The road to Miran : travels in the forbidden zone of Xinjiang

Christa Paula, an intrepid young student of Asian art and archaeology, set off in 1989 to explore an area closed to Westerners as well as to most Chinese, and one which is firmly under military rule. Tall and blonde, she travelled for the most part incognito, disguised in a Pathan cap, old grey jacket and big padded trousers. Her goal was Miran, the ancient Buddhist site of second-century wall paintings. In the company of Chang, a maverick taxi driver, Christa Paula travelled through an area dotted with nuclear testing sites, forced labour camps and mines in which prisoners dig and process asbestos without protective clothing. She discovered that villages which exist on maps are now radiation-contaminated ghost towns, and she witnessed everywhere the seeds of discontent and political unrest. The Road to Mir an Prologue Highway and Fort Kashgar The Tumxuk that Wasn’t In the Capital of Xinjiang Kuqa Back to Kashgar Khotan, the Jade Kingdom Two Uighur Fairy-tales Forbidden Road Qiemo From Qiemo to Ruoqiang Ruoqiang Mountains and Asbestos Dunhuang Chang Turfan Back to Urumqi To Korla The Road to Miran Miran Leaving Xinjiang Chongqing Epilogue This is the story of a daring quest for the ancient kingdom of Shanshan in the remote, forbidden desert regions of southern Xinjiang in China. In 1989 Christa Paula travelled to Miran, an ancient Buddhist site, through an area of China closed to Westerners as well as most Chinese