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"The book is a unique account of a journey undertaken by the writer along
the oldest and the greatest international route, the famous Silk Road that
connected the continents of Asia and Europe, from China Sea to the
Mediterranean.
The contact between the East and the West catalysed the co-existence of
various religions on the Silk Road and the earliest to make its presence
felt was Buddhism. Around the first century AD it had travelled from India
to several parts of Central Asia and China spreading the words of the
Buddha.
The book covering a vast region of China takes the reader through the
dreadful deserts of the Gobi and the Taklamakan, over the snowy ranges of
the Pamir, meandering through innumerable oases dotting the foot of the
Tienshan and Kunlun ranges and traces beautiful river valleys. It takes a
peep into the splendid grottoes and cliff theatres of the Silk Road where
the Great Buddha still lives and breathes. The book offers an unforgettable
train of awe-inspiring stupas, monasteries, paintings and sculptures even
as it traces the complex and curious past of an immense heritage.
The exciting journey along the ancient route begins from Xian, the eastern
terminus of the Silk Road and traverses the provinces of Gansu, Xinjiang,
Sichuan and Tibet and traces, through maps, the several branch roads that
were a conduit for trade, commerce, art and religion between the two Asian
giants-India and China."
[from Blurb]
Contents
Acknowledgements
Prologue
Foreword by Lokesh Chandra
Introduction
1. My Journey begins from Xian
2. To the Pavilion of Buddha at Majishan
3. Along the Yellow River at Lanzhou
4. To Dafosi at Zhangye
5. To the Great Wall at Jiayuguan
6. To Yulin Grottoes at Anxi
7. Highway 313 to Dunhuang
8. To tne Grape Valley at Turfan
9. To Korla on Desert Express
10. Kuqa : The City of Kumarjiva
11. Kashgar : A Heady Mix of Old and New
12. Inside Taklamakan at Khotan
13. To Chengdu : The City of Poets
14. A Cliff Theatre at Chongqing
15. Routes into Tibet
16. Beyond the Himalayas to Lhasa
17. Gallery of `Avalokitesvara'
18. Epilogue : How Many Buddhas! How Many Miles!
References
Photo Credits
Index
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