Silk Road Week 2021

Following a preliminary press conference on May 27 at the China National Silk Museum, ‘Silk Road Week 2021’ will officially take place from 18 – 24 June. This weeklong programme of events was established by the Chinese cultural heritage community to mark and celebrate the anniversary of the ‘Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor’ becoming a UNESCO World Heritage site on 22 June 2014. The theme for this year’s Silk Road week, which is the second edition of the event, is ‘Cultural Diversity and Sustainable Development’. The first edition took place in Hangzhou, from June 19 to 24, 2020 with the theme of ‘The Silk Roads: Mutual Learning for Future Collaboration’. More than 200 museums and institutions in China and from overseas took part in the event both online and offline. Various research topics, live broadcasts, and videos were delivered on Chinese social media platforms with nearly 200 million views.

The programme of events taking place in Hangzhou and beyond this year include the presentation of academic culture, seminars, forums on the research achievements related to the Silk Roads over the last year, and a themed exhibition on the plants and animals of the Silk Roads. As part of this domestic and international collaboration, Silk Road Week events will also take place in Xi’an (Shanxi), Lanzhou (Gansu) and Fuzhou (Fujian), as well as in France, Italy, and Belgium. These activities include a mini show entitled ‘From Silk to Silk Roads’, other themed exhibitions, live broadcasts, video sharing, colour-filling games, and academic conferences.

The full list of activities and events taking place can be found on the official Silk Road Week 2021 webpage.