In March 2013, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage signed a joint agreement about the silk road heritage conservation with provincial people’s governments ofHenan,Shanxi,Gansu,Qinghai, Ningxia, Xinjiang.

The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (short as Belt and Road Initiative) is a major strategic conception brought up by President Xi Jingping. Borrowing the historical symbol of the ancient silk road, this initiative is aimed at develop efficient regional cooperation platform, setting up economical cooperation with countries along the “road”, and thus build up a community that bind common destiny and responsibility with overlapping interests in politics, economics and culture.

There have been 31 provinces that listed the Belt and Road Initiative in the government work plan. And Prime Minister Li Keqiang also mentioned this initiative in his government work report. According to data collected by People.com. the topic “Belt and Road” mounts the first with a popular index of 3.6668 among the top ten “two sessions” topics netizens concerned about.

Representatives of this years’ NPC & CPPCC said, “Different from the common construction and economical programs, the Belt and Road Initiative had essential historical and cultural bases, and could make cultural heritage play big role in it.” They also mentioned that the initiative’s becoming an important national strategy had brought new opportunities and requires in the “line side” historical preservations.

Zhao Feng, deputy to the National People's Congress and Curator of Chinese Silk Museum, said that to start with the conception of Chinese Silk Culture Heritage Feature, silk was irreplaceable in the Belt and Road Initiative, and we should make silk culture heritage play heavier role in the initiative. And he suggested:

First, to make full use of the heritage resources and deepen understanding about the silk road, some Belt and Road silk culture investigation should be launched to handle the silk cultural heritage resources. To introduce new technologies to make sure the origin, creation, diffusion and communication of silk. And to construct an authoritative silk road with historical relics, images and historical facts in literature, and strengthen the power of discourse in silk road.

Second, seize the chance of important projects and protect silk road heritages. To make this happen, we should make full use of the repairing and preserving technical methods in domestic fabric relics protection, and launch technical research projects and preservation projects about silk relics protection in the Belt and Road program.

Third, set up an exhibition platform and promote silk culture. To accomplish this, we should make use of the exhibiting function of the museums along the silk road line, and launch the most extraordinary silk road exhibitions domestically, and tell good stories of the silk road. Besides, we should also exchange the archived itemed with foreign museums and promote abroad the Chinese silk culture.

Additionally, inherit the silk handcraft art and create more silk products. To accomplish this, we should give the masterpiece of Chinese silk fabrication craft art to good use, protect from starter for the silk culture heritage right at their places of origin, build up unique silk craft town where would gather the silk inheritors, folk craftsmen, fashion designers and related companies, and promote the unique products that have Chinese elements to revival the silk culture.

Moreover, establish international center and link in more peer experts. To set up an international silk road center, we should build up the most complete silk road library and database, establish archaeological specimens library and related laboratory, and apply for the UNESCO center of the second kind when it’s appropriate.

Shan Jixiang, member of CPPCC and curator of the Palace Museum, said the Belt and Road Initiative had showed development opportunities for many tourism regions, where would draft related programs and plans, many of which would also take culture heritage tourism as core competitive elements.

To further strengthen the cultural heritage protection in the Belt and Road program, Shan suggested the local people’s government to:

Pay high attention to the administrative work in cultural protection of the Belt and Road project, set up long time cultural heritage protection system along the silk road, establish leader group for the cultural heritage protection, strengthen cooperation among administration bureaus, like development and reform, finance, territory, tourism, construction and relics departments, and work out every dimension of cultural heritage protection by reinforce communication in major events as well as the negotiation system.

Vigorously promote the “MogaoCavesexperience” from the perspective of cultural heritage development and protection in the Belt and Road project. Since the management group of Mogao Cave has accomplished notable achievement in cultural heritage protection, researching and sustainable tourism, as well as promoting international cooperation in rescuing cultural relics and strain the number of tourists, and being recognized worldwide, they made the best practice in the convention for the protection of heritage of world culture and the nature of the UNESCO. In the meantime, the success of Mogao Cave is largely due to the modern management system, which has guaranteed the expertise and uniqueness of every dimension of their work, and protected the safety of cultural relics and shared the value of the cultural relics to an utmost extent at the same time. So, the tourism development modal of Mogao Cage should be further introduced and applied in cultural relic protection and tourism development of the Belt and Road project.