long-term experience of the authors with 3D scanning of cultural heritage, the special procedure was designed for small and medium size objects to overcome difficulties expected in such cases. The procedure has been successfully implemented during 3D scanning of objects exhibited in the Silk Road region (on the territory of modern Uzbekistan), as well as objects being parts of wooden sacral architecture of the Maramures region (in Romania). It was revealed that the proposed procedure was successfully allowed to counteract organizational problems during 3D scanning of heritage objects being under continuous display, and that the achieved results of scanning were nevertheless of good quality.

Hazard identification is crucial for disaster risk reduction in areas featuring multiple co-occurring hazards and active internal and external dynamic geographical processes. Coupling the elements of external hazard-forming environments and the internal mechanisms inducing hazards, a novel multi-hazard integration zonation (MIZ) method has been developed in which a segmented multi-hazard identification function was constructed to identify the dominant hazard types and their boundaries in a region. Taking the ancient Silk Road as a case study, the major types and spatial zonation of multiple hazards have been identified, which are in accordance with the ac-tual disaster situation. These sympatric multiple hazards present a widely spatial scattered distri-bution of individual hazards and a more concentrated distribution of multiple hazards in the an-cient Silk Road area. These results, combined with the geomorphological features and the cli-matic zones of the analyzed area, reveal the spatial boundaries among these major hazards at the macro-and microscales. These findings suggest that the proposed MIZ methodology can provide scientific support for rational engineering layouts and regional planning and may serve as perti-nent guidance for multi-hazard identification in ancient Silk Road area and beyond.

Significance Our article presents the most comprehensive reconstruction of the evolutionary and phylogeographic history of a major plant pathogen of brassica vegetables in Eurasia. Sampling across such a large landmass poses considerable challenges, and our study attempts to describe the spatial and temporal patterns of migration for a plant pathogen on a large scale. Our phylogeographic and molecular clock analyses show that the migration pathways of turnip mosaic potyvirus retrace some of the historical trade arteries of the Silk Road. This study demonstrates how a comprehensive genetic analysis can provide a large-scale view of the epidemiology and human-mediated spread of a plant pathogen across centuries of evolutionary history., Plant pathogens have agricultural impacts on a global scale and resolving the timing and route of their spread can aid crop protection and inform control strategies. However, the evolutionary and phylogeographic history of plant pathogens in Eurasia remains largely unknown because of the difficulties in sampling across such a large landmass. Here, we show that turnip mosaic potyvirus (TuMV), a significant pathogen of brassica crops, spread from west to east across Eurasia from about the 17th century CE. We used a Bayesian phylogenetic approach to analyze 579 whole genome sequences and up to 713 partial sequences of TuMV, including 122 previously unknown genome sequences from isolates that we collected over the past five decades. Our phylogeographic and molecular clock analyses showed that TuMV isolates of the Asian-Brassica/Raphanus (BR) and basal-BR groups and world-Brassica3 (B3) subgroup spread from the center of emergence to the rest of Eurasia in relation to the host plants grown in each country. The migration pathways of TuMV have retraced some of the major historical trade arteries in Eurasia, a network that formed the Silk Road, and the regional variation of the virus is partly characterized by different type patterns of recombinants. Our study presents a complex and detailed picture of the timescale and major transmission routes of an important plant pathogen.

espanolRESUMEN Las drogas se venden en paginas web oscuras y en las redes sociales, aunque la investigacion de estas adquisiciones online esta aun en sus comienzos. Este estudio tiene como objetivo examinar los factores de riesgo vinculados a la compra de drogas online. De acuerdo con las teorias de la criminologia y la investigacion sobre adicciones, se planteo la hipotesis de que los vinculos sociales, el bajo nivel de autocontrol y los problemas de salud mental estan relacionados con la compra online de drogas. Ademas, se postulo que la adquisicion online de drogas estaria mediada por la relacion entre el bajo autocontrol y el consumo frecuente de drogas. Participaron en el estudio un total de 2,424 jovenes residentes en Estados Unidos (N = 1,212) y en Espana (N = 1,212), que fueron evaluados en impulsividad, sensacion de dominio, pertenencia social, malestar psicologico, comportamientos abusivos (bebida, juego y utilizacion de internet) , con el objetivo de predecir la compra online de drogas. El 2% de los participantes de EE UU y Espana dijeron que compraban drogas online, de los cuales el 77% utilizaba servicios de redes sociales para tal fin. Los resultados de una regresion logistica multinomial, regresion logistica de maxima verosimilitud penalizada y modelos de regresion de mediacion binaria mostraron que la adquisicion online de drogas se relaciona con un menor autocontrol y un mayor malestar emocional y abuso del juego, y del uso de internet. El hecho de tener amigos por internet no constituia un factor de riesgo y tener vinculos sociales estrechos con amigos fuera de internet constituia un factor protector. A su vez, la compra online de drogas es un factor que media la relacion entre bajo autocontrol y uso habitual de drogas. Los resultados sugieren que deberia prestarse mayor atencion a las redes sociales como medio habitual de adquisicion de drogas, dado que los compradores online de drogas tienen multiples problemas de salud mental y autocontrol. EnglishABSTRACT Drugs are sold on both dark web services and on social media, but research investigating these drug purchases online is still emerging. The aim of this study is to analyze risk factors associated with buying drugs online. Utilizing theories of criminology and addiction research, it was hypothesized that social bonds, low levels of self-control, and poor mental health are associated with buying drugs online. Additionally, it was predicted that purchases of drugs online would mediate the relationship between low self-control and regular drug use. Participants of this nationwide study were 15 to 25 years old living in the United States (N = 1,212) and Spain (N = 1,212). Measures of impulsivity, a sense of mastery, social belonging, psychological distress, excessive behaviors (drinking, gambling and internet use) were utilized to predict purchasing drugs online. Two percent of the U.S. and Spanish respondents reported buying drugs online with 77% of them utilizing social media services to buy drugs. Results from multinomial logistic regression, penalized maximum-likelihood logistic regression, and binary mediation regression models indicated that buying drugs online was associated with lower self-control, higher psychological distress, and excessive gambling behavior and excessive Internet use. Having online friends was not a risk factor, but having strong social bonds with offline friends served as a protective factor. Additionally, buying drugs online mediated the relationship between low self-control and regular use of drugs. Results indicate that more focus should be placed on mainstream social media services as sources of drug acquisition as online drug buyers have multiple self-control and mental health problems.

[eng] The main objective of the doctoral thesis is to study the Soundscape in the Chinese route of the Silk Road based on the premises issued in 2003 by the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO. In China, no application of this agreement has been used. The research proposed by the doctoral thesis is an important precedent in applying the guidelines concerning the study and preservation of intangible cultural heritage. The Silk Road represents the exchange and integration of Chinese and Western cultures, and its mysterious and remote atmosphere is fascinating. I have longed for the Silk Road since I was young. I was exposed to sound media art, soundscape maps, and sound sculpture research in the laboratory of Dr. Josep Cerda at the University of Barcelona. Finally, it presented the idea of applying sound media art to data analysis of the sound on the Silk Road and archival records. The General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. UNESCO, at its 32nd meeting, held in Paris from September 29 to October 17, 2003. Approved the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Cultural Heritage Intangible, the intergovernmental agreement that Recognizes that communities, groups, and individuals play an important role in the production, safeguarding, maintenance, and recreation of intangible cultural heritage, thereby contributing to enriching cultural diversity and human creativity. It considers the importance of the Soundscape as an exponent of cultural diversity. The General objective of this doctoral dissertation is to apply the intangible cultural heritage protection formulated by UNESCO to "Using sound media art to record and protect the sound landscape of typical areas on the Silk Road." Through a literature review of Western sound research and the current sound landscape research status in China, China is currently conducting sound landscape research and research on a certain designated area. Quantitative analysis exists, but there is no study on "The sounds on the Silk Road from Xi'an to Urumqi." The Silk Road is a vast area and has many research limitations in terms of geography. This research uses ethnographic research as the main research methodology, and finally determines the research site in China from Xi'an to Urumqi in Six specific regions. In Chinese history, the Silk Road started from Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, and ended in Xinjiang Province, the last region connecting China with Eurasia. I passed through the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, Henan Province, the surround-ing areas of Mogao Grottoes in Gansu Province, and the surrounding regions of Qin- ghai Lake in Xining City Qinghai Province. As the gathering area of ethnic minorities in the southwest of China's Silk Road, Yunnan Province also includes this doctoral thesis research. Try to find the voices on the Silk Road that are most worthy of investigation and preservation, and conduct field investigations and quantitative analysis. The purpose of the research is to use a sound media library, soundscape map, and sound art museum display to reflect the ecological landscape environment of the Silk Road, the urban human environment, and the status quo of historical relics. Based on this, establish a sound landscape database. To form a digital map of the Soundscape, making it an important carrier for the protection and inheritance of the sound landscape on the Silk Road, as a basis for academic and theoretical research on protecting intangible cultural heritage on the Silk Road. The second objective of the research is to establish a sound media art laboratory and a sound documentation center in Shanghai Donghua University and Shanghai Arts & Design Academy, to supplement the current lack of sound media art as a research direction in design education in China. The third research goal is to apply future sound media art combined with big data artificial intelligence to serve society. Apply intelligent sound design as an essential means of exhibition and display and demonstrate in Chinese museums. In terms of research conclusions and social influence, this doctoral thesis puts forward for the first time "the application of sound media art to protect and inherit the soundscape of the Silk Road". First of all, a set of core methodology and research techniques in the research of this doctoral dissertation applied to the academic study of soundscape protection on the Silk Road. Due to the limitations of the research funding and time of the doctoral thesis, only investigate six important areas. I will not terminate this research because of the end of this paper. Researchers will continue to study some other sub-important regions of the Silk Road in China. This doctoral thesis will lay a theoretical foundation for China and the world to study the "Silk Road" soundscape research. Introduce the establishment method of sound media library into the design art education of Chinese colleges and universities. To make up for the lack of research in Chinese universities that specifically focus on sound art design instead of music theory research under art design research. The third is to create a sound media library and make an interactive multimedia map to be applied to the soundscape guide of the future cultural journey. Use digital media technology and sound media art principles to design a virtual interactive sound museum. Establish a complete set of sound expressions, protect and Inheriting the Soundscape of the Silk Road while driving the richness of cultural tourism in the southwest and northwest regions of China. The audience can understand the history and culture of the Silk Road through acoustic sensory experience in multiple dimensions., [spa] La finalidad de esta investigación es establecer un archivo sonoro de la Ruta de la Seda, en su recorrido en China, aplicando las directrices de la UNESCO, establecidas en la Convención para la Salvaguarda del Patrimonio Cultural Inmaterial, a partir de una metodología teorico-práctica de recogida de datos mediante grabaciones de campo y geolocalizadas mediante mapas sonoros. A lo largo de los 5 años de investigación, se ha podido constatar la transformación cultural de la zona de estudio debido a la irrupción de las nuevas tecnologías y la creciente industrialización, aspectos que constatan la necesidad de este tipo de investigaciones que hemos llevado a cabo, ya que los sonidos tradicionales del paisaje sonoro de la Ruta de la Seda están en vías de desaparición, por lo tanto es muy importante preservarlos para el futuro mediante la creación de un archivo sonoro.. En la investigación se han introducido elementos tecnológicos importantes, sobre todo en lo que hace referencia en la exposición de los sonidos del paisaje sonoro y en el diseño de un espacio expositivo interactivo especialmente diseñado para presentar estos sonidos y demás aspectos de la tradición cultural y artesana de la Ruta de la seda. Se ha partido de los estudios realizados por el investigador canadiense R. Murray-Schafer que se desarrollaron en la década de los años 70 del siglo pasado en la Universidad Simon Fraser de Canadá, y que han ido evolucionando hasta la actualidad por las aportaciones sucesivas de I. Westercamp y B. Truaux, que dieron como resultado el Word Sounscape Project, que es el origen del trabajo de investigación que hemos llevado a cabo. Toda la investigación se ha llevado a cabo en el mismo lugar de estudio de la Ruta de la Seda, en su tramo Chino. La gran mayoría de las grabaciones de campo y las imágenes fotográficas, así como las entrevistas y diseño expositivo han sido llevadas a cabo por la autora. Así mismo cabe remarcar que el estudio de las fuentes bibliográficas se han realizado en la mayoría de las veces a partir de libros y artículos redactados en el idioma mandarín, por lo que la accesibilidad a las fuentes primarias, hacen de esta tesis un trabajo de investigación muy importante.

In 1964, diplomatic relations between the Government of Charles de Gaulle of the French Fifth Republic and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) were established at an ambassadorial level. This decision was made in the context of the Cold War and embodied in a French geopolitical strategy. At that time, China (PRC) had been isolated by the majority of the Western Powers, and its diplomatic engagement with France had allowed access to some new industrial products and technologies China had particular need of these as the Soviet Union (USSR) had withdrawn all of its technological investments in China during the Sino-Soviet Split in 1960. Some industrial contracts have been signed between the French and Chinese governments since the mid-1960s. Among these contracts, the contributions of the industrialists of Lyon were the most numerous. Paul Berliet (1918–2012) exhibited Berliet trucks in Beijing in 1965, and this was the origin of the first French technology transfer in China. In 1978, Alain Mérieux (1938–) presented in China human and veterinary vaccines from the Institut Mérieux. It is worth mentioning that these Lyon-China relations had originally been initiated by the silk industrialists of Lyon in the 18th century, and were further developed with the first commercial mission between 1843 and 1846. It was the first time since the 15th century, that missions referring to “New Silk Route” had been operated between Europe and China. Since the 19th century, the Lyon-China ties have also extended to many other industrial and technological fields, as well as to the field of education, with the establishment of the Franco-Chinese Institute of Lyon (Institut Franco-Chinois de Lyon) in 1919 in Lyon.

In the early decades of the 13th century, the Mongols swept through Central Asia, sacking the cities of the Khwarezmian Empire and apparently causing economic chaos throughout the region. The Persian historians Rashid al-Din, Juvaini and others describe this as a traumatic event with cities razed and populations slaughtered. This paper takes the site of Otrar in present-day Kazakhstan and examines how archaeological evidence might be used to complement our historical understanding of this event and its aftermath, and whether archaeological evidence might have the potential to challenge or corroborate our current understanding of the period. The paper describes the historical and archaeological background of the site, and initial results of small-scale archaeological work at Otrar undertaken in 2017, which involved mapping, cleaning of sections and environmental sampling. Concluding that archaeology can have a large part to play in the debate, it is nonetheless cautious about how this evidence is used and discusses some of the limitations of archaeological data, as well as its potential within the context of the site of Otrar., Nizami Ganjavi Programme

In thousands of years from the Pre-Qin Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, crimson represents sacredness and good fortune in several dynasties and is honored in the hierarchy of colors. Meanwhile, introduction to the exotic Materia Medica for dyeing from the Silk Road trade greatly expands the dyeing category of red color. The exotic red dyestuff is eventually integrated into the red culture of the Central Plains through the localization process. Therefore, it becomes the color symbol on behalf of Chinese nation.

Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a Chinese national strategy which calls for cooperative economic, political and cultural exchange at the global level along the ancient Silk Road. The overwhelming natural hazards located along the belt and road bring great challenges to the success of BRI. In this framework, a 5-year international program was launched to address issues related to hazards assessment and disaster risk reduction (DRR). The first workshop of this program was held in Beijing with international experts from over 15 countries. Risk conditions on Belt and Road Countries (BRCs) have been shared and science and technology advancements on DRR have been disseminated during the workshop. Under this program, six task forces have been setup to carry out collaborative research works and three prioritized study areas have been established. This workshop announced the launching of this program which involved partners from different countries including Pakistan, Nepal, Russia, Italy, United Kingdom, Sri Lanka and Tajikistan. The program adopted the objectives of Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 and United Nation Sustainable Development Goals 2030 and was implemented to assess disaster risk in BRCs and to propose suitable measures for disaster control which can be appropriate both for an individual country and for specific sites. This paper deals with the outcomes of the workshop and points out opportunities for the near future international cooperation on this matter.

There is considerable debate over how and in what form Central Asian (CA) states should conduct relations among each other and with other post-Soviet states. The notion of the “Silk Road” has become one of the symbols of extended economic and political cooperation. Notably, however, Japan (Silk Road Diplomacy, 1996–1999), China (One Belt, One Road [OBOR] or the Belt and Road initiative [BRI]) and South Korea (Silk Road Strategy, 2011) have used the rhetoric of reviving the Silk Road to imply closer engagement with the CA region but with different connotations. This paper focuses on the formation of this discourse of engagement with the CA region through the notion of the Silk Road in China, South Korea and Japan and raises the following questions: What are the approaches that facilitate the most effective ways of engaging CA states under this “Silk Road” rhetoric? What are the principles that have detrimental effects on the successes and failures of the engagement of China, Japan and South Korea? The primary objective of this paper is to address these questions and to stimulate debate among both academics and policy makers on the formats of engagement and cooperation in Eurasia.

The discovery of the Northern Zhou (557–581AD) tomb of Shi Jun (494–579 CE) presents us with spectacular visual information about the Sogdians in medieval China, which was previously available to us only through written sources. The iconography-heavy sarcophagus in the tomb is an important vehicle for understanding the practices of religious (and everyday) life in the Sino-Sogdian community. The imagery on the Shi Jun sarcophagus reveals a mix of religious beliefs that existed among migrants in the premodern Eurasian world. Due to the absence of a dominant religion associated with Sino-Sogdian funerals, the iconography of the sarcophagus cannot be interpreted within an orthodox theological framework. Instead, it is possible that more syncretistic, indigenous, and regionally based folklore, tales, and hymns, in combination with a diversity of religious beliefs, might explain the sarcophagus’s enigmatic imagery, since the social order and religious order are often mutually reinforcing.

In this study, MLVA (multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis) genotype data of Brucella strains from 11 countries along the Silk Road were downloaded from the MLVAbank. MLVA data of strains were applied to the constructed Minimum Spanning Tree to explore the species/biovars distribution, geographic origins, and genetic relationships of the strains analyzed. Moreover, whole-genome sequencing–single-nucleotide polymorphism (WGS-SNP) phylogenetic analysis of the genome of Brucella melitensis strains from GenBank was performed to discriminate the relatedness of strains further and investigate the transmission pattern of B. melitensis brucellosis. A total of 1,503 Brucella strains were analyzed in this study: 431 Brucella abortus strains (29.8%), 1,009 B. melitensis strains (65.7%), and 63 Brucella suis strains (4.5%). B. melitensis biovar 3 was the dominant species and was shown to be widespread in all of the examined regions, suggesting that the prevention and surveillance of the B. melitensis population are a main challenge in these countries. A wide host spectrum was observed for this Brucella population; many animal reservoirs are a potential reason for the continuous brucellosis circulation in these countries. Although the B. abortus strains from the examined regions had common geographic origins, only a few shared genotypes were observed in different countries. These data revealed that the majority of B. abortus strains were spreading within the national borders. However, the B. melitensis strains from Italy originated from a Western Mediterranean lineage; strains from the other 10 countries originated from Eastern Mediterranean lineage, and this lineage was shared by strains from three to nine different countries, suggesting that the introduction and reintroduction of the disease in the 10 countries might have occurred in the past. Furthermore, the most shared MLVA-16 genotypes were formed in the B. melitensis strains from China, Kazakhstan, and Turkey, suggesting that the introduction and trade in sheep and goats have occurred frequently in these countries. WGS-SNP analysis showed that the B. melitensis in this study originated from the Malta (Italy) region. According to their territorial affiliation between four clade strains from these countries in genotype B, the absence of a clear differentiation suggests that strains continuously expand and spread in countries along with Silk Road. Active exchange and trade of animals (sheep and goats) among these countries are reasonable explanations. B. suis strains from different nations showed unique geographic origins and epidemiological characteristics. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the control of transfer and trade of infected sheep (goats) in countries along the Silk Road, namely, the strengthening of the entry–exit quarantine of sheep and goats and improvements in the diagnosis of animal brucellosis.

На рубеже веков товарооборот между Европой и Азией стал стремительно расти, что потребовало новых логистических и инфраструктурных путей для более быстрой и менее затратной доставки товаров из одной части континента в другую. «Один пояс один путь» это самый глобальный экономический проект Китайской Народной Республики: страна активно продвигает данный проект, он является её главным внешнеполитическим приоритетом. Цель статьи рассмотреть причины создания, направления, маршруты, недостатки экономического пояса Нового шёлкового пути и Морского шёлкового пути XXI в.; проанализировать, насколько выгодно для других государств принимать участие в данном проекте. Результатом статьи является описание механизмов действия КНР и определение жизнеспособности проекта в целом.At the turn of the century, trade between Europe and Asia began to grow rapidly, which required new logistics and infrastructure routes for faster and cheaper delivery of goods from one part of the continent to another. “One Belt One Road” is the most global economic project of the People’s Republic of China: the country is actively promoting this project, it is its main foreign policy priority. The purpose of the article is to consider the reasons for its launching, directions, routes, shortcomings of the economic belt of the New Silk Road and the 21st century Maritime Silk Road; to analyze what benefits it brings for other states to take part in this project. The result of the article is a description of China’s actions mechanism and assessment of the project viability as a whole.

Este trabajo muestra al lector las ambiciones de China con la puesta en marcha de la Nueva Ruta de la Seda, explicando tanto los proyectos que se llevarán a cabo, como algunos de los inconvenientes que presentan y sus soluciones. Asimismo, se presenta el tema de la inversión china en diferentes puertos europeos y la repercusión que ésta tiene en ellos. Por último, se expone la entrada de capital chino en puertos españoles, explicando los ejemplos del Puerto de Valencia y el Puerto de Bilbao. This work shows the reader China ́sambitionswith the launch of the New Silk Road, explaining both the projects that will be carried out, as well as some of the inconveniences they present and their solutions. Likewise, the topic of Chinese investment in differents European ports and its impact on them are presented. Finaly, the entry of Chinese capital in Spanish ports is shown, explaining the examples of the port of Valencia and the portof Bilbao. Lan honek, Txinako anbizioak erakusten dizkio irakurleari Zetako Bide Berriaren abiaraztearekin, bai burutu diren proiektuak azalduz, bai aurkezten dituen eragozpenak eta hauen konponbidea erakutsiz. Gainera, Txinak Europako potu desberdinetan egindako inbertsioen inguruan hitz egingo da, baita hauek zer nolako ospea daukaten. Amaitzeko, Espainako portuetan kapital Txinatarraren sarrerak izandako eragina adierazten da, Valentzia eta Bilboko portuak oinarritzat hartuta.

В статье рассматривается современное положение казахстанско-китайского сотрудничества в области торговли и экономики, а также анализируется их последующее развитие в рамках интеграции Китайской Народной Республики в Евразийский экономический союз. Учитывая тот факт, что Казахстан является членом и основателем экономического союза с 2015 г. участие Китая в данной экономической организации создает новый виток для взаимодействия между правительствами обоих стран. Помимо этого, важную роль играет и геополитическая близость рассматриваемых государств, поскольку усиление роли КНР на региональном уровне создает благоприятные возможности для реализации двусторонних проектов. При этом стоит отметить усиление взаимодействия в инвестиционном секторе, что с учетом появления такого инструмента как Азиатский Банк Инфраструктурных Инвестиций усиливает сложившуюся кооперацию в экономической среде. Таким образом, описанные изменения позволяют проследить динамику относительно дальнейшего развития торгового сектора, выявить и изучить возможные риски в осуществлении финансового взаимодействия, а также на основе имеющихся данных проанализировать последующие изменения в торгово-экономическом сотрудничестве как рассматриваемых стран в частности, так и на их развитие в рамках ЕАЭС. Причем казахстанское и китайское правительства активно сотрудничают на уровне транснациональных корпораций, что в совокупности с ростом прямых китайских капиталовложений в Евразийский экономический союз создает условия для изучения характера двусторонних связей КНР и Республики Казахстан в экономической среде. В статье рассматривается влияние интеграции Китая в ЕАЭС на ситуацию в казахстанско-китайских отношениях на данный момент и, за счет ориентации на современные процессы выделяются превентивные риски, которые могут быть отмечены в будущем.

Medicines have been traded along the Silk Road from antiquity until modern times. These products and their associated knowledge have been transferred over the land and sea between Asia, Europe, and Africa. Numerous texts that contain formulas and treatments passed along the Silk Road. Collections of these formulas and treatment methods called formularies contain unique information that informs this transfer of medicine. The texts and information flowed in both directions along these routes and while Chinese medicine influenced foreign medical practices both in history, and today, the incorporation of non-Chinese medicine and information also continues to influence Chinese medicine.

This paper tries to trace how China revived the Ancient Silk Road and how it has redefined relations with other countries in the world, including Indonesia. Under President Xi Jinping, China revived the concept of the Silk Road through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) policy. BRI has two main parts, the land silk route known as the Silk Road Economic Belt and the sea route known as the Maritime Silk Road. The revival of the silk route has its charm so that many countries, including Indonesia, welcome BRI's presence. But before Indonesia gets involved further in the BRI, it is crucial for Indonesia to examine the extent to which the ideologies and values carried out in the reconstruction of the BRI concept whether threatens or benefits Indonesia's interests. Through a study of the discourse and views of Chinese leaders, this paper will explore how the traditional values of the silk road are modified to conform to the values of modern cooperation and trade to suit China ambition to be a great power.

This work is the result of a study on the characteristics that define some of the museums created on the Silk Road. The approach to these museums has focused especially on the observation of the educational and heritage aspects that define these institutions. Since 1988, numerous actions related to the Silk Road have been promoted by UNESCO. This old trade route has now become a route of dialogue between cultures. Each museum studied is characterized by promoting local and national issues that define it. Educational issues stand out, since the tradition of silk production is very important in each place. Another aspect observed is that heritage issues manage to strengthen the characteristic features of each community. I have interviewed those responsible and personally observed their facilities and collections. Each museum has chosen to highlight local differential factors, enhancing the aesthetic arguments of cultural identity. Finally, I examine the specific case of the Valencia Silk Museum, the most recent creation museum but also the oldest institution. In the conclusions, I highlight the importance of education in most of these institutions.

This paper is about branding goods and services and viewing China’s reference to OBOR, a new regional trade initiative, as the “accidental” branding of its efforts to institute an entirely new model of development in various places along the ancient Silk Road, as well as a number of places that fall under Chinese contemporary rise to dominance in Asia. President Xi’s use of the Silk Road was meant to generate nostalgia about a perceived favorable time in Chinese history, using it to encourage enthusiasm about China’s new efforts to “share or sell” its expertise and heavy industrial production, such as infrastructure, to developing areas. However, in a very short time Xi’s “One Belt, One Road” policy, referred to by its initials — OBOR, began to exhibit most if not all, the characteristics of a “Brand” name for goods and services. OBOR elicited positive comments from national political leaders, all of whom were potential OBOR consumers. In short order, OBOR has attracted attention, interest, responses and offers of cooperation not only from Eurasian leaders but also from leaders in Africa, Europe, Asia and most recently in South America. Strengthening OBOR as a brand can help China to enhance the value of its OBOR-related goods and services internationally and eventually lead to China’s ultimate ascendance as a dominant World economic and political Power. It is interesting to note that a new Silk Road initiative was considered by the US Department of State in 2011 in an attempt to promote integration in trade and economy between Afghanistan, Central Asia, Pakistan, and India, a North-South silk road “as a compliment to the East-West connection across Eurasia” (US State Department 2015). As noted by in a Council on Foreign Relations report by McBride (2015): «It remains to be seen if the United States and China will clash over their competing plans for developing resources in Central Asia’s Turkmenistan, creating infrastructure in Pakistan, or winning political influence with local governments throughout Asia».

This paper re-focuses the Silk Road discussions from the position of contemporary art in Central Asian region. Since the late 1980s contemporary art in Central Asia boomed and it eventually became an alternative public space for the discussion of cultural transformations, social and global processes and problems that local societies faced. Initially the questions raised by many artists concerned issues of lost identity and lost heritage during the period of Soviet domination in the region. Different artists started re-imagining the concept of the Self in their works and criticising the old rigid approaches to geography, history and mobility. Nomadic heritage became one of the central themes in contemporary art of Central Asia in the 1990s. Artists started experimenting with symbols of mobility, fluid borders and imagined geography of the “magic steppe” (see Kudaibergenova 2017, “Punk Shamanism”). Contemporary art in Central Asia continues to serve as a space for social critique and a space for search and re-conceptualisation of new fluid identities, geographies and region's place on the world map. In this paper I critically evaluate three themes connected to the symbolism of Silk Road heritage that many artists engage with – imagined geography, routes, roads and mobility. All three themes are present in the selected case studies of Gulnara Kasmalieva's and Muratbek Djumaliev's TransSiberian Amazons (2005) and A New Silk Road: Algorithm of Survival and Hope (2007) multi-channel video art, Victor and Elena Vorobievs’ (Non)Silk Road (2006) performance and photography, Almagul Menlibayeva's My Silk Road to You video-art and photography (2010–2011), Yerbossyn Meldibekov's series on imagining Central Asia and the Mountains of Revolution (2012–2015), and Syrlybek Bekbotaev's Kyrgyz Pass installation (2014–2015) as well as Defenders of Issyk Kul (2014). I trace how artists modernise, mutate and criticise main discourses about Silk Road and what impact this has on the re-imagination processes.

Whilst archaeological evidence for many aspects of life in ancient China is well studied, there has been much less interest in ancient infectious diseases, such as intestinal parasites in past Chinese populations. Here, we bring together evidence from mummies, ancient latrines, and pelvic soil from burials, dating from the Neolithic Period to the Qing Dynasty, in order to better understand the health of the past inhabitants of China and the diseases endemic in the region. Seven species of intestinal parasite have been identified, namely roundworm, whipworm, Chinese liver fluke, oriental schistosome, pinworm, Taenia sp. tapeworm, and the intestinal fluke Fasciolopsis buski. It was found that in the past, roundworm, whipworm, and Chinese liver fluke appear to have been much more common than the other species. While roundworm and whipworm remained common into the late 20th century, Chinese liver fluke seems to have undergone a marked decline in its prevalence over time. The iconic transport route known as the Silk Road has been shown to have acted as a vector for the transmission of ancient diseases, highlighted by the discovery of Chinese liver fluke in a 2,000 year-old relay station in northwest China, 1,500 km outside its endemic range.

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) remote sensing is increasingly favoured in archaeological applications. However, the effectiveness of this technology for archaeological prospection has so far not been fully assessed. In this study, an integrated single-date and multi-temporal SAR data-processing chain was proposed to sharpen archaeological signs and hence their detection and monitoring. In total, 14 scenes of X-band Cosmo-SkyMed, C-band Sentinel-1 and L-band PALSAR data covering the Western Regions of the Silk Road Corridor in China were employed for two important archaeological sites including the Yumen Frontier Pass with emerging archaeological traces and Niya ruins with subsurface remains. The results pointed out that single-date satellite radar data were useful for the identification of subsurface traces buried under desert in the landscape-scale, whereas for the identification of emerging monuments, Sentinel-1 was limited by its lower spatial resolution compared to TerraSAR and PALSAR data. Multi-date products, such as interferometric coherence, the averaged radar signatures and RGB multi-temporal composites, were effective to sharpen archaeological traces as well as for change detection in Yumen Frontier Pass. This study presents a pilot assessment of satellite SAR data for the analysis and monitoring of archaeological features in the predominantly arid-sandy environmental characteristic of investigated sites.

Cultural heritage, considered as a tool for sustainable tourism development and place branding, makes a destination appealing to visitors, hence, cultural heritage tourism can be a driving force for economic growth in cities and regions. Polycentricity is a useful multi-scalar concept in spatial theory that describes how adjacent urban centers can interact with each other, creating synergies and generating broader spatial networks. Cultural heritage and tourism, perceived as important factors of integration in a polycentric spatial structure, can further promote regional branding strategies. In this paper, a polycentricity index is introduced as a methodological tool for networking cultural heritage destinations, with an application to the Silk Road heritage. Silk Road cultural assets traced on the historical Silk Road routes linking East and West, can serve as tourist attraction poles and as an essential component for branding destinations through networking at various spatial scales. The Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace in Northern Greece, endowed with a plethora of Silk Road cultural assets, most of which are still untapped, is used to highlight the proposed methodology. The ultimate objective is the designation of polycentric destination networks based on Silk Road assets, in order to build regional branding opportunities over the Region.

The suboptimal management and utilization of water resources from the &ldquo, Asian water towers&rdquo, contributed to serious ecological crises in river basins along the arid Silk Road, such as the Aral Sea and the Heihe River in the 20th century. To improve the ecological resilience of the Ejina Oasis in the Heihe River downstream basin, the Chinese government implemented the &lsquo, Ecological water dispatching project&rsquo, in 2000. However, it is still unclear what the optimal rational water allocation is for the sustainable development of economic, social, and ecological environments (so called &ldquo, triple bottom line&rdquo, ) in these inland river basins. This study presents a decision-tree-based methodology for ecological monitoring and restoration strategies for Silk Road&rsquo, s oasis eco-system. Using Landsat TM/OLI data as well as meteorological, hydrological, and water utilization data, we show that ~69% of the originally degraded land has been restored since 2000. Previously dry tail-end lakes in the Heihe River downstream basin have been rejuvenated, and the precipitation has also significantly improved (&rho, = 0.047). We propose that the downstream water allocation should be no more than ~11 &times, 108 m3 and that the optimal ratio between downstream and midstream allocation is 0.4&ndash, 1.7. This study provides an excellent example for ecological monitoring and assessment in the optimization of strategies for the restoration of Silk Road&rsquo, s oasis eco-system.

В статье исследуется международно-правовая характеристика двустороннего торгово-экономического сотрудничества между Россией и Китаем в контексте становления и развития договорно-правовых отношений во всех отраслях взаимовыгодного российско-китайского сотрудничества. Выявлены и обозначены правовые аспекты регулирования приоритетных направлений и перспективы развития сотрудничества в экономической и политической и социальных сферах. Рассматриваются основные пути торгово-экономических отношений на современном этапе и на ближайшую перспективу с учётом ныне действующих договорно-правовых документов, регулирующих двустороннее сотрудничество между Россией и Китаем, что вызывает необходимость дальнейшего динамичного совершенствования и развития договорно-правовой базы между двумя странами.

The present paper discusses and analyzes some cultural phenomena of the Tang period in China, which is the era of unprecedented prosperity in Chinese history: literature (especially poetry), historiography, philosophy, art, science and technology reached unheard and unseen peaks. Political unity, social stability, economic prosperity, transport development and active international relations played the role of a catalyst in the process of quick development. It is a fact that other dynasties in Chinese history provided good social and economic conditions for the people as well but it is difficult to explain why they failed to make such brilliant achievements in the field of culture as Tang, when the innovative and creative potential of the nation managed to unleash.

One of the richest societies along the Silk Road developed in Sogdiana, located in present-day Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan. This urban civilisation reached its greatest prosperity during the golden age of the Silk Road (sixth to ninth century ce). Rapid political and economic changes, accelerated by climatic variations, were observed during last millennium in this region. The newly developed tree-ring-based reconstruction of precipitation for the past millennium revealed a series of dry and wet stages. During the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA), two dry periods occurred (900–1000 and 1200–1250), interrupted by a phase of wetter conditions. Distinct dry periods occurred around 1510–1650, 1750–1850, and 1920–1970, respectively. The juniper tree-ring record of moisture changes revealed that major dry and pluvial episodes were consistent with those indicated by hydroclimatic proxy data from adjacent areas. These climate fluctuations have had long- and short term consequences for human history in the territory of former Sogdiana.

Nestorianism is the Christian doctrine that Jesus existed as two characters, the man and the divine or Son of God. Nestorios, the patriarch of Constantinople taught that thesis in the churches, but the synod of Ephesus in 431 declared it as a heretical teaching and exiled Nestorius and his followers from the Byzantine Empire. They established a new church and began to preach the new doctrine along the Silk Road. Gradually reached Central Asia and China, where the emperors supported them and gave privileges, moreover contributed to build churches there. Several relics can be found in China. From Central Asia they arrived in the Mongolian steppe, where lots of small kingdoms – Kereits, Naimans, Onguts, etcexisted. The new faith spread there quickly, thanks to miracles or missionaries with advanced astronomical and medical knowledge. Not only Syrians, but local Christians, e.g. Uighurs or Sogdians preached Christianity around Jungar Basin. For the first time they used Syrian as an ecclesial script, then introduced Uighur scripts, which was widely accepted writing system in the eastern part of the Silk Road. In my present study, based on early records, I have summarized the history of the peoples of Nestorian religion, referring to the Christian roots. Although these kingdoms were defeated by Genghis Khan in the beginning of the 13th century, but their cultural heritage survived them, the Mongolian Empire accepted the Uighur script as official writing system for chancellery and some princess from those kingdoms became queens of Mongols and supported Christians and contributed that kind of Christianity survived for a long time in Inner Asia., Несторианство – это христианское учение о том, что Иисус существовал как два персонажа: человек и Сын Божий. Несторий, патриарх Константинопольский, проповедовал этот тезис в церкви, пока Ефесский синод в 431 году не назвал это ересью и не выслал Нестора и его последователей из Византийской империи. Они основали новую церковь и начали проповедовать новое учение вдоль Шелкового пути. Постепенно несторианство достигло Средней Азии и Китая, где императоры поддерживали их, предоставляя различные привилегии, и даже помогали строительству там церквей. В результате Китае можно найти несколько реликвий, связанных с несторианской церковью. Из Средней Азии последователи Нестория прибыли в Монгольскую степь, где существовало множество небольших царств – кереиты, найманы, онгуты и т.д. Новая вера быстро распространилась там благодаря чудесам и миссионерам, обладавшим передовыми астрономическими и медицинскими знаниями. Не только сирийцы, но и местные христиане, например, уйгуры или согдийцы, проповедовали христианство в районе Джунгарского бассейна. Первоначально в качестве церковной использовалась сирийская письменность, затем ввели уйгурскую письменность, которая была широко распространена в восточной части Шелкового пути. В своем настоящем исследовании, основанном на ранних источниках, автор подводит итоги истории народов, исповедовавших несторианство, делая акцент на их христианские корни. Хотя позднее, в начале XIII в. царства эти были разгромлены Чингиз-ханом, культурное наследие этих народов сохранилось. Монгольская империя приняла уйгурское письмо в качестве официальной системы письма для делопроизводства, а некоторые принцессы из этих народов, ставшие царицами монголов, продолжали поддерживать христиан, что способствовало сохранению несторианства во Внутренней Азии в течение длительного периода времени

The strategic place of Bangladesh in the proposed 21st century maritime Silk Road will attract the international traders where port transport service may offer to the neighbor countries for establishing industry also reducing shipping cost significantly. The objective of the OBOR initiative that proposed by China is to address the common needs of transport access for all and launch a new global transport networks by the combination of surface and water transportation system. In the aim of connecting two transport modes of OBOR, intermodal freight transportation system has a role to join two nodes of two modes to cover the line from Bangladesh to China and bid maritime logistics to the adjacent industry and offer for setting new industry to follow the easy access of seaports in Bangladesh. In this connection, Bangladesh has opportunity to draw lines from its seaports to China economy road by direct road haulage, road and rail, water and road combination to facilitate the port transport service. To follow the intermodal freight transportation system, it is possible to connect with India, Nepal, Bhutan, China and Myanmar where Bangladesh can do transport business with them and able to develop the area of those countries that are landlocked especially seven sisters of India and south-west part of China and southern part of Myanmar predictably. Recent initiative of India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh’s motor vehicles agreement (BBIN) is indicating cargo movement among the four South Asian neighbors for a common transport policy to develop the region where OBOR will play a vital role to connect all countries of the South Asia especially cost effective maritime access through Bangladeshi seaports. This paper tried to find out the secure access to and from the Bangladeshi seaports by all means of transport as per OBOR initiative of China by following two-fold research methodology qualitative and quantitative.

Based on methods of comparative politological studies the article specifies four main correlations in SCO activities: level of global and regional impact and regional possibilities of impact; multilateral and bilateral cooperation; correlation between main spheres of activity (security, economics and investment, humanitarian cooperation); correlation between integration projects of SCO, EAU and Silk Road.