A Silk Road city

The Silk Road was the first global supply chain. The name conjures up images of camel caravans and silhouettes at sunset, crossing the hills laden with silk, tea, and porcelain bound for Istanbul and on to Europe. Traders on the Silk Road then returned with exotic spices, nuts, and jewels from Europe and the Middle East. Starting around 200 BC and extending 4,000 miles, the Silk Road got its name from the lucrative Chinese silk trade. In addition to goods, various science and technology innovations were traded along with religious ideas and the bubonic plague. The Silk Road was a significant factor in the development of the great modern civilizations. 

Very few people traversed the entire Silk Road. Mostly it was made up of agents and merchants who bought and sold goods in cities along the way. At major points, great bazaars opened to facilitate a meeting place for traders, such as the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, which still thrives today.

While attitudes toward Americans have changed in the big cities along China’s eastern seaboard and eastern regions due to geopolitics, the people of Lanzhou were welcoming to U.S. trade mission. (Photo: Rosemary Coates)

Lanzhou, China, is one of the ancient Silk Road cities in the northwestern part of China, known for its agriculture, textiles, and more recently, its nuclear power industry. It is known as a cultural hub with many pagodas, temples, caves, and artifacts from the Silk Road.  It is on the upper course of the Yellow River, also known as the Mother River, as it emerges from the mountains.

I just returned from a trip to Lanzhou—the first time I’ve been back to China since the pandemic. This time, I was a guest speaker for the China-U.S. Business Summit trade mission to Gansu Province. The mission was to connect regional Chinese business people and dignitaries with Silicon Valley and Houston. The people we met were full of optimism, energy, and a learning attitude. This was an opportunity to rebuild business friendships and connections that have been damaged over the past few years because of the trade wars and the pandemic.

China always surprises me with something new. The hard-working people of Gansu Province were welcoming and interested in learning about us—so different from what we’ve heard in the press and from our politicians about China over the past few years. While attitudes toward Americans have changed in the big cities along the eastern seaboard and eastern regions of China due to geopolitics, the people of Lanzhou were open, friendly, and interested in building connections. We met many dignitaries, business leaders, and entrepreneurs in Lanzhou, and hopefully established connections for the future.

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