The Silk Road, a network of trade routes, began in Chang'an (Xian) and ended at the Mediterranean beginning in the second century BC and continued through the fourteenth century AD, which linked China with the Roman Empire in the Middle East and Europe. When traveling the Silk Road, one encounters trading posts, markets and thoroughfares which assisted in the exchange between regional nationalities as well as distribution and storage of goods and services. Because silk was the major trade product coming out of China along this route, the German geographer and historian Ferdinand von Richthofen gave this route the name Silk Road in 1877. The Great Wall was built in the western part of China to help secure the safety of the trade along the route. The Silk Road remained in use until 1453 AD when the Ottoman Empire boycotted trade with China and it closed.
In 1980, after our Annapurna I trek and while doing research and planning for Finding Friends in China, I began exploring the possibility of traveling along the Silk Road, beginning in Beijing and ending in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang Autonomous Region. I would have continued on to Kashi (Kashgar), but is was not open to visitors at this time. (Note: if my remembrance is correct, we organized a second Silk Road trip within a couple years, After You Marco Polo, which traveled from Beijing to Urumqi, then flew to Kashi and traveled overland over the Khunjerab Pass down through Hunza to Islamabad. I did not guide this trip and cannot find any files or notations about it, but remember our group and a small group from Lindblad Expeditions waited several hours at the border for it to open)
During a previous Beijing visit, I had discovered a very quint accommodation tucked in behind the Forbidden City. It was like a small, narrow-lane village, both the one-room houses on each side and the passage between built in dark cobblestone.
During all of our China travel, we encountered few Westerners during the first couple days, while walking around Tien An Men Square, the Forbidden City and the Gate of Heavenly Peace. We traveled in an old bus to visit a Peking Duck farm and explore the Ming Tombs, Summer Palace and the Great Wall.
Xian, Chang'an, was one of the largest and most cosmopolitan cities in the world. It was the major terminus for caravans traversing the Silk Road. We spent the day wandering the Tomb of Qin Shihuang, the unifier of China, and the monument to his rule, the vast necropolis with its army of terracotta soldiers and horses in battle formation.
We traveled by train to Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu Province, to visit the Lanzhou Provincial Museum, known for the famous "Flying Horse of Gansu." Our overnight train to Dunhuang afforded the opportunity to view the Mogao Caves, the great repository of Chinese Buddhist cave art spanning the period from the Northern Wei to the Yuan dynasties (7th to 14th centuries). A monastery was founded at Mogao during Dunhuang's heyday as a stop on the Silk Road and between the 5th and 14th centuries numerous shrines were chiseled into the surrounding cliffs. The caves are filled with terracotta sculpture and wall murals depicting parables and episodes from the life of the Buddha. Whereas we had the freedom to roam the area and enter the caves, I understand that it is no longer possible.
Boarding the train once more, we arrived in Turfan (Turpan) located in one of the lowest and hottest places on earth, yet, because of the runoff from the snows of Tian Shan (Heavenly Mountain), it produces abundant drops of delicious fruits. The first of several very special invitations happened here when we were invited to a wedding celebration. This is unusual for several reasons, among them 1) the strict official travel separation of foreign visitors from the local community and 2) we were in northwestern Islam China, a region filled with strife with the Han government.
Tired and weary from a late night celebration of music, dancing, food and drink, we boarded our morning bus to Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang Autonomous Region. The highest peak in the eastern Tien Shan, Mt. Bogda (17,000') is visible from this Uyghur city surrounded by agricultural plains. We visited a local market and a small museum containing items of early Buddhist art. The next day we departed to Tianchi Lake (Celestial Lake), located on the north side of Bogda Shan (Mountain of God) in a valley at 6,375 feet and 68 miles from the capital. In my Silk Road research, I read about a monastery situated near the lake and wanted to visit. Upon our arrival, we didn't find a monastery, only some old stone foundations where it had once stood. We were invited by the local Kazakh herding community camping at the lake to enter their yurts and enjoy tea with them.
Upon our return to Urumqi, we were surprised to receive an invitation to a local music performance followed by dinner in a Uyghur home. This was not just any local home, but the leader of the Uyghur Autonomous Political Party who was seeking independence from or political representation in the Chinese government. (Note 1: When attempting to contact the family after our return home, all my communications received no response. Note 2: It is estimated that over 100,000 Uyghurs are now currently held in political "re-education camps.)
You can imagine that traveling the Silk Road in 1982, devoid of any foreign tourists and organized local infrastructure, was a fantastic and fascinating experience.
During a previous Beijing visit, I had discovered a very quint accommodation tucked in behind the Forbidden City. It was like a small, narrow-lane village, both the one-room houses on each side and the passage between built in dark cobblestone.
During all of our China travel, we encountered few Westerners during the first couple days, while walking around Tien An Men Square, the Forbidden City and the Gate of Heavenly Peace. We traveled in an old bus to visit a Peking Duck farm and explore the Ming Tombs, Summer Palace and the Great Wall.
Xian, Chang'an, was one of the largest and most cosmopolitan cities in the world. It was the major terminus for caravans traversing the Silk Road. We spent the day wandering the Tomb of Qin Shihuang, the unifier of China, and the monument to his rule, the vast necropolis with its army of terracotta soldiers and horses in battle formation.
We traveled by train to Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu Province, to visit the Lanzhou Provincial Museum, known for the famous "Flying Horse of Gansu." Our overnight train to Dunhuang afforded the opportunity to view the Mogao Caves, the great repository of Chinese Buddhist cave art spanning the period from the Northern Wei to the Yuan dynasties (7th to 14th centuries). A monastery was founded at Mogao during Dunhuang's heyday as a stop on the Silk Road and between the 5th and 14th centuries numerous shrines were chiseled into the surrounding cliffs. The caves are filled with terracotta sculpture and wall murals depicting parables and episodes from the life of the Buddha. Whereas we had the freedom to roam the area and enter the caves, I understand that it is no longer possible.
Boarding the train once more, we arrived in Turfan (Turpan) located in one of the lowest and hottest places on earth, yet, because of the runoff from the snows of Tian Shan (Heavenly Mountain), it produces abundant drops of delicious fruits. The first of several very special invitations happened here when we were invited to a wedding celebration. This is unusual for several reasons, among them 1) the strict official travel separation of foreign visitors from the local community and 2) we were in northwestern Islam China, a region filled with strife with the Han government.
Tired and weary from a late night celebration of music, dancing, food and drink, we boarded our morning bus to Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang Autonomous Region. The highest peak in the eastern Tien Shan, Mt. Bogda (17,000') is visible from this Uyghur city surrounded by agricultural plains. We visited a local market and a small museum containing items of early Buddhist art. The next day we departed to Tianchi Lake (Celestial Lake), located on the north side of Bogda Shan (Mountain of God) in a valley at 6,375 feet and 68 miles from the capital. In my Silk Road research, I read about a monastery situated near the lake and wanted to visit. Upon our arrival, we didn't find a monastery, only some old stone foundations where it had once stood. We were invited by the local Kazakh herding community camping at the lake to enter their yurts and enjoy tea with them.
Upon our return to Urumqi, we were surprised to receive an invitation to a local music performance followed by dinner in a Uyghur home. This was not just any local home, but the leader of the Uyghur Autonomous Political Party who was seeking independence from or political representation in the Chinese government. (Note 1: When attempting to contact the family after our return home, all my communications received no response. Note 2: It is estimated that over 100,000 Uyghurs are now currently held in political "re-education camps.)
You can imagine that traveling the Silk Road in 1982, devoid of any foreign tourists and organized local infrastructure, was a fantastic and fascinating experience.
China
Along the Ancient Silk Road
Folkways' Image Library
Along the Ancient Silk Road
Folkways' Image Library
A YouTube Slide Show
https://youtu.be/oxTi4hLYuNc
