Fountain views at a square at the foot of the Taibai mountain in Meixian county, Baoji, Shaanxi on May 23, 2014. [Photo by Wang Haopeng, provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Li is definitely not alone in grasping the opportunities that will be generated by building the Silk Road Economic Belt.

According to an investment guide by the county's economic cooperation bureau, central Shaanxi's Chenggu county promoted a Zhang Qian-themed cultural park for investment which might need 600 million yuan during the 18th Investment & Trade Forum for Cooperation between East & West China and the Silk Road International Expo held in Xi'an from May 23 to May 26.

Zhang Qian, who served as an envoy to visit the world outside of China during the Han Dynasty (202 BC to 220 BC) and thus opened the Silk Road, was born in about 164 BC and buried in 114 BC in Chengdu county of Hanzhong city.

Although there have been no investment deals signed for the Zhang Qian cultural park project, the county reported that deals worth 12.78 billion yuan were signed during the three-day trade fair and expo, ranging from aviation tourism to traditional Chinese medicine, according to Xinhua News Agency.