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Xinjiang's significance extends far beyond the present, as it was a crucial part of the ancient Silk Road, once serving as a vital trading route connecting the East and the West. Ruins like Jiao he import a sense of nostalgia for a time when goods, including silk, flowed through bustling oasis towns facilitating trade and cultural exchanges. Archaeologists, like Xu Dongliang, continue the painstaking work of restoring artifacts from this remarkable era, preserving the intricate history of silk-making that has roots tracing back over 2,000 years.
As trade routes evolved from overland to maritime paths, cities like Jiao he slowly faded into obscurity, but their legacies endure through preserved relics, cherished as windows into Xinjiang’s storied past.