The honelands of the minority peoples are mostly border areas of China,and therefore these regions serve as a link between China and other countries.The Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region,ingabited by more than 20nationalities at present,was called the Western Regions in ancient times,and was a bridge facilitating communication between the eastern and western civilizations.The"Silk Road" from Xi'an in Shaanxi Province at the eastern end to Central Asia,the Black Sea,the Mediterranean Sea and as far as Rome at the farthest westerm end,ran through the Gansu Corridor along two roads lying to the south and north,repectively,of the Tarim Basin,south of the Tianshan Moutanins,and then cut across Congling Ridge.In fact,there was a much older"Silk Road"running from Sichuan Province to Myanmar and lndia via Yunnan Province,largely inhabited by ethnic inhorities. ln ancient times,this ancient road was not only one linking southern China with other parts of the world,but also a corridor for ethnic groups to travel south or north.These two channels allowed the scientific knowledge,music,art,western Christianity,lslam from Western Asia and Buddhism from lndia to gradually spread into the Central Plains.At the same time,China's traditional culture and science and technology,and even some handicrafts such as silk,porcelain,tea and jade ware,were carrie to countries in Southeast Asia and the West.