The “International Symposium on Climate and Environmental Changes and Civilization Evolution along the Silk Road” was convened successfully in Xi'an on May 25-26, 2025. This symposium was jointly hosted by the Institute of Earth Environment (IEE), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the State Key Laboratory of Loess Science, the Environmental Change and Environmental Archaeology commission of the Geographical Society of China (GSC), and the Abrupt Climate Change Commission of the Chinese Association for Quaternary Research. It was co-organized by the Association for Trans-Eurasia Exchange and Silk Road Civilization Development (ATES) and the Shaanxi Province “Belt and Road” Joint Laboratory on Central Asia Extreme Climate (in preparation). Furthermore, it was an important academic event supported by the Second Working Group of ATES (Early farming and herding).
Before the symposium,Academician,Professor Zhisheng An from IEE/CAS met with the main guests of the symposium: Professor James G. Ogg (Purdue University,USA),former Secretary-General of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) of the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS);Professor Ashish Sinha (California State University,USA);and Professor Francisco W. Cruz (University of São Paulo,Brazil),with the discussion on the frontier scientific issues of mutual interest.
The opening ceremony was chaired by Prof. Liangcheng Tan, Director of the Research Center on Silk Road Climate and Environment at IEE/CAS. Prof. Sun Youbin, Director General of IEE/CAS extended a warm welcome to all the participants on behalf of the local host. This international symposium brought together scientists from renowned universities and research institutions, including Purdue University, California State University, University of Washington, University of São Paulo, University of New South Wales, Zhejiang University, Tongji University, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Northwest University, Lanzhou University, Nanjing Normal University, the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology/CAS, the Nanjing Institute of Geography & Limnology/CAS, and IEE/CAS. Prof. Ailikun from the ATES Secretariat introduced the background, vision, mission, scientific priorities, and main activities of the ATES during the symposium.
During the conference, experts and scholars shared their latest research findings, and engaged in in-depth discussions on cutting-edge issues such as the evolution of landscape on the Silk Road, new methodologies reconstructing ancient climates, interpreting the environment of archaeological sites, the spreading routes of the early agriculture and pastoralism, and the relationship between extreme climate events and social changes. After the symposium, the participants were invited to visit the China Continental Environmental Drilling Core Repository, the Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Center, and the Cave Laboratory in IEE/CAS.
This symposium focused on the climate/environmental change research from a global perspective,revealing its impacts on the rise and fall of Silk Road civilizations,deepening our understanding of human-environment interactions in the past,and promoting interdisciplinary research among earth sciences,history,archaeology and other fields,and supporting the high-quality development of the new Silk Road.
