Human Bridges Across Asia

Entering its second decade, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has shifted toward a more people-centred orientation, emphasizing cultural interaction, human connectivity, environmental sustainability, and digital integration. The edited volume examines these dimensions of the BRI through the lens of cross-cultural exchange between China and South Asia.

Adopting the theoretical framework of Culturalization, the editors discuss why cultural, social, and human dimensions are essential for understanding the initiative’s long-term impact. Contributors explore a wide range of topics, including community engagement, traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda, culinary exchanges, language and literary translation, gender and diaspora connections, religion and social change, as well as education and academic mobility. The highlighted everyday interactions and lived experiences showcase how South Asian cultures are entering China, and vice versa, through various avenues.

The book will appeal to scholars and students interested in China’s Belt and Road Initiative and China–South Asia relations.

Md. Nazrul Islam, PhD, is Associate Professor of Digital Social Science at Beijing Normal-Hong Kong Baptist University, Zhuhai, China. His research interests span traditional medicine, food, and China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Dr. Islam has held visiting positions at prestigious institutions, including the University of Sydney, Australia (2024); the University of British Columbia, Canada (2016); the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR (2008–2011); and Ateneo de Manila University, the Philippines (2003). He holds a PhD from the University of Hong Kong and an MSc from Heidelberg University, Germany.

Qiong Zeng, PhD, is Professor and the Head of the Bengali Department at the School of Asian Studies, Beijing Foreign Studies University, China. She also serves as the Director of the Center of South Asia Studies at the same institute. Her research interests include the comparative study of Chinese and Indian literature, as well as oriental literature and culture.