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Silk Road: Linking People and Traditions
Program Components
Rugged Travel: 
Extensive train and bus travel, domestic flight, tent and yurt camping, remote village stay
Home Stay: 
Unique rural home-stay (subject to change in the event of government restriction)
Trekking: 
Extensive hiking in Karakoram range of Himalayas; 2-day Great Wall hike and camping; numerous day hikes
Service: 
Limited service opportunities amidst the political climate of China's west
Survey of Development Issues: Development and minority status; ecology, land-use and resource management
Internships and Independent Study Projects (isp): Optional ISPs facilitated when itinerary permits: Uighur music and dance, cooking, traditional medicine, study of ethnic language/culture, artistic traditions
Language Study: Frequent Mandarin Chinese classes
Philosophy and Comparative Religion: Introduction to Islam, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Marxism
Focus of Inquiry: Minority issues, environmental studies, ancient and modern history, political studies, religious and philosophical world-view of disparate Central Asian cultures
This was not a vacation; it was an experience. I was truly immersed in Chinese culture.
"Umar Amin, Silk Road 2009
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Dates: Jun 28 - Aug 8 Land cost: $6,950 Begins in: Los Angeles Est. flight cost: $1,800 |
Availability:
In field! Follow the Silk Road adventure on the Yak Yak Board.
More than half of China's land is populated by less than 5% of its population, mostly minority groups, many of whom inhabit the rugged lands in the northern and western parts of the country. Worlds away from Beijing, the far-western province of Xinjiang is a land where vast desert basins meet 20,000-foot peaks; where Central Asian cultures blend and exist in stark contrast to the China of the East. Our Silk Road adventure features an overview of this region's history of trade and ancient linkage with all of Eurasia. Amidst Asia's most striking landscapes, we survey a huge diversity of ethnic customs and religious traditions: those of Uyghur, Kyrgyz, Kazakh, Tajik, Mongour, Tibetan, and Han communities.
In the oasis city of Kashgar, not far from China's shared borders with several Central Asian Islamic states, we explore bazaars, mosques, and the world's largest outdoor market. We ascend high into the Pamir Mountain range, enjoying the phenomenal beauty of this seldom visited section of the Himalayas. Surrounded by exposed high alpine bluffs and tucked beneath soaring, snow-capped massifs, we take our night's shelter in the tents and yurts of nomadic Kyrgyz and Tajik communities, where we share warm tea and prepare for the next day's adventure. We explore the Tarim Basin, the ancient ruins of Turpan, and the painted caves of Dunhuang, which archive centuries of sculpted Buddha images and unparalleled Buddhist art. At Kanas Lake we trek from Mongolian encampments deep into the Altai region, and as we traverse the Tibetan Plateau we camp beside Tibetan nomads and their yaks. We engage in Buddhist study. And while traveling through the Tibetan Autonomous Regions of China's Qinghai Province, we participate in a number of community service projects.
Following our traverse of the Pamir highlands, the Tian Shan Mountains, various low basins, the Taklamakan Desert, and the edge of the Tibetan Plateau, we conclude our journey with an overland train trip across the plains of Northern China: a return to Beijing. Back in the capitol, we venture to the Great Wall, visit the city's various cultural and historic monuments, become more acquainted with contemporary Han Chinese society, and consider the great influences carried by the caravans of the Silk Road.
