Camel Trade And Ethnic Interaction In The West Of The Hexi Corridor

Camel caravans trade is a kind of commercial trade mode formed under the special commercial environment of inland arid areas,which has a profound historical tradition.The organization and operation of the camel caravans trade is based on a material flows in wider range area and is driven by the need for material exchange between pastoral and agricultural groups within local areas.The organization mode and activity characteristics of camel trade in the west of Hexi corridor are not only the result of people's exploration in regional characteristics in order to meet the needs of material exchange,but also the production of the long-term integration of multi-ethnic cultures in this region in the historical period.The activities of camel caravans between pastoral areas and agricultural areas in the west of Hexi corridor are not only the process of trade and transportation of goods,but also the process of frequent exchanges of experience,technology,culture and interpersonal relations between different ethnic groups.So,camel trade is not a pure economic behavior,but an overall interactive behavior that includes cultural interaction,relationship integration,experience sharing and symbiosis of interests.Due to its advantaged natural transportation environment and ethnic distribution pattern,Ma-tsung mount and its surrounding areas have become an important area for camel trade in the western section of Hexi corridor.In the period of the republic of China,the camel caravan trade which between in Ma-tsung mountain and its surrounding areas was transforming from the traditional mode between agricultural and pastoral commodities to the trade that agricultural and pastoral products in northwest China being caught up in the world trade system.This kind of trade itself reflects the state of inter-ethnic communication in some parts of the arid inland areas of Asia in the process of developing towards the world system.