Passageway of Friendship and Prosperous Ports
2 min readIn my impression, a port is a gate of a country guarded by majestic soldiers. It is a passageway for traders to busily transport their cargos, a door to communicate with the outside world, a post to receive guests from all parts of the world, and window to show country’s charm. According to the academic definition, port means a harbor designated by a country for foreign trade, a door specified by the country for foreign relations, and also a special node for international logistics.
Xinjiang has a border line of 5,600km with surrounding countries; 15 land ports and two air ports. remember the first time I went to do research in Khunjerab Pass, I got a splitting headache, and I could not walk steadily from severe altitude reaction, because the elevation is more than 4,000 m. When I saw those China Gate guards standing erect under the national flag for border defense, emotion came over me and I could not calm down for a long time. The Xinjiang economy makes dramatic progress because China opened its door to the outside world. Because of complementary economies, communicative cultures, similar religions, and related ethnic groups between Xinjiang and its surrounding countries, Xinjiang ports have become the passageway to spread friendship.
The Eight Neighboring Coun tries inte Since ancient times, there have been continuous commercial activities, intermarriage and postal communication between Xinjiang and surrounding countries.
Three of the many neighbors with Xinjiang which had long border lines and cross-border ethnic groups with Xinjiang, were Republics of the Soviet Union. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, they became independent in succession. Kazakhstan is most closely related to Xinjiang by trade Kirghizstan is the second largest trade partner of Xinjiang, and Tajikistan is the smallest country in Central Asia. Pakistan is one of the closest strategic partners of China. Afghanistan connects with Xinjiang through a narrow Wakhan Corridor. India has had cultural and trade contacts with Xinjiang, since ancient times. North Xinjiang borders on Mongolia. Altay Prefecture in Xinjiang connects with Russia through the Altay Mountains. Among those countries bordering with Xinjiang, there are Central Asian countries with similar economic developments as Xinjiang. Some countries have similar religious beliefs and resource storage. But some South Asian countries are very different from Xinjiang’s economy culture, and religion. However, Russia has a greater level of economic development than that of Xinjiang. Let us learn something about Xinjiang’s closest neighbors.
