Ancient routes, new dream: the Silk Roads and China's Belt and Road Initiative Qian, Fengqi 2021, Ancient routes, new dream: the Silk Roads and China's Belt and Road Initiative, Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development, pp. 1-13, doi: 10.1108/JCHMSD-05-2021-0091. Attached Files Name Description MIMEType Size Downloads Title Ancient routes, new dream: the Silk Roads and China's Belt and Road Initiative Author(s) Qian, Fengqi orcid.org/0000-0002-2584-1004 Journal name Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development Start page 1 End page 13 Total pages 13 Publisher Emerald Place of publication Bingley, Eng. Publication date 2021 ISSN 2044-1266 2044-1274 Keyword(s) Belt and Road Initiative China Green & Sustainable Science & Technology Science & Technology Science & Technology - Other Topics Silk Roads World Heritage Summary PurposeThe paper aims to contribute to the current research on China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) from a historical point of view. The paper investigates why the history of the Silk Roads is important to the BRI, what is in the guiding thought underpinning China's Silk Roads narrative and how this narrative is presented transnationally, through an insightful analysis of the Communist Party of China's (CPC) view of the Silk Roads history, as well as its perception of the connections between the Silk Roads history and the BRI.Design/methodology/approachThe paper sits in the interface between history, heritage and state power. The argument is framed in concepts of historical constructionism and soft power. It is based on the discourse analysis of China's official narrative of Silk Roads and a case study of the planning for the World Heritage nomination of the Maritime Silk Routes (MSR) (China section). The case study is conducted through a qualitative analysis of academic publications, media reports and programs, official speeches and documents that are available to the public in hardcopy or on the Internet.FindingsThe paper reveals the relationship between the state-endorsed Silk Roads narrative and the BRI. The paper argues that the state-backed Silk Roads narrative as well as the planning for the World Heritage nomination of the MSR (China section) is guided by the Chinese Communist Party's perception of the BRI. In this respect, the Silk Roads-associated history, heritage and memory are shaped and deployed to serve as a convenient platform for the promotion of the BRI. The Party leaders' perception of the BRI is in large part about the revival of China's past glory, its national rejuvenation and the demonstration of China's soft power.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the existing literature on the BRI through its enquiries into how the CPC reconcile nationalist ambitions with notions of peace, harmony and cosmopolitanism and how CPC's view of the Silk Roads history shapes its vision of the BRI. The paper examines the role of the state in the construction and articulation of the Silk Roads-associated history, heritage and memory. It investigates how China's official interpretation of the Silk Road heritage serves China's BRI. Language eng DOI 10.1108/JCHMSD-05-2021-0091 Field of Research 0502 Environmental Science and Management 1205 Urban and Regional Planning 2002 Cultural Studies HERDC Research category C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal Persistent URL http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30158041 Document type: Journal Article Collections: Faculty of Arts and Education School of Humanities and Social Sciences Related Links Link Description Connect to published version Go to link with your DU access privileges   Connect to Elements publication management system Go to link with your DU access privileges     Unless expressly stated otherwise, the copyright for items in DRO is owned by the author, with all rights reserved. Versions Version Filter Type Fri, 29 Oct 2021, 06:55:36 EST Fri, 29 Oct 2021, 15:36:42 EST Sat, 13 Nov 2021, 01:31:02 EST Mon, 22 Nov 2021, 21:08:23 EST Tue, 23 Nov 2021, 05:03:11 EST Thu, 16 Dec 2021, 13:21:51 EST Thu, 16 Dec 2021, 13:32:46 EST Thu, 16 Dec 2021, 15:24:29 EST Filtered Full Citation counts:   Cited 0 times in TR Web of Science Cited 0 times in Scopus Search Google Scholar Access Statistics: 44 Abstract Views, 1 File Downloads  -  Detailed Statistics Created: Mon, 22 Nov 2021, 21:08:23 EST