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May 21, 2014

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Modern Marco Polos drive along Silk Road

By Hu Min | May 21, 2014, Wednesday | Print Edition

IT took 56 days and 18,000 kilometers for 26 people in 13 rugged vehicles to cover the ancient Silk Road route from China through Central Asia to Europe.

Stopping along the way last summer, they hiked through spectacular scenery and explored ancient ruins of lost civilizations across 10 countries.

Their odyssey was organized by Shanghai China Travel International Ltd.

The Silk Road was and is a series of routes used for trade and cultural exchange that was central to the development of much of Asia. It connects West and East by linking traders, merchants, pilgrims, monks, soldiers, nomads and city dwellers from China to the Mediterranean Sea. It began during the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220).

These latter-day Marco Polos traveled from Cathay to Hamburg, Germany.

They drove through desolate regions and areas plagued by ethnic unrest and terrorism. There were mechanical problems, flat tires and temperatures above 50 degrees Celsius.

They started last May from the Hamburg Urban Best Practices Pavilion on the former World Expo 2010 Shanghai site and after 56 days arrived in Shanghai’s sister city of Hamburg.

Over the past seven years, Germans have driven classic cars from Hamburg to Shanghai, passing through seven countries.

This was the first time mostly Chinese people drove to Hamburg in a cultural exchange. They drove SUVs, Landrovers, Mercedes-Benzes and BMWs.

The captain of the fleet and guide was Sun Chongshu, a veteran leader of driving tours. Sun, around age 50, runs a company in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province.

It took him around a year to prepare and map the route, and he studied Silk Road history, culture, climate, geography, religion, politics and other subjects, sometimes consulting experts.

Each person paid around 130,000 yuan (US$20,967) and most drove SUVs, as required, except for a German engineer and young Shanghainese couple who drove sedans.

All were required to be in good health and disclose health issues before the trip.

All the vehicles were carefully checked; spare parts were taken along. They also stocked up on medicine and first-aid materials.

The oldest participant was age 67 and three women, each nearly 60 years old, took turns driving and finished the trip.

It took only two months for all the spots to be filled.

They spent nine days in China, mainly in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province; Lanzhou, Gansu Province; Qinghai Lake and Delingha in northwest Qinghai Province; and Hotan and Kashgar in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. They visited Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Austria and Germany. Most stops were on the Silk Road. They saw the Gobi and other deserts, as well as forests, rivers and snow-capped mountains. They visited  great mosques and Islamic architecture, the sites of ancient cities, tombs, monasteries, temples, museums, castles and forts.

At each stop, they were met by local guide. At each stop there were hospitals.

“Central Asia is the most difficult part of the trek,” Sun said. The land was desolate, dry and rugged. It was sometimes above 50 degrees. There was no gasoline along the way. Small desert inns serving truckers were primitive. There was no bath at the end of a long day.

“Under these conditions, many people had mood swings and we always had to encourage them to persevere,” he said.

Because of sizzling daytime temperatures, they departed before dawn and rested at midday before starting out again.

On the way from Khiva in Uzbekistan to Kazakhstan, one SUV had a tire blow out and other problems in the middle of the desert. They fixed it themselves and drove on.

“We had no choice but to continue,” Sun said.

In the Russian city of Pyatigorsk in the northern Caucasus, they were stopped by police because of their unusual caravan. The police told them to be careful and warned them that there were terrorists in the region.

In Fergana in eastern Uzbekistan, they were escorted by police in an area of ethnic unrest.

“I was very nervous because of my responsibility as team leader to ensure safety but everyone else was very excited, curious and relaxed in that section and didn’t sense any danger,” Sun said.

In the Caucasus, they saw cars that had careened off mountain roads because the drivers were drunk. Some even refused help because they thought they were all right, Sun said.

After being held up at the border, they arrived at a destination in Turkey at 2am.

The trip might sound like a crazy adventure, but not for Sun and the others.

“We saw real gems of culture, silent witnesses to history and the views were breathtaking,” Sun said.

At Cappadocia, in Anatolia, Turkey, they saw the spectacular “fairy chimneys” — thickets of spire-like rock formations — as well as temples carved into cliffs.

In Greece, they visited a monastery on a cliff, one of many places that ordinary travelers never reach.

High-end driving tours of exploration along the Silk Road are becoming popular.

In September, Sun will lead another Silk Road driving tour from Shanghai to Milan, Italy, covering eight countries over 52 days. The China leg and some of Central Asia will be the same, but, unlike the first tour, they will visit Turkmenistan and Iran, as well as Greece and Italy. The cost is 150,000 yuan per person. People can join along the way for a lesser charge. Vehicles will be limited to 10, carrying around 20 people. The travel agency plans one or two such trips a year.

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