This year marks the 10th anniversary of China’s Belt and Road Initiative — a platform for global cooperation, in which Beijing is actively creating and developing sea and land routes to Asia, Africa and Europe. The starting point of this grandiose project was the city of Xi’an, from which the ancient Silk Road originated.

China’s railway investment in the first quarter hit its highest level since 2013 amid government efforts to boost the economy and expand infrastructure in Western border regions that are of ever-increasing security and economic importance.