Beijing – Xi’an – Tianshui – Xiahe – Dunhuang – Turpan – Urumuqi – Kashgar – Issy Koul – Bichkek – Khiva – Bukhara – Samarkande – Tashkent
Three weeks on the Silk Road from Beijing to Tashkent…
After the dawn of the Chinese Empire in Xi’an with the soldiers of eternity, there’s an encounter with Buddhism. First in Tianshui at Maiji Shan (well worth the diversions, as the saying goes), then between Xining, Tongren and Xiahe, the tradition of pilgrimages to Tibetan lamaseries and the warm welcome extended by these semi-nomadic herders.
We head west to the Gobi desert and a Buddhist reunion in Dunhuang before tackling the Muslim world of the Uighurs from Turpan to Kashgar for its old town and market.
The road to the Torugart pass and the peaks of Kyrgyzstan make you forget the state of the road.
And finally, the mythical cities of Khiva, Bukhara and Samarkand: ramparts, fortress-palaces, mosques and medersas, mausoleums: a catalogue of Central Asian architecture and decoration (including successful restorations).
From discovery to discovery with no weariness.