It was the German geographer Ferdinand von Richthofen who first coined the term Silk Road at the end of the 19th century, describing the ancient network of caravan routes whose main routes led from East Asia across the steppes of Central Asia to Central Europe. The ancient Silk Road, which reached its greatest significance between 115 BC and the 13th century, was not only used to transport valuable goods such as silk, wool, gold and silver between completely different cultural areas; the thousands of kilometers of routes were not only used by merchants, scholars and armies for their own purposes, but also by religions, political ideas and entire cultural circles that diffused and migrated along the routes from East to West and West to East.
The so-called “New Silk Road”, China’s billion-euro flagship infrastructure project, is also initially primarily intended to facilitate the exchange of goods. Under the title “One Belt, one Road”, China’s interests have been bundled under President Xi Jinping since 2013 to build and expand intercontinental trade and infrastructure networks. More than 60 countries from Asia, Africa and Europe have joined the project – the new Silk Road thus connects a staggering 62% of the world’s population and encompasses more than a third of the entire global economy. “Whoever controls this road controls the whole world,” was already said about the ancient Silk Road. The geopolitical significance of the Silk Road of the 21st century is also obvious, especially as it will strengthen China’s economic and cultural influence along its entire route.
Time factor, environmental factor
Whereas a container ship takes around eight weeks to transport goods from the most important Chinese transshipment points such as Shanghai to Europe, this can be done by rail on the new Silk Road in just twelve days to two weeks – in other words, in just a quarter of the time and in a much more environmentally friendly way. Trains already run regularly from China to major German logistics centers such as Duisburg or Hamburg. However, the expansion of infrastructure on the new Silk Road is only just beginning. Thousands of kilometers of rail are being laid every year, in addition to an ambitious expansion of the freeways.
China has had 80,000 kilometers of highway built in the past ten years alone. The “New Silk Road” not only opens up China’s “Wild West”, those parts of the Middle Kingdom that have not been able to keep up with the steep economic rise in recent decades and are considered comparatively backward; it also leads via various land corridors to Bangladesh, India and Myanmar, it will cross Mongolia and Russia in the future and it will also pave its way to Central Europe via the “new Eurasian land bridge”. This route leads through China, Kazakhstan, via Moscow, Ukraine and Slovakia to Austria. The first direct freight train from Chengdu in China arrived in Vienna at the end of April 2018. It had covered 9800 kilometers overland in just 14 days, bringing the 44 containers loaded with electronic components, LED lamps and sleeping bags to Austria four weeks faster than by sea. ÖBB subsidiary Rail Cargo plans to run 400 to 600 trains on the new Silk Road between China and Austria as early as 2018.
Creativity on track
In the future, it must be possible for direct trains from China to Austria to run on ÖBB’s Western Magistrale to Linz. This could create a “Sister City Silk Road” between Chengdu, a metropolis of 15 million inhabitants and the oldest partner city of the “Steel City” on the Danube, the purpose of which is not limited to the transportation of goods, but above all to the exchange of creativity. “Linz has a successful 35-year city partnership with the southern Chinese metropolis of Chengdu. The intensive efforts to revive the old Silk Road, whose trade routes are to lead from China to Linz, will enable the two twin cities to benefit from each other even more,” says Mayor Klaus Luger.
“The expansion of mobility has always been the decisive key event for the burgeoning of innovation and civilization. The old routes are being revived – such as the Silk Road, which is currently being rebuilt by China with enormous effort. It is absolutely necessary to connect Austria’s creative districts, because innovation networks do not emerge by chance,” says Chris Müller, CEO of CMb.industries.
This is where the so-called AUTline comes into play as a new production chain for the creative industries. Like a string of pearls, hubs are being developed along the Westbahn line, which are connected by the ÖBB infrastructure. With the driving force of the creative industries, a pulsating ribbon can be drawn through Austria that represents a powerful counterpart to Tel Aviv and Silicon Valley. The AUTline as part of the European Silk Road can be approached in Vienna, Salzburg and Linz and offers workshops, fab labs, programming rooms, new work, new crafts and new living in its stations docked by ÖBB (Vienna-Schwechat Airport, Vienna, St. Pölten, Amstetten, Linz, Wels, Attnang-Puchheim, Schörfling Chamber, Salzburg).
A direct transport route between Linz and its twin city Chengdu opens up unimagined opportunities for intercontinental exchange – creative people could network with colleagues on the journey to China in specially designed carriages – for example in the Remise Amstetten – and work together on pioneering projects. The 14-day train journey not only changes your own mindset, it also promotes cultural exchange and thinking beyond old boundaries as a mobile innovation incubator.
