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The 3rd International Silk Road Conference opened in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province and starting point of the ancient "Silk Road," Tuesday with more than 500 delegates from 12 countries discussing the road's reconstruction.

The three-day conference -- "Silk Road Rehabilitation and Road Infrastructure Construction" -- is co-sponsored by the Chinese Ministry of Communications, the International Road Federation (IRF)and the government of Shaanxi Province.

With a history of more than 2,000 years, the ancient Silk Road began in Xi'an, passing through south and central Asia and windingits way along the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea to Rome, with a total length of more than 7,000 km.

Chinese Vice Premier Huang Ju sent a congratulatory letter to the conference, saying that using the ancient Silk Road to promote regional economic and cultural cooperation and exchanges has become a new task of the countries along the road.

The Chinese government has always attached great importance to road construction, Huang said.

The completion of the Chinese section of the new Silk Road, which is from Lianyungang of east China's Jiangsu Province to Helgus in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, willpush the construction of an Asia-Europe transportation corridor, he said.

He hoped that the countries involved and the international organizations can further their communication and carry out cooperation in all levels for a common prosperity in this region.

The IRF began to advocate the rehabilitation of the ancient Silk Road seven years ago, a way of meeting the increasing demand for business among countries along the road. The new Silk Road will extend west to the Atlantic Ocean. The first and second International Silk Road Conferences were held in Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in 1998 and 1999.