Dunhuang, Gansu province, will host key events next month.

The International Congress of the Silk Road and the Dunhuang Tour/the Silk Road Tourism Festival will be held on Aug 1.

The festival was staged in Dunhuang in 2011 and 2012, while the congress is being held in China for the first time.

The congress, sponsored by the World Tourism Organization, is aimed at strengthening cooperation among countries along the Silk Road and boosting tourism.

More than 300 representatives from 29 countries along the Silk Road and international organizations, including the World Tourism Organization, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the UN Conference on Trade and Development will attend the events.

Various activities will be held during the 3-day congress and festival. The Silk Road, starting from Chang'an (now Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province), was a business and communication route linking China, Central Asia and Europe.