Zhanjiang, where the ancient Maritime Silk Road began more than 2,000 years ago, is seeking to join in China's effort to gain UNESCO World Heritage status for the ancient route and develop soft power from its historical legacy in its bid to become the central city in the Beibu Gulf rim.

According to document dating from the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), the then emperor opened a Maritime Silk Road starting from Sandun Port in today's Xuwen county, Zhanjiang, in 111 BC.

Ships delivered silk, gold and native products from China to Southeast Asian countries, India and the "Western Regions", an area west of Yumenguan Pass in northwestern Gansu province that includes what is now the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and parts of Central Asia. The vessels then returned home carrying rhinoceros horns, pearls, ivory and jade.

The construction was recorded in the document, which is the earliest known record of the ancient Maritime Silk Road. It is considered strong proof that Xuwen county was the start of the route during the Han Dynasty, said Nie Bing, head of the Culture, Radio, TV, Press and Publication Bureau of Zhanjiang.

However, Zhanjiang was not on the standby list of nine Chinese cities in a joint effort to seek UNESCO World Heritage status for the ancient Maritime Silk Road announced by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage in 2012.

To make up for that missed opportunity, the city government launched a campaign last year to be added to the list.

The city's cultural heritage authority researched relic sites and decided on two for which to seek UNESCO World Heritage status as part of the ancient Maritime Silk Road.

They are the Erqiao village and nearby Han Dynasty tombs site in Xuwen, and the relic site of the porcelain kilns on Leizhou peninsula, whose products were exported during the period between the Song and Yuan dynasties (960-1368).

The Zhanjiang government has handed application materials to the provincial government of Guangdong.

Guangzhou, the provincial capital, was the only city in Guangdong included in the country's standby list in 2012. In addition to Zhanjiang, the cities of Jiangmen, Shantou and Yangjiang have applied to be added to the list. The Guangdong government will hand Zhanjiang's application materials to the State Administration of Cultural Heritage by Sept 1.

"It is not just a cultural action as it seems to seek UNESCO World Heritage status for the relic sites of the ancient Maritime Silk Road in Zhanjiang," Nie said.

"If we make it, Zhanjiang will have an overall upgraded character and consolidate its role as a strategic fulcrum in the country's 21st Century Maritime Silk Road."

It will also be encouraging to the city's development of its modern port economy if its status as the port of departure for the ancient Maritime Silk Road is widely recognized, Nie added.

Focus on soft power

In the meantime, Zhanjiang seeks to strengthen its soft power as it aspires to the status of the central city in the Beibu Gulf rim.

"Apart from politics and economy, a central city of an area should also have a cultural influence that can radiate to other cities in the area," Nie said.

Zhanjiang has many distinctive folk customs and arts, especially on the Leizhou peninsula, and boasts six State-level intangible cultural heritage items, including the dragon dance from Donghai Island and the Leizhou stone dogs.

"It is these folk customs and arts that make Zhanjiang special and attracts visitors from home and abroad. We will keep on cultivating inheritors of Zhanjiang's intangible cultural heritage and focus on harnessing their potential to foster the tourism industry and the cultural creative industry," Nie said.

To give a larger, more modern stage for the display of its culture, Zhanjiang started the construction of a 230,000-square-meter cultural space - which includes an opera house, museum, library, art gallery and art center - earlier this year and plans to complete the project within three years.

"These splendid architectural works are also expected to be the first-choice stage for the high-end, international cultural and art events coming to cities in the Beibu Gulf rim in the future, showcasing Zhanjiang's status as the rim's cultural center," Nie said.

xujingxi@chinadaily.com.cn