On the morning of May 27, 2021, the press conference of "2021 Silk Road Week" (hereinafter, SRW) kicked off at the China National Silk Museum (hereinafter, CNSM). The SRW aims to mark and celebrate annually the anniversary of the Silk Road - from Chang'an to the Tianshan Corridor, which was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List on June 22, 2014.

The theme for this year is "Cultural Diversity and Sustainable Development", and the SRW will provide the attendees with various home activities, including the followings: 

• "Silk Roads Culture in Campus" brings the Silk Roads cultural exhibitions, lectures and related activities to 25 primary and secondary schools in China.

• Around the theme of "Exploring the Cave Temple" and "Legacy Lights Up the Silk Road", 22 Chinese museums and local experts will deliver live broadcasts from June 1st - 23rd to introduce the cultural relics of ancient history and cultural values of the Silk Roads.

• The color-filling games of Silk Roads patterns are arranged for public visitors to create unique artistic motifs.

At the same time, a series of branch events will also be set up in Xi'an (Shanxi), Lanzhou (Gansu), and Fuzhou (Fujian) as well as France, Italy, and Belgium to achieve domestic and international collaboration. Other activities include a mini show themed on "From Silk to Silk Roads", themed exhibitions, live broadcasts, video sharing, color-filling games, academic conferences, and so forth.

Later on, from June 18 to 24, the SRW will be officially launched with an advanced presentation of academic culture, exchange projects and research achievements of the Silk Roads for this year, including the followings:

• The Silk Road Online Museum (SROM) is committed to the knowledge integration and collaboration of museums along the Silk Roads, which will break the limitation of offline space for physical collections, boost the exchange of resources and promote the spirit of the Silk Roads.

• The "Annual Report of Cultural Heritage on the Silk Roads 2020" is announced to comprehensively sort out the archaeological discoveries, academic achievements, cultural events, and themed exhibitions.

• The Silk Road Museum Directors' Forum will be held to introduce the Silk Roads collections, the future plan for theme exhibitions, and global development.

• A three-day international seminar on Silk Roads is organized to discuss the current status of Silk Roads researches in recent years and provide the direction and platform for future study.

• A themed exhibition titled "Creation From Creature: Plants and Animals and on the Silk Roads" will display the natural life, species, and arts along the Silk Roads, showing the blending of environment and culture and promoting the theme of "Silk Road Changes the Life".

The first Silk Road Week was held successfully in Hangzhou, from June 19 to 24, 2020 on the theme of "The Silk Roads: Mutual Learning for Future Collaboration" with more than 200 museums and institutions in China and overseas engaging in the event in different forms online and offline. Various research topics, live broadcasts, videos, etc., were delivered for more than 347 million times on Chinese social media platforms with nearly 200 million views.