Gateway to the‘Old Silk Road’Shows the Other Side of China

Dong Baotong is a man in a hurry. As the mayor of Qujing， he is out to prove that this prefecture-level city in eastern Yunnan Province can promote ecotourism despite being one of China’s most important industrial cities for its highly profitable mining activities.

Due to the local government’s desire to promote ecotourism， the mayor has approved fewer than 100 mining permits in the past two years， despite receiving more than 500 applications. Dong admits that he and his constituents faced what he called a “big social conflict，” knowing how the city’s income has depended on the mining companies for decades.

“But we have to do it，” says Dong， one of a new breed of local officials who share a growing sentiment that the first step to a sustainable development is environmental protection.

And as Beijing further opens up the country to foreign investment， officials want to disprove claims that China has routinely ignored environmental degradation in its mad rush to prime the economy in order to provide for the country’s 1.3 billion people.

While sacrificing a substantial part of its income with the decline in mining operations， Qujing looks at ecotourism as a way to entice more foreign investors to set up new enterprises and restore the city’s old grandeur. As Yunnan’s second largest city， Qujing is home to 6.4 million people from a multitude of ethnic groups， including the Han， Yi， Hui， Zhuang， Miao， Shui and Yao. The area is a mineral-rich part of the YunnanGuizhou plateau.

Meanwhile， Qujing boasts scenic spots tempered by the low altitude and moderate elevation. With its mild subtropical highland climate， Quijing is blessed with short， mild winters and warm， rainy summers.

Recently， the city’s so-called “Town of Love”， originally a real estate venture designed to lure foreigners and China’s new affluent class to invest in massive European-style villas around Kylin Lake， has turned into a major tourist destination. Local developers say they generate US$2 million in gross income from the sale of the pricey structures. It has also become a favorite destination of local tourists as well as a popular place for weddings and other celebrations.

Indeed， as it develops precious real estate， China is truly shifting to a more“Western ambiance，” as one local journalist puts it.

Sustainable Tourism

According to Secretary General Yang Xiuping of the ASEAN China Center （ACC）， these major changes in China’s “gateways” are timely， since the two major regional partners have already agreed to promote 2016 as the year for “sustainable tourism”. As defined， sustainable tourism attempts to make a “l(fā)ow impact on the environment and local culture while helping to generate income， employment and the conservation of local ecosystems.” It is considered ecologically and culturally sensitive.

Yang said that of the 1.3 billion global tourist visits recorded last year， 123 million were Chinese tourists， with 23 million of them visiting ASEAN member countries.

“Next year， no matter what happens， ASEAN will be important for China，” said Yang， a veteran diplomat who was China’s ambassador to ASEAN when President Xi Jinping announced in 2013 China’s connectivity initiative to promote new “shared” development programs with its neighboring countries.

Although there are already 2，000 flights daily linking China with the 10 ASEAN member countries， she hoped that “we will do more work for connectivity.”

Yang disclosed that the two sides have also begun discussing the construction of new highways linking China with its Southeast Asian neighbors. China and Thailand have already launched the first 250 kilometers of a joint railway system， but within the next 10 years this massive modern railway construction is expected to expand to tens of thousands of kilometers to link Singapore to southern China. The former ambassador underscored that China’s Belt and Road Initiative， including the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road， can really make a difference with its Southeast Asian neighbors.

Modernizing the Old Silk Road

In this ambitious Beijing-led initiative， China hopes to pursue its closer development cooperation objectives globally， but with a modern-day twist to the old “Silk Road”. China maintains that the initiative is not a scheme to dominate the global economy， but is merely an “opening up” strategy to link China’s economy with its neighbors， many of which were part of the extensive transcontinental network that China built to connect the “East” to the “West”in ancient times.

Yang noted that ASEAN is considered “very important” to China. Last year， collaboration in trade and investment reached US$470 billion and US$150 billion， respectively. Apart from being a huge market of 600 million people， ASEAN aims to set up a single production base with free movement of goods， investments， services and labor. The target is to transform ASEAN into“a single market and production base to boost the region’s competitiveness and connectivity.”

Being at the helm of the ACC， Yang oversees the intergovernmental organization jointly established by China and ASEAN’s 10 member countries as a onestop shop and activity center for trade， investment， education， culture and information. For starters， China has offered to shoulder 90 percent of financial undertakings in all development initiatives.

Through the ACC， this reporter， as part of a group of ASEAN journalists， had a glimpse of the 2，600-kilometer-stretch that links the southern China gateways to the new Maritime Silk Road.

The Development Gateways

In China’s southwest lies Yunnan Province， which shares a border with Myanmar to the west， Laos to the south and Vietnam to the southeast. The province also borders the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Guizhou Province to the west， Sichuan to the north and the Tibet Autonomous Region to the northwest.

Yunnan’s highland city of Qujing was also one of the original routes of the old Silk Road. Today， its busy road route is also being promoted as one of the major gateways of China because of its strategic location bordering ASEAN countries.

During World War II， the Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture in the province became the passageway for relief operations from Western countries， complete with a road network from Myanmar’s Kachin State.

In the 1960s， China’s close diplomatic ties with the old Myanmar resulted in the opening up of Ruili， a county-level city in Dehong， which became a major center for trade with the Myanmar town of Muse across the border. Since then， China’s exports to Myanmar’s border have reportedly surged to US$4.5 billion annually， mostly from the sales of motorcycles， heavy industrial equipment and telecommunication gadgets. Dehong also became the major route for Myanmar’s agricultural and food products for the Chinese market.

To further boost economic activities， the Dehong section of the Dali-Ruili Railway， which will connect Ruili with China’s national railway network， is now under construction. In opening up the prefecture and nearby cities to foreign workers， a foreign employment office was set up near the border town to facilitate the employment of 40，000 contract workers from Myanmar.

About 10 kilometers from the city proper is a Dai tourist village， described as “One Village， Two Countries” since the rustic community is divided into two parts by the China-Myanmar border， with its fences， roads and ditches. Still， exchanges have become a daily routine in the area， with both sides selling their products at the village market. A joint Chinese-Myanmar school was set up， though students from both countries have to return to their home country in the evening.

Kunming， the capital and largest city of Yunnan Province， has been positioned as the region’s political and cultural center， serving as the transpor- tation hub in southwest China. Also called the “Spring City” due to its yearlong temperate weather， Kunming is linked by rail to Vietnam， and by road to Myanmar and Laos.

On the other side of the southern part of China lies the coastal province of Jiangsu， which has emerged as China’s top manufacturer of electronics and clothing. Since the Sui （581-617） and Tang （618-907） dynasties， Jiangsu has been a national commercial center， partly owing to the construction of the Grand Canal. Jiangsu is also widely regarded as China’s most developed province as measured by the United Nations’Human Development Index （HDI）.

Suzhou， a city in Jiangsu known as the cradle of Wu culture and one of China’s 24 national historical and cultural cities， is a leading economic center close to Jiangsu’s capital city of Nanjing. Founded in 514 B.C.， Suzhou， dubbed in local tourism brochures as the “Venice of the East，” has over 2，500 years of history， with abundant displays of relics and sites of historical canals， gardens and pagodas sprawled along the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

The Classical Gardens of Suzhou were added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1997.

Meanwhile， the old Shengze town， the main source of silk in ancient times， is being promoted as a “textile city” as the market for modern silk and new fabrics grows across the region. Apparently determined to change its reputation as a cheap source of fabric， the Suzhou Shengze Textile City was opened in early October as a business complex for 1，800 booths covering 170，00 square meters， with a vision to become a center for an international professional textile market， fashion silk exhibitions and textile trade.

Blending of the ‘Old’ and‘New’ China

When local residents abandoned their centuries-old bungalows in suburban Dangkou village， local town officials decided to preserve it as an “ancient village” in an effort to retain its image as a historical and cultural town of China. As medium-rise condominiums pop up in the town proper， old villages are being preserved， along with ancient tombs and historical buildings. It is also one way to attract foreign investors， which China is promoting as part of its globalization strategy.

While Dangkou is being groomed as a “fine” tourist destination， the adjacent city of Wuxi in southern Jiangsu is being developed as a major world-class commercial and industrial complex. Wuxi is one of the major urban centers duplicating the feat of Shanghai as a port city with prominent skylines， flashy cars， eight-lane highways and leisure and entertainment areas offering a blend of Western and Chinese cultures and cuisines.

China’s urban planners continue to capitalize on Wuxi’s historical importance， considering that it was the birthplace of China’s modern industry and commerce. It is also the hometown of prominent business leaders who played key roles in building China’s national industry at the turn of the 20th century.

Meanwhile， as it is being modernized thanks to its sustainable development potential， Nanjing， the capital of Jiangsu， is being promoted as a prominent place in Chinese history and culture， after having served as the capital of various Chinese dynasties and kingdoms.

Under the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiative， the city’s maritime importance has been resurrected， embracing its history as the hometown of the legendary navigator Zheng He（1371-1433） and the place from where he began his naval expeditions 600 years ago. Zheng’s former home was converted into a theme park in memory of his invaluable historic contribution to the old maritime silk road. It also projects the history of cultural exchange between China and the Western world.

Lessons Learned from the Outside World

Nanjing， the long-time Chinese capital during the pre-liberation era， is now regarded as one of China’s leading economic hubs， along with the Jiangsu cities of Yangzhou， Wuxi and Suzhou. On the Yangtze River， which flows through the city， lies the Nanjing Ecological and Technological Island – another major cooperation project between China and Singapore following the success of the Suzhou Industrial Park.

In recent years， Suzhou has become a model for development from industrial parks that were set up in key districts to house in one huge complex education and research and development， the central commercial business districts， as well as other industrial areas. Although a recent development in China， this strategy has proven initially successful in luring foreign investors.

The Suzhou BioBAY later became the industrial base for medical devices and new drugs as it houses joint ventures between Chinese companies and foreign enterprises involved in drug discoveries and medical devices. China is pushing for the “quick and sound” development of a biomedical industry.

Nanjing’s eco-park is supposed to also define a new image for the fast-growing city as it is transformed into an open economy by housing eco-friendly technological industries and modern services.

Reviving the Old Maritime Silk Road

In nearby Taicang City， the old Port Area which ushered the old maritime silk road at the Yangtze River Delta， has been revived as a major port for container transportation in the north wing of the Shanghai International Navigation Center， and is also Jiangsu’s leading foreign trade port.

Its nearly 39-kilometer coastline along the Yangtze River has become the economic center for China’s traditional industries like petrochemicals， electricity and energy. In the Port Area also lies the world’s second largest container manufacturing base， along with the world’s largest base for lubricant production.

As the “back garden of Shanghai，”Taicang boasts two major tourist attractions – the Modern Agricultural Park and Shanxi Ancient Town.

While gearing up for growth momentum as intense as that seen in Beijing and Shanghai， these cities along the Silk Road are all being promoted as templates for a more environmentally-friendly and comfortable cosmopolitan lifestyle， one that blends China’s modernization with the past.

By pouring considerable attention and resources into these modern gateways of the old Silk Road， China’s leaders are obviously out to signal that， as a fast-growing economic power guided by state-assisted industries， the country has fully embraced a free-market economy， with only the trimmings of socialism and the “old” China to remind all of its fascinating evolution.