URUMQI, July 15 (Xinhuanet) -- The building of an anthropological museum, the first of its kind in China, will get underway this month in Urumqi, the capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

　　The museum will serve as a base for anthropological research and for the display of specialized exhibits, said a local culturalofficial.

　　The ancient silk road passed through this part of present-day Xinjiang, where people of different nationalities lived and oriental and western civilizations converged, the official said.

　　A great number of historical sites in this region have remainedintact, protected, in a sense, by the arid climate and other geographic features. These sites will serve as a precious reference for research in anthropology, the official added. Enditem