This Day, That Year: Dec 5

Editor's note: This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of New China.

In December 1999, the 1,446-kilometer-long Southern Xinjiang Railway in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region officially opened, allowing the region to trade more easily with the world, as seen in this item from China Daily.

The tracks run from Kashgar to Turpan in Xinjiang.

The first section of the railway, a 476-km stretch from Turpan to Korla, was completed in 1984. Construction of the Korla-Kashgar section started in September 1996.

In 1992, the Northern Xinjiang railway was opened, linking Urumqi with Alashankou on the border with Kazakhstan. The 460-km line connects all major cities and towns of the southern Junggar Basin. It extends the Lanzhou-Xinjiang railway and forms a section of the Trans-Eurasian Railway from Rotterdam in the Netherlands to Lianyungang, Jiangsu province.

In 2014, the Lanzhou-Urumqi High-Speed Railway was built. The 1,776-km line was the first long-distance high-speed line in West China connecting Lanzhou, Gansu province, with Urumqi.

More train services have made Xinjiang better connected with the world. The region, which covers one-sixth of China's territory and borders eight countries, was a key link on the ancient Silk Road.

In 2013, China proposed the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road to build infrastructure, service and trade networks connecting more than 60 countries and regions in Asia, Europe and Africa.

Xinjiang has many advantages as a trade and commerce corridor.

It occupies a central position in Eurasia and is part of the Eurasian Land Bridge Railway.

The region launched its first international freight train heading westward in March 2014. The freight trains have boosted international trade, carrying Chinese-made commodities, clothes, equipment, auto parts and other materials to countries across Asia and Europe.

By 2022, Xinjiang's railway network is expected to stretch 8,000 km.