The Silk Road has been an important way of connecting the East and West since the Han dynasty about 2,000 years ago.Its name is from the great trade in Chinese silk carried along the route.It is meaningful for trade and culture.It helps the cities and towns along it develop faster.
Cheng Yaodong, a part-time tourist guide of Liupanshan, has told hundreds of tourists about the history and folklore(民俗) of Xiaoguan Pass in Liupanshan Mountain.He also likes to present tourists with ancient poems on the subject of Xiaoguan Pass.These poems told stories of the homesickness of the soldiers, the eagerness of the merchants(商人) to return home and the beauty of the scenery.
In 2005, a park modelled after the ancient Xiaoguan Pass was built 36 kilometres south of Guyuan City, where tens of thousands of visitors have left their footprints ever since.About 55 km north of Guyuan City lies another Silk Road tourist attraction, the Xumishan Grottoes(石窟).Located on the northern road of the eastern section of the ancient Silk Road, the Xumishan Grottoes is one of China's top ten grotto sites.It was listed by the World Monuments Fund as one of the 100 most endangered architectural and cultural sites in the world.
By popularizing(普及) the ancient Silk Road culture, the local tourism and economy have developed much faster than before.