China’s Frozen Desert - Region 2 DVD

“China’s lost civilisations: uncovering ancient Silk Road cities buried in the sand of the Taklamakan desert”

In western-most China lie 100,000 square miles of desert and misery. It’s a wasteland so cruel, its name itself is a warning. Taklamakan means “those who go in don’t come out”. Once, cities thrived here – oases enriched by China’s fabled silk road until war and desert did them in.

As commerce flourished along the Silk Road, Central Asia became a melting pot of cultures. Here, on the edges of the Taklamakan Desert, an exotic blend of Indian, Mongol, Chinese, and European influences fuelled an astonishing cultural Renaissance.

Discover how a wealthy Buddhist kingdom, which flourished along the Silk Route in the Taklamakan desert in the fifth and sixth centuries, was rediscovered by Aurel Stein in 1902. Among the treasures he uncovered was a complete library of Buddhist texts from the eight and ninth centuries.

Two courageous men entered the Taklamakan, one in search of truth, the other treasure. Both battled for their lives against the haunted desert and in the grip of death found treasures that would change the world.

In the 7th century, a Chinese monk, Xuanzang, plunged into the desert while on a Buddhist pilgrimage to India. His descriptions of the oasis-cities he encountered would prove invaluable to another explorer, more than a thousand years later.

20th century archaeologist Sir Aurel Stein took on the deadly Taklamakan to prove his own theories about Western China’s lost civilization. Again and again, Xuanzang’s writings led him to archaeological treasure – once thriving cities now buried in the sand.
On their monk’s trail, Stein made his greatest discovery: a thousand-year-old Buddhist library in near-perfect condition.

Part of the highly acclaimed National Geographic ‘Treasure Seekers’ series.

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