China is building new roads, railroads and pipelines from Central Asia to Europe in an effort to build new connections to the rest of the world. The results may be good for the Chinese — but less so for the other countries involved.
In Kashgar, on the western edge of the Peoples’ Republic of China, the view is reminiscent of the Bible and the days when the ancient Silk Road began to take shape here in the 1st century B.C. Today, the government plans to use Kashgar as the starting point for a new, global trade route — but at this point, there is still little evidence of it.
“Posh, Posh,” the men shout on their horse-drawn carts, as they make their way to the meadow where drivers are selling camels. Potential buyers expertly reach into the animals’ mouths to examine their health. The air is dusty and filed with the sounds of animals neighing, braying and bleating, as if the horses, donkeys and goats know that they won’t stay tied up for long. Women, only a few of them wearing veils, walk through the chaos carrying sacks of apricots and raisins.