TCM, martial arts still giants of China's heritage

Ancient cultural treasures maintain modern influence across the world

BEIJING - It is mid-June, and the temperature has reached 40 degrees Celsius on the outskirts of Samarkand, an ancient city in Uzbekistan, where an archaeological team composed of Chinese and Uzbek archaeologists is busy excavating a large tomb of the Yuezhi people.

"The development and prosperity of the ancient Silk Road started with the Yuezhi, an ancient nomadic people in China," said Wang Jianxin, leader of the archaeological team and a professor from China's Northwest University in the city of Xi'an.