On October 3-4,2025, the international academic symposium “Archaeology of Bactria: New Research and New Harvests” was held in Termez, Uzbekistan. The symposium was co-hosted by Northwest University (NWU) of China, Samarkand Archaeological Institute of Uzbekistan, Termez State University, Collaborative Research Centre for Archaeology of the Silk Roads, and the China–Central Asia Human and Environment Belt and Road Joint Laboratory. Nearly 70 experts and scholars from eight countries, including China, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, France, Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, and Turkey, attended the conference. At the opening ceremony, NWU President SUN Qingwei delivered a speech online.
The symposium featured four keynote reports and 16 thematic reports. Participating scholars presented and discussed topics such as the development of ancient civilizations and early state formation in the region, cultural exchanges between ancient Bactria and neighboring areas, new archaeological discoveries, and the application of science and technology in archaeological research.
In the keynote report session, Professor WANG Jianxin, Chief Scientist of the Collaborative Research Centre for Archaeology of the Silk Roads, and others systematically reviewed and explored the historical context of Bactria from multiple dimensions, including the development of Bactrian archaeology, the origin of early urban culture, the evolution of early states, and the Tocharian problem. In the thematic report session, attending scholars presented reports from perspectives such as art history, history, field archaeology, and scientific archaeology.
The closing ceremony of the symposium featured exchanges and summaries under the theme “International Cooperation in Bactrian Archaeology.” Participants agreed that all parties should cooperate to promote the construction of high-level joint research platforms, continuously build international academic exchange platforms in the region, strengthen personnel exchanges and professional talent cultivation, and provide academic, scientific, and talent support for the sustained and in-depth development of Silk Road archaeology and the deepening of exchanges and cooperation in the humanities among countries along the Silk Road.
