The 6th Silk Road (Dunhuang) International Cultural Expo kicked off in Dunhuang City, northwest China's Gansu Province, on Wednesday.

Themed "Connecting the World: Cultural Exchanges and Mutual Learning among Civilizations," the two-day expo is scheduled to host activities focusing on jointly building the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and inheriting and promoting Dunhuang culture to help economic and social development.

Noting that the first edition of the Dunhuang expo began in 2016, Li Shulei, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, said at the opening ceremony that the expo has promoted various forms of cultural exchanges and built a bridge to help people along the Belt and Road enhance mutual understanding.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the BRI. At this new starting point, it's important to carry out extensive international people-to-people exchanges and cooperation to inject deeper cultural strength into the joint building of the BRI, Li added.

During the two-day expo, the exhibitions, including the Silk Road bamboo slips exhibition, are set to tell the story of the unique historical and cultural heritage boasted by Dunhuang, an important stop on the Silk Road that has witnessed the integration of diversified civilizations.

The Dunhuang expo is a major national-level comprehensive event themed on Silk Road international cultural exchanges.

Since the beginning of 2016, the Silk Road International Cultural Expo has been held five times.

More than 1,200 guests from countries including Turkmenistan and Madagascar, as well as representatives of UNESCO, attended the opening ceremony.

(CGTN's Du Junzhi, Qu Bo contributed to the story.)