STORY: Diverse culture empowers ancient Silk Road hub's modern development
SHOOTING TIME: 2023
DATELINE: Jan. 25, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:28
LOCATION: URUMQI, China
CATEGORY: CULTURE/ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the Tumxuk City
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): WANG JIANXIN, Professor with Northwest University
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): YAN PANNING, Guide of Xinjiang Reclamation History Museum

STORYLINE:

At the northwestern edge of China's Taklimakan Desert, known as the "Sea of Death," an oasis city emerges in 20 years. 

About some 10 kilometers north of the downtown, there is an ancient city built on mountains, with beacon towers on the peak and inscriptions on precipices.

Both the 20-year-old modern city and the ancient city are parts of Tumxuk City in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. 

The ancient relics, which locals call Tangwangcheng, that is, "Tang King City," date back some 2,000 years.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): WANG JIANXIN, Professor with Northwest University
"Tangwangcheng was an important hub on the ancient Silk Road. Buddhism from overseas, and the practices of the ancient central government to establish closer ties with Western Regions, need to be unveiled through archaeological research."

Envoys, merchants, farmers, overseas sinologists, and archaeologists have left their footprints here, and these heritages have empowered the city's modern development.

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the central government has mobilized people to develop Xinjiang's desert regions, including today's Tumxuk and its surrounding regions. 

People reclaimed land, dug canals, built houses and roads, and planted crops and trees step by step.

Tumxuk currently has a 50 percent coverage rate of urban green areas. It had built 6 reservoirs with a designed total storage capacity of 830 million cubic meters by 2022. 

The city's population has grown from 110,000 when it was established in 2004 to over 300,000 now.

Yan Panning, a guide with Xinjiang Reclamation History Museum, said in recent years, more and more people have visited the museum to learn about Tumxuk's profound history.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): YAN PANNING, Guide of Xinjiang Reclamation History Museum
"With the development of Tumxuk in recent years, more and more people have come to visit the museum. Then some people who never heard of Tumxuk are learning more and more about its history, and even having a more comprehensive understanding of the history in Xinjiang."
 Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Urumqi, China.
(XHTV)