ULAN BATOR, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- The China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor is the Tea Road of the new millennium, Mongolia's former ambassador to Russia Luvsandandar Khangai told Xinhua in a recent interview.
Khangain said that in ancient times, "the main commodity transported through the Kyakhta-Maimacheng by the Chinese side was tea, so the trade route began to be called (the) Tea Road."
The final destination of the ancient Tea Road, with a length of about 9,000 kilometers, was Moscow, from where tea was transported throughout Europe, the diplomat said.
Tea, grown and harvested in the southern provinces of China, was delivered to China's northern city of Zhangjiakou and then transported to the southeast Russian town of Kyakhta through Mongolia, Khangain said.
"In other words, the Tea Road stretched from the southern provinces of China through the whole of Mongolia from south to north and almost through all of Russia from east to west," said Khangai.
According to the Mongolian diplomat, goods like tea, silk and porcelain were transported by caravan camels in the past. The number of camels in the caravan sometimes reached 1,000, and each camel carried up to 200 kilograms. They crossed deserts and steppes between Zhangjiakou and Kyakhta in 30-40 days.
The Trans-Mongolian railway follows an ancient tea caravan route from China to Russia and connects Ulan-Ude, on the Trans-Baikal railway in Russia, with the Chinese city of Jining.
Khangai said the Trans-Mongolian railway is like the old Tea Road and has successfully served as a main trade route connecting Europe with Asia.
"I am confident that Mongolia, located between China and Russia, can get huge economic benefits from the development of transport infrastructure along the route of the Tea Road," the diplomat said.
Khangai said he believes the Tea Road within the framework of the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor project, covering the most diverse areas of infrastructure development, will not only bring the peoples of the three countries together, but will also have a significant impact on the development of the economy of Mongolia, as well as the regions of China and Russia.
Moreover, the implementation of the trilateral economic corridor will make a significant contribution to the development of integration processes throughout the Eurasian continent, he added.
