Publisher's Note
In 2013, President Xi Jinping proposed the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a visionary project calling for global joint efforts. From conception to implementation, the BRI has had a profound impact around the world, generating fruitful results and enthusiastic responses from the international community.
The ancient Silk Road created a portal for communication between countries and nations and wrote a new chapter on advances in human civilization. In the new era, Belt and Road cooperation has provided a platform for participating countries and regions to work towards common goals and learn from each other. Moreover, it has encouraged in-depth exchanges between different countries, regions, peoples, cultures, and civilizations.
Cities are a creation of human civilization. Over thousands of years, the cities along the Belt and Road have developed diverse cultures and produced a wellspring of inspiring stories. We hope the book series Biographies of Silk Road Cities will highlight the unique history and character of each city and provide a rich context about the Belt and Road, thus contributing to cultural exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations.
This endeavour is unprecedented. As such, we are well aware that even our best efforts may fall short of our ambitions for this project. Nevertheless, we hope that readers will enjoy this book series, and we look forward to comments and suggestions from readers, authors, experts, scholars, and friends both near and far.
The Editorial Department of the Book Series “Biographies of Silk Road Cities”

About the Author
Chen Yufu, native of Liangzhou, Gansu Province, is a writer, scriptwriter and cultural scholar. He is currently Honorary Chairman of Jinchang Writers Association and Zhangye Federation of Literary and Art Circles, Vice Chairman of Gansu Writers Association and Yan'an Literature and Art Society of China. His chief works, including novels and short stories, are published in People's Literature, Chinese Writers, Fiction Monthly, Movie Literature, People's Daily, Guangming Daily and Wenyi Bao (Literary Gazette) etc. His works in the forms of novels, films and television scripts have won more than 30 provincial and national awards, including the National Annual Golden List Award for Novels and the China TV Flying Apsaras Award and Golden Eagle Award.