Along the new Silk Road | VPRO Documentary
114Central Asia was once the hub of world trade. Now we hear little about it, even though it is teeming with intriguing stories.
Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan. These are countries that once formed the Old Silk Road, the world's trade center. Most Westerners today have other associations with Central Asia: lots of oil and gas, long-sitting tyrants, and violent steppe regions inhabited by uncultured types.
In this video journalists Ruben Terlou and Jelle Brandt Corstius begin their journey in Samarkand, a city in Uzbekistan. Samarkand was once an important hub along the ancient Silk Road; now it is hosting perhaps the biggest political summit of the year. It is the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which brings together many Asian countries.
The leaders who attend represent more than half the world's population. Western leaders are nowhere to be seen, but Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping are there. The luxurious setting of the summit contrasts sharply with the daily reality in many Central Asian countries. From Samarkand, Jelle and Ruben travel further into the region.
Ruben travels along Pakistan's spectacular Karakoram Highway, built by the Chinese in the 1970s and symbolic of the deep friendship between the two countries. He has a special encounter with the man who devotes his entire life to caring for the graves of deceased Chinese road workers.
But Ruben also travels to Tajikistan, a country that exemplifies Central Asia. Sandwiched between two superpowers, Russia and China. The old Soviet feeling is still cherished. But China is meanwhile rattling the gate with a bag of money.
Jelle visits a uranium mine in Uzbekistan, which closed when the Soviet Union fell apart. The former director of the mine grew up in Soviet times. Along with many of his contemporaries, he still mourns the demise of the Soviet Union.
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