Ｇａｎｓｕ：Ｃｏｎｎｅｃｔｉｎｇ　Ｅａｓｔ　ａｎｄ　Ｗｅｓｔ.docVIP

Ｇａｎｓｕ：Ｃｏｎｎｅｃｔｉｎｇ　Ｅａｓｔ　ａｎｄ　Ｗｅｓｔ 　　 　　EIGHTEEN years ago, the Vice Ministers of Railways from China and the Soviet Union tightened the last screws on a new line and exchanged wrenches, marking the completion of a second Asia-Europe railway, following the Siberia Continental Bridge. Starting from Lianyungang in China’s eastern province of Jiangsu, the New Eurasian Continental Bridge goes through 11 Chinese provinces before heading into Russia. From there it winds its way through Belarus, Ukraine, Poland and Germany, before arriving at its final destination of Rotterdam. Part of this 11,000 kilometer epic route traverses China’s western province of Gansu, long an important juncture between Eastern and Western civilizations. 　　Gansu connects the southwest Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to the Loess Plateau in central China. The famous Silk Road, one of the most important merchant routes in ancient times, crossed most of the present-day province. The emperor’s envoy Zhang Qian of the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 25) traveled through here, bringing news of peace to the ancient Western Regions. Centuries later Princess Wencheng of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) passed through Gansu on her way to marry Tibetan king Songtsam Gambo. Countless ancient trade-routes traverse the region, such as Guanlong Dao, Chama Dao, Xiaoguan Dao, Chencang Dao and Yinping Dao. 　　Despite this venerable history and the coming of the Asia-Europe railway in the early 1990s, Gansu has lagged behind China’s eastern seaboard for decades in terms of transportation infrastructure. Recent times have seen a gradual change, however, with massive investment by both the provincial and national governments in road building across the province. 　　 　　Connecting Gansu to the World 　　 　　 　　Lying in western China, Gansu is an important hub in the nation’s road network. Over 1,600 kilometers of the New Eurasian Continental Bridge can be found here, as well as 10 national highways, 32 provincial highways, and some 900