China to revive 'Southern Silk Road'

In fact, China is ready for the revival of the "Southern Silk Road" and plans are under discussion, according to Yang Ye, a researcher with the Development Research Center of Yunnan provincial government.

Besides the 16 existing international transport lines linking Yunnan and some Great Mekong Sub-regional countries, seven trunk roads originating from Yunnan extending to neighboring nations and provinces have been promoted as high-grade highways, according to sources with the Transport Department of Yunnan Province. These include China-Vietnam Highway, China-Laos-Thailand Highway, China-Myanmar Highway, and a domestic section of China-India Highway.

With joint efforts by China, India, Myanmar and Bangladesh, a highway route starting from Yunnan to India by way of Myanmar have been approved by relevant departments of the four countries, Yang said.

Experts from the four countries launched a field inspection along the route in February 2012. The first auto race along the 2,800-km route was successfully held from late February to early March this year.

The racing auto team started from the Indian city of Calcutta, traveled through Bangladesh and Myanmar's major city of Mandalay entering China via the port city of Ruili, Yunnan Province, and finally reached Kunming.

Though the route of the new "Southern Silk Road" has yet to be determined, the success of the race across the four countries indicated that it is possible to build a transport passage along the route, Yang said.

The new route will not only help promote mutual understanding and exchanges between China and South Asian countries but also deepen and expand economic and trade cooperation among these countries, according to Yang.

On the other hand, the route is expected to serve as an inland bridge linking South Asian countries and central, eastern coastal areas of China, so as to promote the development of western regions of the country and boost the common prosperity of the nations along the route.