The recently completed Lianyungang-Huoerguosi Road (Lian-Huo Road), being dubbed the 'New Silk Road,' should contribute significantly to the revitalization of the ancient "Silk Road," suggest local experts and officials.

The "Silk Road" is an ancient route linking China, Asia and Western Europe. Traders travelles the route centuries ago to sell their wares.

Lian-Huo Road -- connecting Lianyungang, in East China's Jiangsu Province, and Huoerguosi, in Xinjiang -- is the first, and longest, route to link western and eastern China.

The road is 4,395 kilometres.

Lian-Huo Road passes through Xinjiang and Shaanxi, Gansu, Henan, Anhui and Jiangsu provinces, China's Ministry of Communications (MOC) said in a statement.

The road will reduce travel time along that route from 15 days to 50 hours, MOC officials said.

The autonomous region's government invested 30 billion yuan (US$3.64 billion) in the road's construction, and Xinjiang's officials feel the investment is beginning to pay off.

Communities along Xinjiang's stretch of Lian-Huo Road generate 50 per cent of the region's annual export volume. Last year, they exported US$2.35 billion worth of goods.

Usage of Xinjiang's stretch of Lian-Huo Road is expected to grow 6 per cent annually over the next decade, the region's communications bureau said.

A recent survey indicated 89.3 per cent of the enterprises located along Henan's section of the road said they believed the route had sped up transportation of their goods and contributed to their development.

"It now takes just 30 hours to export refrigerated fruit to foreign countries. Now, we are ready to expand further into foreign markets," said Sun Jinwei, president of Henan Sanmenxia Hubin Fruit & Juice Co.

Lian-Huo Road is part of the Asia Road Network, said Ke Linchun, a senior official with MOC.

The network links roads of six countries -- China, Russia, the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and the Republic of Tajikistan.

"We regard it as a new silk road," Ke said.

The ancient "Silk Road" linked Xi'an, in Shaanxi Province, and western Europe. It was used for economic and cultural exchanges within ancient China, and for boosting economic links between China and other countries.

The International Road Federation (IRF), a non-governmental organization, recently unveiled plans to connect, by road, the heart of China and western Europe's industrial centres.

"We have decided to help 'reweave' the 'Silk Road,' and the Lian-Huo Road is the starting point ...Its completion offers rosy prospects for a new 'Silk Road'," Win Westerhuis, a senior representative of IRF, said.

If member countries connect their roads in accordance with IRF's plan, Lian-Huo Road will eventually reach Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, IRF officials said.