Original subtitles

As a reporter I've traveled

the Middle East for many years.

It's an area that has always fascinated me,

but in my work I've mainly covered it's war zones,

it's crises, and it's tragedies.

This journey which takes me down the Silk Road

in the footsteps of Marco Polo

gives me the opportunity of exploring

the great historical and cultural significance

of this part of the world.

It's ancient melting pot of peoples and civilizations

that have contributed so much to our own.

(upbeat sitar music)

Mountains in the heart of Asia,

mountains as far as the eye can see, interspersed with

deserts stretching thousands of kilometers.

This is where the Pamir Mountains meet the Hindu Kush,

the Karakoram, and the first ranges of the Himalayas.

This is where China begins too.

In the far west of the country lies the city of Kashgar.

At first glance this vast oasis doesn't seem Chinese

despite the confident stance of the Mao Zedong statues.

The city is in the far west of the autonomous region

of Xinjiang, the province of the Uyghur minority

cutoff from the rest of China by the vast Gobi Desert.

The Uyghur are a Turkic speaking people.

They naturally look towards Central Asia rather than Beijing

some 6000 kilometers to the east.

On the edge of the formidable Taklamakan Desert.

Kashgar was a long vital stop on the Silk Road

which really shaped the city's identity.

For centuries yaks were used to pull

the palanquins of princesses sent on diplomat missions

to the far-flung corners of the empire

to get married in it's vassal states.

But today as you can see here in Kashgar,

they're used to ferry tourists about.

Come on buddy, you've nothing to be ashamed of.

Silk Road merchants converted the Uyghurs of Kashgar

to Islam in the eighth century.

To this day many of them belong

to the Sufi orders of Bukhara and Samarkand.

When Marco Polo visited the city

there were a great many Nestorian Christians too

including the renowned Rabon Basama,

who made practically the same journey as the Venetians,

only in reverse from Beijing to Jerusalem.

Formally known as East Turkestan,

Xinjiang has just 22 million people,

a drop in the ocean of 1.3 billion Chinese.

Uyghurs are one of the countries

55 recognized national minorities.

However, even in their homeland,

they slip to a rough parity with the Han newcomers,

China's majority ethnic group.

The bizarre quarter is nothing like China.

Clothes, crafts, and turpas, the cities distinctive

fur caps, everything here is reminiscent

of the republics of Central Asia.

All the signs are in Arabic script, rather than ideograms,

and honestly I hardly saw a single Chinese-looking face.

Apart from the tourists of course,

who come to discover the new frontier,

which is what Xinjiang means in Mandarin.

There aren't any fur hats here though, there are vipers too.

Come in, come in.

The store of Mutelep, the apothecary,

is overflowing with weird and wonderful remedies.

Mutelep, just to be sure, is this Chinese medicine,

Uyghurs medicine, or a combination of both?

They're all traditional Uyghurs medicines that our

ancestors used to gather and collect in the mountains.

This is genuine, traditional Uyghur medicine.

The Uyghurs have always used

these medicines to treat themselves.

They still do today, and even now

these remedies can be found in books.

In crossing the Pamirs on the way to Kashgar,

Marco Polo suffered from acute mountain sickness.

Do you a medicine, a concoction, for altitude sickness?

When you go to places that are high up,

where the air is thin, you have to take elil.

In ancient times our ancestors would put some

in their mouths when they traveled

in the mountains and suffered from the lack of oxygen.

Alright, so you put it in the back of your mouth?

You let it melt in your mouth,

and your head stops spinning.

And it relieves your headache?

No more vomiting.

You stop vomiting, that's great.

Which illnesses do people mainly come to you for?

Mostly they're people with digestive problems,

after eating they get flatulence and they burp.

Okay, what else?

The second most common complaint

is coughs and then headaches, aching muscles.

They come with the names of the medicines,

they consult the books they have at home,

note down the medicine, or make notes from the books.

I look at these notes and prepare the medicine.

All these ingredients, do you get them in the desert

or do you buy them from suppliers?

Most of these medicines are brought here

by the peasants who gather them.

Some plants are imported, some come from our own regions.

Despite the bazaar's many charms, the town center

isn't the location of the most fascinating vestige

of the Silk Road, just as Marco Polo must have seen it

when he arrived here in the 13th century.

Every Sunday, the focus of activity shifts

to Kashgar's suburbs for the huge livestock market,

which attracts breeders from all Turkic-Mongol groups.

Sheep, angora goats, horses, donkeys, yaks, bactrian camels,

at the Uleg bazaar, or animal market,

tens of thousands of animals are traded every Sunday.

It's at it's liveliest at the beginning of Fall,

when the nomads come down from the alpine pastures

to sell their animals to the cities butchers

and smaller, sedentary breeders.

There is a brotherly, joyful atmosphere at this market,

except for the animals, who's end is near.

(car honking)

(men grunting)

Alright, come and give me a hand.

Okay, whoa, you're welcome guys.

The touching thing about this Kashgar market

is all the animals of Marco Polo's

caravans are still here today.

There's the yak, which is worth two camels.

The camel, which is worth two horses.

The horse, which is worth two donkeys.

So a yak is worth eight donkeys.

China is growing at a rapid pace.

It's set to take over as the world's largest economy.

But here, the Uyghurs traditional way of life

is still very much in evidence.

This is what Adilla Ahmad,

a regional public official, explains.

What does this market sell most of?

Every Sunday, animals such as sheep, horses,

cows, and goats are sold here.

Farmers from many different regions

gather here to buy and sell livestock.

It's a huge market, where do all these people come from?

Which regions, and which ethnic groups are they?

Every week, Kazak, Uyghur, Tajik, and Kyrgyz

farmers come here to sell their animals.

Kazaks, Uyghurs, Tajiks, and Kyrgyz.

What strikes me though is, I've just arrived in China,

there aren't and Han Chinese people here in Kashgar.

Is that because there are only Uyghurs,

or people the Han don't come to the livestock market?

The Kashgar area is mainly populated by Uyghurs.

They are the most numerous.

Also, minority ethnic groups such as

the Uyghurs, the Kazaks, the Tajiks,

and the Kyrgyz have businesses here.

In the farming and breeding sectors,

they are mainly Uyghurs.

That's why our Chinese friends don't come here.

Uyghur food is distinct from Han Chinese cuisine,

but I do see people using chopsticks.

Adilla, you yourself are Uyghur,

what does it mean to be Uyghur today?

Yes, I'm Uyghur.

The Uyghurs live primarily in the region of Xinjiang.

In Kashgar, we Uyghurs make up 90%,

maybe even 100% of the population.

The Uyghurs are an ancient ethnic group

with a rich history and culture.

Since the introduction of the One Belt, One Road Initiative,

there have been all sorts of changes

in the life of the Uyghurs too.

We're welcoming development,

I'm sure our life will be even better.

The One Belt, One Road Initiative, praised by Adilla,

is the colossal government project to revive the Silk Road

with pipelines, highways, and high-speed trains.

Billions of dollars of investments,

of which one of the stated objectives

is to cement Beijing's control over

it's western minorities by bringing them prosperity.

South of Kashgar, the fabled Karakoram Highway

cuts through the mountains to Pakistan.

Given the beauty of this site at the foot of

the Himalayan Range, it's no wonder

Mahmud al-Kashgari chose to be buried here.

A native of Kashgar, this 11th century man of letters

traveled throughout Central Asia, then settled in Baghdad

where he compiled a compendium of the Turkic languages

at the time, which also serves as an atlas,

and remains one the most comprehensive accounts

of one of the Silk Road's golden ages.

Although Muslim, the Uyghurs who come to worship at his tomb

tie prayer flags and knots to the trees

in the manner of their shamanic ancestors of the Step,

and their Buddhist neighbors of the Tibetan Plateau.

Mahmud al-Kashgari's tomb is still a place

of pilgrimage for the Muslims.

Local officials all have the distinction

of being descended from the holy man maintain his sanctuary.

A scholar and Sufi mystic, al-Kashgari took years

to compose his dictionary, preserved preciously

by his descendants at the foot of his tomb.

It contains an absolute gem,

a map detailing all the routes of Asia.

This is an 11th century map, it has to be

the very first map of the Silk Road.

In yellow you can see the deserts, in red, the routes.

Japan is there, Kashgar is here,

and this in fact, it's a map of Central Asia.

The Turkic world, but ultimately,

of the world of the Silk Road.

Although highly stylized, this map is actually far more

accurate than the travel account dictated by Marco Polo

on his return to Venice.

It highlights the cultural, commercial, and scientific

continuity between the Empire of China

and the Persian Empire.

The real meeting point of the Chinese and Persians

lies at the top of the Karakoram Highway.

This extremely steep route has historically

linked China to the Indian subcontinent.

It's arguably the world's most scenic route, too.

(calming music)

Karakoram Highway is without doubt

one of the most famous Silk Road routes.

It crosses the mountain range of the same name,

which is an extension of the Himalayas.

Until the mid 20th century, scaling it's 4000 meter passes

was extremely arduous and challenging for the yak caravans.

In the 1970's, the Chinese set about making this

1300 kilometer route suitable for motor vehicles

all the way to Abbottabad in Pakistan.

A colossal task that cost the lives of some 1200 workers,

roughly one life for every kilometer.

The Chinese are now back at work,

as part of the much publicized new Silk Road program.

This construction project is less dangerous,

but perhaps even more colossal.

As well as a highway, Beijing is financing a high-speed

rail line snaking over viaducts

and around peaks and precipices.

The objective remains the same,

to open up the oasis of Western China by crossing

the mountain separating it from the rest of Asia.

For caravans to tackle the Himalayas,

crossing the mountains must have been worth it.

From 3000 meters above sea level, the pack horses and camels

nostrils had to be bled to help them breathe.

With the snow and ice,

only the yak caravans made it through.

King of the Himalayas, the yak moves at a very slow pace,

but it can carry loads of up to 130 kilos.

Tireless and not prone to altitude sickness,

as it has always lived here, it was the most prized

animal in the days of the caravans.

Through the lofty Tashkurgan Valley,

over 3000 meters above sea level, journeyed one of

the Silk Road's most important travelers,

who would leave his mark on the history

of China and Asia as a whole.

In the fourth century the Chinese monk Faxian

made a pilgrimage to India and brought back Buddhism.

Nestled in the mountains, this high altitude valley

is still a meeting point and melting pot

of Asia's religions and peoples.

This place, Tashkurgan or Stone Fortress, could be the site

Ptolemy referred to as the Stone Tower,

the famous of the Chinese and Persian merchants.

A handful of other sites claim the honor of being

the Stone Tower mentioned by the classical geographer,

but Tashkurgan has better arguments.

Indeed, you can find vestiges here of

the Greek civilization of Afghanistan,

the legacy of Alexander the Great's descendants,

as well as many traces of Zoroastrianism from Iran,

which influenced Islam, Buddhism, and Confucianism.

These ruins truly seem to be the East's gateway

to the Far East, the frontier between two worlds.

(chiming music)

To the west, Afghanistan is 20 kilometers away.

Tajikistan is 15 kilometers, and to the south and the east,

India and Pakistan are 150 kilometers away.

On this high Chinese plateau wedged between the ranges

of the Pamir, the Hindu Kush, the Karakoram,

and the Himalayas, I can truly say

I've reached the heart of Asia.

What's perhaps most surprising about Tashkurgan

are the traces of Iranian culture to be found here.

These included several fire alters, erected by

the Zoroastrians, who's faith was the official religion

of the vast Persian empire for over 1000 years.

Then, there are these stone circles at the very top

of a hill overlooking the valley.

They are the remains of a Tower of Silence,

where the Zoroastrian's placed their dead,

as Nazy Began Cutcelli explains.

The young guide belongs to the Tajik ethnic group

who's language is a dialect of Persian.

Today the Tajiks whether it's just there behind

that mountain in Tajikistan, just over there in the valley

in Afghanistan, or here in China, what religion are they?

Muslim.

The Muslim Tajiks of Tashkurgan are Shiite.

To me, it's quite amazing and even moving to see you

like this, because I spent months and months reporting

in Afghanistan, just over there, 20 kilometers away

on the other side of the border, and I never saw

a Tajik woman without a veil.

And here you are, without a hijab or a burka,

and I can see your eyes.

The Tajiks here have never hidden their faces.

We wear scull caps or embroidered hats around which

we wrap a turban, but we never cover our faces.

We have never hidden our faces.

We wear these skull caps or embroidered hats on our heads.

We used to believe in Zoroastrianism 2500 years ago,

but it still has a very strong influence on our life.

We still venerate fire, we still venerate light.

In addition, we Tajiks wear a type of circular hat

that represents the shape of the sun.

Here, in Tashkurgan, on the Pamir plateau,

we're really at the junction

of the Indian, Persian, and Chinese cultural areas.

This was one of the hubs of the Silk Road.

Do you still have contact today with the peoples

just over the other side of the border,

a few kilometers away?

Around us there's Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan,

and other neighboring countries.

We have links with all of these countries.

Some of us even have relatives there.

Others trade with them, we have a very close relationship.

I grew up here, I'm proud to live here.

I have to admit, seeing this border

has always been a dream of mine.

It's the frontier of Alexander the Great's soldiers,

the very edge of terra cognita, opening onto the harsh

and mysterious expanses of Rudyard Kipling's novels,

Ella Myer's great travel accounts,

and even the world of dreams that are the adventures

of graphic novel hero Corto Maltese.

Many frontiers are merely lines drawn on maps,

changing according to politics.

Yet here in Tashkurgan you feel

you have truly reached the end of the world.

This is where Central Asia gives way to China.

It's the threshold of a new continent,

that of the Son of Heaven.

Numbering just 50,000 the Tajiks of China

have been officially recognized

as an ethnic minority by the Chinese authorities,

and even put in a spotlight.

In a remote hamlet at the very end of the plateau,

the villagers are celebrating a wedding tonight.

They don't really look Chinese,

the men greeting one another outside

and the women of the family preparing the festivities.

When a Tajik marries, the entire clan

must join in the week long celebrations.

It's open house around the living room stove

as the bitter cold descends at sunset.

In the courtyard, the eagle dance performed by the guests

brings to mind the sacred bird Faravahar bird,

a legacy of the religion Zoroastrianism,

that the Tajiks hold dear.

Tonight, the valley's notables crowd around the bridegroom.

Yularas Palat is 28 years old.

I must say I'm surprised the bride isn't here, why's that?

What is a Tajik wedding like?

Thank you so much for coming.

If you haven't seen the bride it's because

according to our customs, Tajik weddings last three days.

For the first two days the bride and groom

celebrate separately, with their own guests,

and then on the third day the groom goes to fetch the bride.

Are all these people coming in and out greeting you

the wedding guests or just your own relatives?

There's a major cultural difference between

the Tajiks and other ethnic groups.

Two days before the wedding we invite all the villagers

who have had a death in their family.

The Tajiks are the only people to do this.

Okay, even though the bride isn't here,

could I ask you how you met Us-Midan,

and how you decided to get married?

Our parents didn't introduce us.

Us-Midan and I have known each other since school.

We've been sweethearts for 10 years.

Now it's time to make things official.

We've been engaged for two years, as is the custom,

but it's been 10 years in all.

It's a long time.

But love always brings bleeding hearts together.

Yularas, I can see you're very attached

to your traditions,

that they are of great importance to you.

What defines these traditions?

And more generally, how would you define Tajik society?

The Tajik's symbol is the eagle.

It represents hard work, bravery, and wisdom.

Having watched our ethnic groups eagle dance,

I'm sure you have seen this.

I'm proud to be Tajik.

The Tajik's are warm and generous people.

We are united and always willing to help one another.

We love the country of our ancestors,

and every compatriot who lives there.

How timeless they seem, and serene too.

These Tajiks forgotten by history in a secret valley

deep in the heart of Asia.

These living witnesses of the Silk Roads allure.

(pensive music)