China's 'Silk Road: Ten Thousand Miles Forward' Campaign Showcases Belt and Road Achievements Across Central Asia

The event has been amplified across Chinese social media, where the hashtag #丝路万里一路向前 (Silk Road, Ten Thousand Miles Forward) has generated a flood of posts that are, by and large, upbeat. Netizens celebrate the campaign as a revival of a civilisational legacy that once linked China with the peoples of Central Asia, the Middle East and beyond. One user, invoking the pilgrim monk Xuanzang, wrote, “#SilkRoadCanvas #TheLakeOfTheGreatQingItWasHere – let’s chase the mountain‑lake scenery that has soaked the memory of the Silk Road for a thousand years!” Such comments weave together historic pride with a sense of contemporary purpose.

Another strand of the online conversation honours the Chinese labourers who are building the modern infrastructure that runs alongside the symbolic route. A post from a user who had encountered Chinese road crews in Kyrgyzstan read, “The hard work of Chinese people should never be treated as a wedding dress for other countries… Chinese workers are simply that capable, delivering fundamental modernisation across the globe.” The admiration is palpable, reflecting a broader narrative that positions Chinese engineers and contractors as the new “Silk Road merchants.”

Yet the enthusiasm is not without its strategic introspection. Several commenters lament that, while Chinese firms have rebuilt roads and bridges, the economic upside—particularly for Chinese‑made products—has not kept pace. One netizen complained, “China has finished the road construction in Central Asia, but most of the traffic now runs on Korean cars. That is frustrating.” The same sentiment resurfaced in a discussion about cultural soft power, where users noted that Korean dramas and automobiles dominate the public imagination of Central Asian youths, while Chinese cultural offerings remain “isolated islands” amid the physical infrastructure. “We need targeted measures to break through the Korean stronghold and let Chinese culture flow alongside the railways and factories,” a commenter suggested.

Observations about everyday life in the region pepper the discourse as well. Travelers praise the hospitality in Uzbekistan and note that the local economies are “developing faster than we expected.” Such remarks echo the broader ambition of the event: to showcase not only the historic grandeur of the Silk Road but also the tangible, day‑to‑day benefits that Belt and Road (BRI) projects bring to partner nations.

The timing of the outreach is significant. An announcement on July 13 outlined a convoy of twenty vehicles that would traverse thousands of kilometres, underscoring the event’s logistical scale. By July 21, officials had unveiled a new “Belt and Road” journalist cooperation platform, designed to foster multilateral media partnerships, joint training and a diversified information network. This media‑centric infrastructure dovetails with the economic and cultural dimensions of the BRI, which today boasts 35 “Silk Road e‑commerce” partner countries, 120 online and offline national pavilions, 65 direct‑procurement bases in 19 nations, and more than a hundred “cloud lecture hall” training sessions for business actors.

The industrial ripple effects of the BRI—a framework underpinning the Silk Road campaign—are unmistakable. Massive investments in railways, ports, highways and pipelines have sparked growth in construction, manufacturing and logistics sectors across participating states. New economic corridors are turning landlocked regions into trade hubs, while financial instruments such as the Silk Road Fund channel capital into infrastructure and industrial capacity cooperation. In the realm of renewable transport, BYD’s provision of electric vehicles for the 2025 tour exemplifies how green technology is being woven into the fabric of the initiative.

Beyond steel and concrete, the program advances a suite of societal goals. Cultural exchange programmes, ranging from international theatre festivals to the “Silk Road Civilization” summer camps, aim to revive the historic spirit of people‑to‑people contact that once flourished along caravan routes. More than 3,000 pairs of “friendly city” relationships have been cultivated, and the BRI’s poverty‑alleviation agenda is touted as a catalyst for raising living standards in remote locales. Youth engagement, too, is central: by exposing a new generation to Chinese history and culture, the initiative hopes to embed a sense of shared destiny among future leaders.

Politically, the visible push to re‑link Central Asia through media, infrastructure and commerce reinforces China’s narrative of a community with a shared future. The BRI is presented as a multilateral engine of global governance—an alternative to zero‑sum competition that stresses inclusive development, ideological neutrality and mutual benefit. By deepening economic interdependence, Beijing argues, the project contributes to regional stability and peace, creating a “win‑win” environment for all participants.

In short, the “Silk Road: Ten Thousand Miles Forward” event functions as a microcosm of China’s broader Belt and Road strategy. It blends a nostalgic celebration of ancient trade routes with a contemporary showcase of concrete achievements, from newly paved roads to burgeoning cultural exchanges. The social media response on Weibo reflects both genuine pride in these accomplishments and a pragmatic awareness of the challenges that remain—especially in the realms of cultural influence and market penetration. As the interview team rolls onward from Horgos into the heart of Central Asia, the campaign’s symbolism is clear: the historic road is being revived not just in stone and steel, but in stories, songs, and the shifting currents of global geopolitics.