XI'AN, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- A total of 81 museums in 16 countries along the Silk Road have joined a friendly alliance as of September, organizers of the second Silk Road Business Summit said on Monday.

National Museums Liverpool, National Museum of Tanzania, and large preservation museums in Samarkand and Bukhara in Uzbekistan are among the latest members of the Silk Road museums alliance.

The alliance is a nonprofit international community among museums in countries along the ancient Silk Road for the exchange of cultural relics and talent.

Last September, the first group of 59 museums in 14 countries and 19 Chinese provinces and municipalities joined the alliance.

Wang Bin, chairman of the alliance and curator of Tang West Market Museum in Xi'an, said the alliance offers a new platform for interconnectivity among Silk Road countries and promotes people-to-people exchanges and trade.