Travelogue
Travelling The Chinese Stretch Of The Silk Road North – South links to India For the last stretch of my journey I turned South between the peaks of the Pamir and Karakorum ranges along the Karakorum highway. This has been an important route, possibly stretching back to the Neolithic period, as recent excavations of a thriving trading hub at Bannu (Pakistan) have indicated. The construction of these routes by kingdoms was essential for effective trade and revenues, but also a symbolic act of imperial power, often with impressive arches to mark the entrance to their territory and a point to collect customs duties. However, the duties meant extensive smuggling and also brigand attacks were a constant danger. Local tribesmen could sweep down from the hills and disappear again easily. They needed large amounts of horses etc. for their own use due to losses from battles and disease. They could also sell the goods and animals stolen. This activity enabled these people to transform their economies from subsistence pastoralism to agriculture and trade. Proper highway construction was started by the British in 1827 to connect Hindustan to Tibet and to try and control the tribal warlords of what is now Afghanistan, but it was abandoned. In 1959 China and Pakistan started work on this route again, calling it ‘The Friendship Route’, finishing in 1979. It is part of INSTC the International North South Trade Corridor and also China’s 2013 ‘One Belt One Road’ initiative (silk route echoes), linking about 70 countries.
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Above: Mountain glaciers along the route
It is one of the highest paved roads in the world, some say the eighth wonder of the world. However, it is difficult to maintain due to the stream of heavy trucks on fragile terrain, with constant erosion, falling rocks and fractures caused by a temperature differential from below zero to 45°C. I had a bumpy ride! However, it was worth it as the views between gaps in the mountains were spectacular and we eventually reached a ‘magical land’: Tashgorgan, nestled between Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Pakistan. The transition was enchanting, like entering a fairy tale. Suddenly there was lush grass, grazing yaks and horses and extensive orchards full of ripe fruit. One almost expected to see a unicorn leap from behind a rock. It reminded me of a favourite T.S Eliot poem: The Journey of the Magi: A cold coming we had of it, Just the worst time of the year For a journey, and such a long journey: Then at dawn we came down to a temperate valley, Wet, below the snow line, smelling of vegetation; With a running stream and a water-mill beating the darkness, And three trees on the low sky, And an old white horse galloped away in the meadow The area is nestled between the Karakorum (South East), Hindu Kush (South West) and Pamir (North West) mountain ranges, so there are spectacular views
