Traveling Silk Road is still an adventure

ALONG THE SILK ROAD, China — From the ancient oasis towns of Central Asia, we retraced the epic journeys traveled along the Silk Road through desolate mountains and deserts, through busy bazaars and crumbling mud-brick towns.

Along the way, we followed the footsteps made by camel caravans to and from Central Asia and Europe by Marco Polo, Genghis Khan and Alexander the Great.

In ancient times, this legendary road — a series of routes collectively known as the Silk Road— was China's link with Central Asia and Europe.

Travelers crossed through several different branches. One was up the Gansu corridor to Dunhuang on the edge of the Taklamakan desert. Another began on the fringes of the Gobi desert following the Tianshan, or heavenly mountains, and heading to the oasis trading post of Turfan before arriving at Kashgar, at the foot of the Pamirs.

Our group of three — myself, my mother and a friend — opted for a haphazard itinerary that started off with an airplane journey from Beijing to Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang autonomous region. From there, we flew to Kashghar and then jumped on a train that took us past the Taklamakan desert and dropped us 22 hours later in Turfan, famous for its grapes and melons. Finally, we headed to Dunhuang, famous for its ancient Buddhist cave paintings, where we also rode in camel caravans as they did in ancient times.

Although some evidence points to a trade in jade along China's portion of the Silk Road, as far back as 7,000 years, the establishment of the trade route really occurred about 2,000 years ago in Roman times.

Silk, one of China's prime exports, was of course moved to Europe and elsewhere via the route. But so were exotic animals, ivory, gold and plants. It also facilitated the flow of new ideas and languages between far-flung cultures.

Xinjiang, a predominantly Muslim region in China's far west, seemed a world away from Beijing. The ethnic Uighur language, dress, the faces and the food all seemed more attuned to Central Asia than East Asia.

Still, images like the enormous statue of China's late Chairman Mao Zedong in Kashghar's center square reminded us of Beijing's grip on this region. Thousands of miles away, it shares the same time zone as the capital.

Kashgar has been a trading center for over 2,000 years, and this business drive continues to energize the city with endless negotiations at the famous bazaars, in the old town and just about in any street corner.