Ma Xintian, a 40-year-old Hui (Moslim) businessman, negotiates deals with Arabs every day via e- mail in a modern highrise apartment in the city of Guyuan in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Next to his apartment there is a museum where coins from ancient Persia and Rome are on display

In the 13th century, many Arabs and Persians came here to do business. In many respects, Ma is a descendant of those businessmen from the Middle East.

Taxation, management and supply were highly developed in Xinjiang by the Tang Dynasty (618-907), said Luo Feng, director of the Guyuan Museum.

The 2,000-year-old city of Guyuan is one of the more than 30 cities along the ancient Silk Road such as Xi'an, Lanzhou, Yinchuan, Xining, Urmuqi and Kashi which link central Asia with China.

Fifity years ago, Lanzhou, capital of Gansu Province, did not even have a running-water pipe or a highway to its name. Today, however, petroleum, machinery and metallurgical industries have become the pillars of its economy.

More than 1,100 foreign-funded enterprises have been set up in Lanzhou with a combined foreign investment of more than 700 million US dollars.

Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has developed into a thriving city with a population of more than one million. Urumqi's annual GDP has reached nearly 50 billion yuan.

The city of Jinchang has become China's largest producer of nickel. Jiayuguan has developed into the largest iron and steel production base and the largest city in the western part of the Hexi Corridor. Jiuquan is one of the three largest satellite launching bases in China.

A modern transport network now runs along the Silk Road, with seven railway lines and dozens of air routes. Since the 1980s, China has invested heavily to build four fiber-optic cables, including one from Beijing to Lanzhou via Huhhot and Yinchuan, and one from Xining to Urumqi via Lanzhou.

More economic opportunities will develop along the ancient Silk Road as the Chinese government is launching a massive campaign to exploit the western part of the country.