BEIJING, June 29 (Xinhua) -- In northwest China's vast sun-scorched desert, a camel train plods along the ancient Silk Road. The caravan bells sound as beautiful as they did some 2,000 years ago.

The 7,000 km road linking the Orient and Occident, was once jammed with caravans of Chinese silk, Indian spices and Persian brocade. Now the camels carry tourists from around the world.

"Those merchants must have been expecting a good price for their goods after all this hardship," said Beijing accountant Guo Ying, 25, after her bumpy camel ride.

Centuries after war and competition from sea routes brought decay, the Silk Road is rising again.

It was along the road that explorers and pioneers -- most famously the Middle Kingdom's imperial envoy Zhang Qian and the Venetian merchant and traveller Marco Polo -- introduced to their own people the other side of the world.

Both East and West are looking again at the routes that maintained stability and prosperity from China to the Mediterranean for many centuries.

At a construction site in northwest China's Jiayuguan, Chang'an and Mitsubishi trucks haul construction materials for a new train terminal. The high-speed link between Lanzhou and Xinjiang will soon be launched and passengers will travel at over 200 km per hour, at least 20 times as fast as on camelback.

"Caravans are quaint, but we need more railways and air routes," said Lou Qinjian, 58, governor of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, at one extremity of the route.

Lou's weather-beaten face shines with passion and perseverance. One year taking office, his province has found itself much nearer the center of Central Asia. Shaanxi now trains at least 1,000 students from Central Asian countries every year. Lou has organized direct flights between Almaty in Kazakhstan and Shaanxi's capital Xi'an.