A Brief Discussion on the Development of the Silk-Weaving Industry Along the “Southern Silk Road” in Yunnan

Ancient Yunnan was one of the most significant regions along China’s ancient“Southern Silk Road.”During the Nanzhao period(738–902)of the late Tang Dynasty,Yunnan’s silk-weaving industry underwent a qualitative leap as skilled silk craftsmen from the Bashu area migrated to Yunnan and introduced mulberry planting,silkworm breeding,and advanced silk-weaving techniques from Sichuan to the region.Consequently,people in Yunnan gradually acquired expertise in brocade weaving and embroidery.Many even mastered complex silk-weaving techniques.The development and progress of the silk-weaving industry in the ancient Yunnan region were intricately linked to the economic function and value of silk as both a commodity and currency along the“Southern Silk Road.”The local government in ancient Yunnan was greatly motivated by the economic interests brought by the development of silk-related industries and recognized the significance of developing the local silk industry.They even initiated a campaign to capture skilled silk craftsmen from Sichuan,aiming to foster the growth of the silk-weaving industry in Yunnan.After years of dedicated efforts from the local government in ancient Yunnan,the region emerged as a significant hub for silk production along China’s ancient“Southern Silk Road.”Despite the devastation caused by the wars in other parts of the country,Yunnan’s silk industry continued to thrive and provide ample silk products to sustain trade along this renowned route.In the contemporary era,amidst the decline of the silk-weaving industry in eastern China,Yunnan has proposed an industrial development strategy known as“relocating the silk-weaving industry from east to west.”This involves introducing advanced silk production techniques from the eastern regions into Yunnan to enhance and enrich its local silk industry,thereby establishing it as a traditional national sector and securing a competitive position within the global silk market.The historical experience of Yunnan’s silk industry demonstrated that economic development opportunities can only be seized through proactive endeavors rather than passive anticipation.The modern Yunnan silk industry,which upholds its historical traditions,continues to actively engage in international high-end technical cooperation,thus ensuring the enduring vitality of the ancient“Southern Silk Road.”

Three-dimensional thermohaline structure estimation derived from HY-2 satellite data over the Maritime Silk Road and its applications

Estimated ocean subsurface fields derived from satellite observations provide potential data sources for operational marine environmental monitoring and prediction systems.This study employs a statistic regression reconstruction method,in combination with domestic autonomous sea surface height and sea surface temperature observations from the Haiyang-2(HY-2)satellite fusion data,to establish an operational quasi-realtime three-dimensional(3D)temperature and salinity products over the Maritime Silk Road.These products feature a daily temporal resolution and a spatial resolution of 0.25°×0.25°and exhibit stability and continuity.We have demonstrated the accuracy of the reconstructed thermohaline fields in capturing the 3D thermohaline variations through comprehensive statistical evaluations,after comparing them against Argo observations and ocean analysis data from 2022.The results illustrate that the reconstructed fields effectively represent seasonal variations in oceanic subsurface structures,along with structural changes resulting from mesoscale processes,and the upper ocean’s responses to tropical cyclones.Furthermore,the incorporation of HY-2 satellite observations notably enhances the accuracy of temperature and salinity reconstructions in the Northwest Pacific Ocean and marginally improves salinity reconstruction accuracy in the North Indian Ocean when compared to the World Ocean Atlas 2018 monthly climatology thermohaline fields.As a result,the reconstructed product holds promise for providing quasi-real-time 3D temperature and salinity field information to facilitate fast decisionmaking during emergencies,and also offers foundational thermohaline fields for operational ocean reanalysis and forecasting systems.These contributions enhance the safety and stability of ocean subsurface activities and navigation.

The coordinated evolution of ecological environment,public service,and tourism economy along the Silk Road Economic Belt,using the Dual-Carbon Targets

Carbon peak and carbon neutrality(dual-carbon)are important targets for the international response to climate change.The Silk Road Economic Belt is a strategic resource region and is important for future ecological environment and tourism development.Based on the“dual-carbon”targets,the Single index quantification,Multiple index synthesis,and Poly-criteria integration evaluation model were used in this study to measure the coordinated development index of the ecological environment,public service,and tourism economy along the Silk Road Economic Belt and to analyze its spatial and temporal evolution.Further,it explores the dynamic evolution and development trend of the three systems using the Kernel Density and Grey Markov Prediction Model.The results show that the coordinated development index along this region needs to be improved during the study period.Furthermore,the coordinated development index of the Southwest region is relatively higher than that of the Northwest region.From the development trend of the three systems,all of them develop in a stable manner;however,the tourism economy system is easily affected by external disturbances.The coordinated development index of the three systems changes dynamically and tends to be in a good state of coordination.There is a certain spatial and temporal heterogeneity.The gravity center of the coordinated development index has been in the Southwest region.During the forecast period,the coordinated development index along this region will improve significantly,while insufficient and unbalanced development will continue.

Study on the Protection of Sites of“Maritime Silk Road”in Haikou from the Perspective of World Cultural Heritage

The sites of Maritime Silk Road in Haikou City are composed of sites of navigation and trade,religious temples and stone monuments,urban construction and coastal defense scattered on the south bank of the Qiongzhou Strait.They played a key role in the formation and shaping of the settlements in Haikou City,recorded the process of intercommunication and integration between Chinese civilization and other regional cultures,and witnessed the germination,flourishing and inheritance of Haikou’s unique marine culture.The mixture of points,lines and planes blends with the urban area and coastline of Haikou City in spatial distribution.In this paper,from the perspective of world cultural heritage,some suggestions for the protection planning of sites of Maritime Silk Road in Haikou City were proposed based on the analysis of historical and geographical background,comparison of domestic and foreign similar sites,and evaluation of cultural heritage value.

Application of Traditional Chinese Culture in Cross-Cultural English Education:A Case Study of the Maritime Silk Road in Guangdong Province

The phenomenon of aphasia in Chinese culture is serious.The existing English teaching materials emphasize too much Western culture education and lack traditional Chinese cultural elements.Therefore,this paper takes the Guangdong Maritime Silk Road as an example to study the specific application of traditional Chinese culture in cross-cultural English education.This paper first summarizes the significance of cross-cultural integration into college English education and then points out the serious phenomenon of Chinese cultural aphasia.Next,the paper focuses on English education,using English textbooks as a starting point to explore and integrate strategies related to excellent traditional Chinese culture from the Guangdong Maritime Silk Road.By integrating traditional Chinese culture into business English classes(with the Guangdong Maritime Silk Road as an example),the study explores the influence of such cultural integration on students’cross-cultural communication skills,cultural identity,and learning effects.The results showed that the P value of the experimental group and the control group was<0.05,that is,cultural integration had a positive effect on improving the effect of cross-cultural English education.The overall scores and cultural confidence of the experimental group are higher than those of the control group,which proves that cross-cultural teaching has a positive effect on the improvement of students’scores.

Bridging Civilizations From Asia to Europe： The Silk Road

Throughout history, Silk Road played an important role with connecting more than 50 countries between its endpoints. Reviving this ancient trade route is a contemporary discussion among politicians. There are many projects realized and proposed for the resurgence of the modem Silk Road, including the railroad project connecting Baku, Tiflis and Kars of Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey; the undersea rail tunnel under the Bosphorus strait, Marmaray; the Silk Road Economic Belt proposed by China; and the Maritime Silk Road, again proposed by China. Just like the original Silk Road, it was not only a route for caravans or trade, but it was a meeting point for cultural, religious, and philosophical exchanges that served humanity for centuries; today＇s modem Silk Road initiatives should be considered as bridges between Eastern and Western civilizations that will serve the same purpose of its ancient predecessor. The revived Silk Road will facilitate strengthening of relationships in between countries that experienced harmony in history. The railways, transportation facilities, transnational gates, energy corridors, and natural gas pipelines that constitute the Silk Road will transform the region with improving its economy and bringing peace and economic prosperity. With recent developments, it witnesses the importance of geopolitical and historical ties in establishing contemporary alliances. Although there are great expectations with the revival of the modern Silk Road, authors would like to emphasize that it should be an agreement to foster shared interests rather than the interest of bigger partners.

Vital Nodes Evolution Study on Railway Network of Silk Road Economic Belt

In order to study the nodes importance and its evolution process of the railway network of SREB (Silk Road Economic Belt), we construct the network (RNSREB) based on Graph Theory, which focuses on the time intervals according to actually railway network, railway project under construction and the national railway network of medium-and long-term plan. The algorithms for vital nodes evaluation are analyzed, the evaluation method on nodes importance of RNSREB is proposed, the quantized values of each node are calculated with Pajek, and TOP20 core nodes of the network with different coefficients and time intervals are determined respectively. Then the evolution process of TOP20 critical nodes with 4 periods is contrasted and analyzed. It is indicated that some vital nodes newly discovered (Geermu, Maduo, Ruoqiang) should be concerned.

Climate Comfort Analysis of the East Section of Silk Road

Based on the meteorological data of 12 weather stations in the east section of silk road from 1971 to 2005, such as average monthly temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and sunshine duration, its climatic tourism comfort was analyzed by adopting temperature-humidity index, wind-chill index and index of cloth. The results showed that the most comfortable month for travelling in this region is May and September. From east to west, the climatic comfort of such a section is decreasing. The most suitable tourism season is summer, followed by autumn and spring, the least suitable season is winter.

Teleconnection between Sea Ice in the Barents Sea in June and the Silk Road,Pacific–Japan and East Asian Rainfall Patterns in August

In contrast to previous studies that have tended to focus on the influence of the total Arctic sea-ice cover on the East Asian summer tripole rainfall pattern, the present study identifies the Barents Sea as the key region where the June sea-ice variability exerts the most significant impacts on the East Asian August tripole rainfall pattern, and explores the teleconnection mechanisms involved. The results reveal that a reduction in June sea ice excites anomalous upward air motion due to strong near-surface thermal forcing, which further triggers a meridional overturning wave-like pattern extending to midlatitudes.Anomalous downward motion therefore forms over the Caspian Sea, which in turn induces zonally oriented overturning circulation along the subtropical jet stream, exhibiting the east–west Rossby wave train known as the Silk Road pattern. It is suggested that the Bonin high, a subtropical anticyclone predominant near South Korea, shows a significant anomaly due to the eastward extension of the Silk Road pattern to East Asia. As a possible descending branch of the Hadley cell, the Bonin high anomaly ultimately triggers a meridional overturning, establishing the Pacific–Japan pattern. This in turn induces an anomalous anticyclone and cyclone pair over East Asia, and a tripole vertical convection anomaly meridionally oriented over East Asia. Consequently, a tripole rainfall anomaly pattern is observed over East Asia. Results from numerical experiments using version 5 of the Community Atmosphere Model support the interpretation of this chain of events.

Asymmetric Relationship between the Meridional Displacement of the Asian Westerly Jet and the Silk Road Pattern

In previous work, a significant relationship was identified between the meridional displacement of the Asian westerly jet （JMD） and the Silk Road Pattern （SRP） in summer. The present study reveals that this relationship is robust in northward JMD years but absent in southward JMD years. In other words, the amplitude of the SRP increases with northward displacement of the jet but shows little change with southward displacement. Further analysis indicates that, in northward JMD years, the Rossby wave source （RWS） anomalies, which are primarily contributed by the planetary vortex stretching, are significantly stronger around the entrance of the Asian jet, i.e., the Mediterranean Sea-Caspian Sea area, with the spatial distribution being consistent with that related to the SRP. By contrast, in southward JMD years, the RWS anomalies are much weaker. Therefore, this study suggests that the RWS plays a crucial role in inducing the asymmetry of the JMD-SRP relationship. The results imply that climate anomalies may be stronger in strongly northward-displaced JMD years due to the concurrence of the JMD and SRP, and thus more attention should be paid to these years.

An international program on Silk Road Disaster Risk Reduction--a Belt and Road initiative (2016-2020)

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.

Two Modes of the Silk Road Pattern and Their Interannual Variability Simulated by LASG/IAP AGCM SAMIL2.0

In this study, two modes of the Silk Road pattern were investigated using NCEP2 reanalysis data and the simulation produced by Spectral Atmospheric Circulation Model of IAP LASG, Version 2 （SAMIL2.0） that was forced by SST observation data. The horizontal distribution of both modes were reasonably reproduced by the simulation, with a pattern correlation coefficient of 0.63 for the first mode and 0.62 for the second mode. The wave train was maintained by barotropic energy conversion （denoted as CK） and baroclinic energy conversion （denoted as CP） from the mean flow. The distribution of CK was dominated by its meridional component （CKy） in both modes. When integrated spatially, CKx was more efficient than its zonal component （CKx） in the first mode but less in the second mode. The distribution and efficiency of CK were not captured well by SAMIL2.0. However, the model performed reasonably well at reproducing the distribution and efficiency of CP in both modes. Because CP is more efficient than CK, the spatial patterns of the Silk Road pattern were well reproduced. Interestingly, the temporal phase of the second mode was well captured by a single-member simulation. However, further analysis of other ensemble runs demonstrated that the successful reproduction of the temporal phase was a result of internal variability rather than a signal of SST forcing. The analysis shows that the observed temporal variations of both CP and CK were poorly reproduced, leading to the low accuracy of the temporal phase of the Silk Road pattern in the simulation.

The Dry-Cold Climate of the Qijia Archeological Civilization in Chankou of the Loess Plateau along the Silk Road Since the Neolithic Period

Objective Large numbers of archeological relics from the Neolithic period are widely distributed in all tributaries of the Yellow River. The early humans tended to reside along the river valleys, and developed small but characteristically decentralized ancient valley culture. It is universally acknowledged that the agriculture exchange between China and western countries and the moderate

When and how will the Millennium Silk Road witness 1.5 °C and 2 °C warmer worlds?

Western China and central Asia are positioned centrally along the Millennium Silk Road,which is regarded as a core region bridging the East and the West.Understanding the potential changes in climate over this core region is important to the successful implementation of the so-called＇Belt and Road Initiative＇（a $1 trillion regional investment in infrastructure）.In this study,both mean and extreme climate changes are projected using the ensemble mean of CMIP5 models.The results show a warming of ～1.5,2.9,3.6,and 6.0 ℃ under RCP2.6,4.5,6.0,and 8.5,respectively,by the end of the twenty-first century,with respect to the 1986-2005 baseline period.Meanwhile,the annual mean precipitation amount increases consistently across all RCPs,with an increase by ～14% with respect to 1986-2005 under RCP8.5.The warming over the Millennium Silk Road region reaches 1.5 ℃ before 2020 under all the emission scenarios.The 2020s （2030s） see a 2 ℃ warming under the RCP8.5 （RCP4.5） scenario.Global warming that is 0.5 ℃ lower （i.e.a warming of 1.5 ℃） could result in the avoidance of otherwise significant impacts in the Silk Road core region-specifically,a further warming of 0.73 ℃ （with an interquartile range of 0.49%-0.94 ℃） and an increase in the number of extreme heat days by 4.2,at a cost of a reduced increase of 2.72% （0.47%-3.82%） in annual precipitation.The change in consecutive dry days is region-dependent

The analysis of gales over the “Maritime Silk Road” with remote sensing data

The 21st century ＂Maritime Silk Road＂ strategy is a significant part of the belt and road initiatives of China. The cognition and investigation of ocean environment is essential and necessary in these regions which will provide scientific reference for many fields such as navigation, ocean engineering, and disaster prevent and reduction. A high-resolution cross-calibrated multi-platform wind product is used to analyze gales over the Maritime Silk Road. The yearly mean speed and space distribution of gale, and the frequencies and trends of gale and extreme wind speed are analyzed. The results show that relatively high pools of gale are mainly located in the waters of the Arabian Sea, the Somali Sea, Indo-China Peninsula sea area, and Bay of Bengal in the summer. The gale frequency of the Somali Sea is more than 90%. Overall, the gale days increase year by year in the majority of the South China Sea and the northern Indian Ocean, especially in the autumn and the winter.

Comparison between the interannual and decadal components of the Silk Road pattern

The Silk Road pattern（SRP）, which is a teleconnection pattern along the Asian upper-tropospheric westerly jet in summer, exhibits both interannual and decadal variabilities. Through the nineyear Gaussian filtering method and regression analyses, this study compares the interannual and decadal components of the SRP. The results indicate that the interannual SRP corresponds to a well-organized wave train of alternate cyclonic and anticyclonic anomalies across the Eurasian continent along the Asian westerly jet, resulting in a similar wave-like pattern of cold and warm surface temperature anomalies. This pattern of temperature anomalies differs from that associated with the original SRP, which is characterized by warmer or cooler temperatures mainly over Europe–West Asia and Northeast Asia, depending on the phase of the SRP. On the other hand, the decadal SRP shows a similar pattern to the interannual one from Europe to Central Asia, but the meridional wind anomalies tend to be weak over East Asia. These circulation anomalies are responsible for the significant temperature anomalies over Europe–West Asia and Northeast Asia but weak anomalies between these two domains.

Hazard analysis of tsunami disaster on the Maritime Silk Road

The Maritime Silk Road is not only a passageway for business and trade, but also the road of friendship between eastern and western civilizations. The Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 caused major damage to several coastal countries. Tsunami occurrence regularity and hazard analysis are needed to ensure economic and cultural exchange on the Maritime Silk Road. To explore and identify tsunami hazard on the Maritime Silk Road, the spatial and temporal characteristics of historical tsunami events were given out. Some useful information hidden in historical tsunamis was searched from source parameters, such as seismic magnitude, focal depth and water depth. The tsunami possibility in the case of earthquake occurrence was also studied, exploring the probability of tsunami caused by different magnitudes. The analysis result shows that tsunamis on the Maritime Silk Road mainly occurred in 8 major tectonic faults, each of which has different tsunami occurrence regularity. On the basis of statistical analysis, a numerical model was used to simulate the potential tsunamis and show the tsunami hazard levels along the coast of Maritime Silk Road. The research results of this paper can help the tsunami early warning and ensure the safety of economic and cultural exchanges on the Maritime Silk Road.

Hydrological Variations and the Ancient Silk Road in the Northern Tarim Basin between Han and Sui Dynasties

The fluctuation pattern of China’s civilization can be ascribed to climate change and historical geopolitical variations. The ancient Silk Road served as the most prosperous route connecting East Asia and Europe during Han Dynasty(206 BC–220 AD) and Sui-Tang Dynasties(581–907 AD), but was deserted in Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern dynasties(220–580 AD), of which the Tarim Basin was a key area. However, our understanding about the decline of the route during this period remains limited. Here, we present an ~7-year resolution record based on optically stimulated luminescence(OSL) age-depth model(ca. 120 BC–750 AD) from Luntai(LT) profile, about 5 km from the modern Tarim River, which fed the ancient oases, to assess the potential causes on the documented decline of the ancient Silk Road between Late Han and Sui dynasties. In this study, five episodes of hydrological change were identified by combining grain size, magnetic susceptibility, geochemistry and TOC/TN contents. Our reconstruction reveals that cold and wet climate dominated at 120 BC–50 AD and 550–750 AD, respectively, indicated by strong hydrodynamic conditions. Relatively warm and humid climate occurred at 120–550 AD, between Eastern Han and Sui-Tang dynasties, indicating a better and more suitable local environment. A comparison between the studied region and other areas of China demonstrates that the paleoclimatic variations in eastern and western China exhibit rough discrepancies, and the hydrological conditions in arid region is inconsistent with the decline of ancient Silk Road in the northern Tarim Basin. We suggest that political and societal factors are the key issues that caused the interruption of Silk Road during Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern dynasties, such as the co-occurrence of societal crises, turmoil and division in eastern China, rather than the deteriorating climatic condition in the northern Tarim basin.

Analysis of Dynamic Characteristics of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road

The 21st century Maritime Silk Road(MSR) proposed by China strongly promotes the maritime industry. In this paper, we use wind and ocean wave datasets from 1979 to 2014 to analyze the spatial and temporal distributions of the wind speed, significant wave height(SWH), mean wave direction(MWD), and mean wave period(MWP) in the MSR. The analysis results indicate that the Luzon Strait and Gulf of Aden have the most obvious seasonal variations and that the central Indian Ocean is relatively stable. We analyzed the distributions of the maximum wind speed and SWH in the MSR over this 36-year period. The results show that the distribution of the monthly average frequency for SWH exceeds 4 m(huge waves) and that of the corresponding wind speed exceeds 13.9 ms^(-1)(high wind speed). The occurrence frequencies of huge waves and high winds in regions east of the Gulf of Aden are as high as 56% and 80%, respectively. We also assessed the wave and wind energies in different seasons. Based on our analyses, we propose a risk factor(RF) for determining navigation safety levels, based on the wind speed and SWH. We determine the spatial and temporal RF distributions for different seasons and analyze the corresponding impact on four major sea routes. Finally, we determine the spatial distribution of tropical cyclones from 2000 to 2015 and analyze the corresponding impact on the four sea routes. The analysis of the dynamic characteristics of the MSR provides references for ship navigation as well as ocean engineering.

The Silk Road(丝绸之路)and Sources of Chinese Medicine Expansion: Part Ⅲ-Histories

Medicine and knowledge of medical practice have been exchanged along the Silk Road since antiquity.Medical texts provide the vast majority of information about the drugs,techniques,and ideas that passed from foreign lands into China and became part of Chinese medicine.In addition to the medical corpus,historical works provide the backdrop for how,when,and from where these ideas and medicines entered and influenced Chinese medical practice.Examining the historical texts and the information pertaining to medical exchange can allow us to better understand how foreign cultures and practices of medicine along the Silk Road entered and influenced Chinese Medicine.