Media men delegations from 15 different nations, including the Kingdom, have paid a visit to the Silk Road Economic Zone, in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China. The delegations were briefed on the economic and cultural history of the region, beginning with the Silk Road, one of the oldest interconnected trade routes, used by caravans passing through South Asia. During the visit, the delegations witnessed launching of a cargo train route to Italy, at the Center for the Collection and Export of Goods in Urumqi, where goods are assembled in the center from different parts of China, and then shipped to Central Asia and Europe via interconnected train lines. Since operating of the China-Europe route in 2016, the number of cargo trains has so far reached 1,200, with three trips, per day. Silk Road dates back to 200 BC and is about 12,000 km long and contributed greatly to the flourishing of many civilizations. It was divided into two branches, the Northern path passes through Eastern Europe, Crimea to the Black Sea and then to Venice. The other, was passing through Iraq and Turkey to the Mediterranean Sea and through Syria to Egypt and North Africa. Road between Xinjiang and Urumqi, with the five main cities of the Central Asian States (Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan), formed a trade network for the transport of goods linking the land-based trade routes between Asia and Europe, Georgia, Turkey, Russia, Poland and other European countries.
