- 3 days ago
The excitement continues in the second episode of our thrilling journey into Xinjiang as the intrepid trio venture into southern Xinjiang. First stop on the bucket list for the daring duo Nico and Neil is the deadly Taklamakan Desert, where, far from kicking the bucket, they come face to face with changes that are giving these barren wastes a new lease of life. Meanwhile, Hasnaa embarks on an altogether more luxurious quest to discover the secret behind the alluring charm of jade!
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LifestyleTranscript
00:01The wind is incredibly strong today.
00:03You can easily see how civilizations
00:05would be buried under these sands.
00:14So did we randomly find someone, or...?
00:18I don't even know what I'm looking for.
00:20I guess something white and creamy?
00:23The Takumkan is the biggest desert in China.
00:25It's this constant battle between water and sand,
00:29life and death.
00:32On the other hand, it's a curse
00:33because people here are constantly
00:35fighting against the desert,
00:36trying to preserve area that they live off.
00:40There's actually a lot of things happening here
00:42to connect people,
00:43to bring more hope and development
00:45to the communities living around the desert.
00:48With the right approach,
00:49human beings can work with nature
00:51and create habitable places for all of us.
00:55You need to really be on site
00:57and look at these materials
00:58to have those hands-on intimate experiences,
01:01whether they be present day or in the past.
01:07The excitement and the feeling of freedom
01:09in the middle of this desert with no one around.
01:12It was magical.
01:14The frontier of China,
01:15the heart of Eurasia.
01:29My name is Nico Derouge.
01:30I'm French.
01:31I specialize in reportage and documentary photography,
01:34which takes me around the world.
01:37Hello.
01:38Hello.
01:39Hello and welcome.
01:40Hello.
01:41We are from Dalyabui.
01:43Let's move on.
01:44I'm going?
01:45I'm in Yutian County, in the Hotan region in South Xinjiang, and this road here leads
01:52to the village of Dalia Bui.
01:54It's a very famous village for being the last village of Taklamakan Desert at the end
01:59of the Kaya River.
02:00Tul Hong is a very experienced off-road driver, and we're going to go on an adventure together
02:04in the desert to the village.
02:06Around the Taklamakan, we have a lot of oases, and they depend on water supply.
02:25If there's no water, there's no civilization.
02:29And I'm here in Rochang County to visit an archaeological site called Mi Lan.
02:34And Mi Lan gives us an indication of the lost civilizations here in the Tarim Basin along
02:40the Taklamakan.
02:44My name is Neil Schmidt.
02:46I'm an American and a historian of China.
02:50As a researcher, I work at an archaeological site in Dunhuang.
02:54When explorers first came here in the late 1900s, they were able to travel by river, which starts
03:00way up in the Kunlun Mountains and flows all the way into the Taklamakan.
03:04feeds the oases on the southern part of Xinjiang.
03:12I might have found something.
03:14You're saying it's not.
03:20I'm Hasna.
03:21I come from Morocco, from Casablanca.
03:23I came here to China to be working in architecture.
03:28I am here on the riverbed of Yulong-Kashi River in Hotan City.
03:35Hotan is known for the jade.
03:37The major deposits of Hotan jade are tucked away deep in the Kunlun Mountains.
03:42And it has been brought by the Yulong-Kashi River down here in this place where it created
03:47a kind of custom for the people to just pick it up from the ground.
03:52If gold and diamonds have monetary, aesthetical, and cultural values in the West, here it's
03:59the jade that has a capital Chinese history importance.
04:03I don't even know what I'm looking for.
04:05I guess something white and creamy.
04:09Actually, after many years of exploration, I guess there aren't many jades left.
04:14But to just look for it, searching and hoping, it's quite meditative.
04:18I like it, it's relaxing.
04:47So we're running to some action here.
04:48This SUV over there is stuck inside of the river.
04:51So we're trying to get him out.
04:53So two cars trying to pull this out of the ground.
04:56Tuhorn over there is organizing the whole rescue.
04:58Look at him.
04:59Let's see.
05:02I don't know how it's going to be able to drive through.
05:05That's crazy.
05:17You don't want to be against him.
05:19You want to love him.
05:20He will go back and love you.
05:23But if you want to challenge him,
05:26you want to fight him,
05:27then you're not going to be able to do that.
05:36So this area was a large fort here in Milan.
05:40And looking across this plain,
05:42it might not seem like much.
05:44But if you look very closely,
05:45you can see faint lines.
05:47And those lines are man-made.
05:50And from those lines,
05:51we know that this area was farmed intensively,
05:54that it was once green with fields and trees.
05:59From Western Han to the Tang Dynasty,
06:01a rich mix of cultures flourished here.
06:03But soon after,
06:04the desert encroached deeper and deeper into the oasis,
06:08swallowing all traces of civilization.
06:10The once rich agricultural community
06:12with its irrigation system
06:14developed 2,000 years ago
06:16that showcased the ingenuity and perspicacity
06:18of the inhabitants sank into the sand.
06:23So once agriculture began to blossom
06:25and trade was carried out along the Silk Roads here,
06:29and Codenese jade was a highly valued commodity.
06:32It's a huge market.
06:34This place makes you understand the importance of it
06:35and how it's a big deal here, actually.
06:36Look how they're taking good care of their appearance.
06:37They're always watering it so that it's shiny and clean.
06:38I'm lost.
06:39Too much stones everywhere.
06:39Don't go over there.
06:40There's a nice passage up there.
06:42Let's go over here.
06:42You have many shapes, big shapes, small shapes, rounded, square.
06:48Houghton jade comes in many colors.
06:50The mutton fad jade is the most valued by the country.
06:53You have many shapes,
06:53small shapes, rounded, square.
06:55lost too much stones everywhere we'll go over there there's a nice passage up there let's go over here
07:08you have many shapes big shapes small shapes rounded square
07:13hot and jade comes in many colors the mutton fad jade is the most valued by the chinese people
07:19the price for this one is 280 000. look at this i mean it's like 2 000 years old
07:31i found that quite beautiful jade in this region it brings economically a lot of benefits to its
07:52people for them to feed their families and live by their natural resources that they have in the land
08:01after six hours of driving we just arrived at that yaburi village it's super quiet here i don't see
08:08anyone on the streets but there's a house over there i'm gonna go and see if there's people inside it
08:15we often think of the desert as a lifeless place but here it actually looks like a big oasis all around
08:21before coming here the only things i knew about that yaburi village was that it got discovered
08:33in the 1890s oblam just showed me around his house and his yard which is pretty huge
08:40that's a huge
09:05I didn't have any food, but I didn't have any food.
09:10I didn't have any food.
09:13I didn't have any food.
09:16I didn't have any food.
09:21Have you been to your husband to take water?
09:26I don't know.
09:28I have to take water.
09:30living conditions here are still quite tough it's impossible to get proper
09:37education and a good health care and that's why there was a new Dali Abouli
09:42village built a couple of hours from here so it's a little bit sad to see a
09:47traditional village like Dali Abouli get empty just like in most parts of the
09:51world it's a natural evolution of people wanting to find better life
09:56condition and start life from there the desert it's both a curse and a blessing
10:03it's a curse because people here are constantly fighting against the desert
10:07trying to preserve area that they live off this is a little example of what's
10:14left of the vast number of monasteries and stupas that populated the city of Milan
10:21and these were possible because of the agriculture and the trade that passed
10:26up and down the silt road once the fields were no longer maintained the
10:30trees were no longer there to prevent the sand from flowing over the fields and
10:35this is what it looks like today
10:40we just drove 200 kilometers through the desert from Dali Abouli to the new
10:44village where kids just got out of school let's see if we can find Obul's
10:49grandson
10:56I'm here to meet my way he's a jewelry artist at the forefront on
11:06incorporating cotton shade and modern jewelry pieces
11:10I love this place is in your face let me take a look
11:13Okay
11:14uh
11:15Bhang..
11:16Uh
11:17essa
11:17's
11:18enfim
11:19這邊呢是我的工作的一個流程
11:20我們會有這種大的機器
11:22瞬間切割
11:23那Mond像這個部分就會更加的
11:37You ruined it. That's tricky. Wait.
11:42Because my father is a world-class teacher.
11:46I was born in the工廠 factory.
11:49Until now, I have been doing it for 20 years.
11:55It's a tradition of traditional art.
11:58It has a history of the culture as a底蕊.
12:02The beauty of it is not only for工藝品,
12:06but it's a kind of a sense of art.
12:09I can do it very well.
12:12I'd like to put all the art of the art of the art of the art.
12:17I have to put all the art of the art of the art of the art.
12:20I just changed my expression.
12:22Our art and art is living in our minds.
12:26It's been a century-long.
12:29It's been a century.
12:32I believe there will be more young people in the future
12:40and bring the Chinese culture through a new way to the country
12:43and make more people see us.
12:46Being connected to your roots helps you and empowers you to create.
12:52Hopefully they can bring all of their experience and wisdom
12:56from living in harsh conditions in the desert
12:58and turn it into something great into their new life.
13:01I'm an English teacher now apparently.
13:06She's a nose.
13:09Nose!
13:10Yes!
13:11All right, that's all right.
13:14For an archaeologist, there are two constants.
13:17One of the most important things is that
13:20the people who are living in the desert
13:23and the people who are living in the desert
13:25and the people who are living in the desert
13:27and the people who are living in the desert
13:29are two constants.
13:31One is geography and one is climate.
13:33It influences the rise and fall of civilizations.
13:36Milan is just one example of the many, many sites,
13:39especially along the eastern Tarum Basin.
13:42I'm here in a place called Cele.
13:45This is the temple of Damago from around the 6th or 7th century.
13:49It's one of the smallest temples ever discovered.
13:51Only allows one person inside.
13:54Cele at that time was a very, very important part
13:57of the Kotenese kingdom, where we have this incredibly refined art.
14:01The Kotenese school of painting combines cultures from Western Asia,
14:07Indian culture, Chinese culture in a very unique way.
14:10And this temple then was active for another 400 years
14:13until about the year 1000,
14:15and then for a thousand years buried under the sands.
14:19It means that it's a kind of cautionary tale.
14:22Once things begin to break down, sand control can't be maintained,
14:25the desert will take over.
14:27Cele is known also because of this sand control station.
14:31The work that's being done here
14:33gives us methods and ways to understand
14:36not only past changes, but also future hopes.
14:41So I was crossing through the desert,
14:43and there was miles and miles of nothing.
14:46And then I just see this town.
14:49I'm in Tajong.
14:50It's a town that has been built recently.
14:53It has played a key role in the development
14:56of the transportation in the whole desert area.
14:59It's really unbelievable.
15:00It's just full of life.
15:02I heard this was the very first restaurant in Tajong.
15:05Let's go see.
15:07Hello.
15:08Hello.
15:09My name is Guang Hongyu.
15:11Guang Hongyu.
15:12Great. How many people do you receive here every day?
15:14I didn't count.
15:15It's like there are a few hundred people.
15:17You see, there are people on the road.
15:19There are people on the road.
15:20There are people on the road.
15:21There are people on the road.
15:22I'm here 60 kilometers away from the Chiengmou County.
15:23In Southeast Xinjiang.
15:25I'm here 60 kilometers away from the Chiang Mo County in Southeast Xinjiang.
15:32And this is the construction site of the Heu Roo Railway.
15:36The railway follows the northern foot of the Kono River,
15:40and the other half of the Kono River.
15:42I'm here 60 kilometers away from the Chiang Mo County in Southeast Xinjiang.
15:48And this is the construction site of the Heu Roo Railway.
15:53The railway follows the northern foot of the Kono Mountains,
15:56and the southern edge of the Taklamakan Desert.
15:59The Taklamakan Desert is so large,
16:02so most people are based in the different oases that are spread around.
16:06With this railway, people can travel in and out of Xinjiang way easier.
16:11As a documentary and industrial photographer,
16:14I'm super excited to shoot such a mega project,
16:17especially in a challenging environment like this one.
16:20I'm about to meet Wang Jingjong.
16:22He's the director of the whole Heu Roo Railway project.
16:25Ah!
16:26Ah!
16:27Ah!
16:28Ah!
16:29Ah!
16:30Ah!
16:31Ah!
16:32Ah!
16:33Ah!
16:34Ah!
16:35Ah!
16:36Ah!
16:37Ah!
16:38Ah!
16:39Ah!
16:40Ah!
16:41Ah!
16:42Ah!
16:43Ah!
16:44Ah!
16:45Ah!
16:46Ah!
16:47Ah!
16:48Ah!
16:49Ah!
16:50Ah!
16:51I'm here to meet Dr. Zeng Tanjong, who's been leading this sand control project in Tsila for over 20 years.
17:12Now, why did you build this sand control project in Tsila?
17:21Tsila, the city is only 1.5 miles away. We're going to build this sand control project in Tsila.
17:25We're standing at this place in the 30 years ago, in the last year.
17:29Now, let's see, it's like a real fish farm.
17:32Oh, wow! That's a real fish farm.
17:36There are vegetables, vegetables, fresh vegetables.
17:39Oh, wow.
17:40There are櫻桃 trees. You can see it now, right?
17:43Yes, it's fun.
17:43Yes, it's fun.
17:44Let's see our next garden.
17:46Yes.
17:48There are some forests, and there are some forests.
17:51We've been here for this place for years.
17:55I've been here for 20 years since the first time.
17:57It's a red green house.
18:00In the past, it's been my first house.
18:02Now, there are about to be more than 1 here.
18:04It's better than this place.
18:05It's 100% of the world.
18:07Yes.
18:08Hello.
18:09My name is Wang Lippo.
18:10I am the executive director of the project manager of our project manager.
18:21This is a fence made out of reeds.
18:23It's the first barrier in their whole sand control system here to prevent sand from getting
18:29to the railway.
18:30So it's the first step.
18:32The objective is to keep the sand out.
18:35Hello.
18:36Hi.
18:37What are you doing?
18:38They're taking roots.
18:39Yeah.
18:40My name is Abdullah and I'm from Pakistan.
18:43We are digging just to collect the root samples, examine the root, how they respond towards
18:50the water scarcity.
18:51Okay.
18:52Can I try?
18:53Let's try this.
18:55You can see this.
18:56You can see this.
18:57You can see this.
18:58You can see this.
18:59You can see this.
19:00You can see this.
19:01You can see this.
19:02You can see this.
19:03You can see this.
19:04This is not easy work.
19:05I'm already bleeding from a finger just from installing a cube.
19:06Look at it.
19:07They have to install two per mesh and that's all the way along.
19:22It was explaining to me that in the summer, the temperature here gets up to 43 to 48 degrees.
19:27It must be tough.
19:30The sand control is not easy.
19:32It takes a lot of different methods, but it also takes a lot of back breaking work.
19:37And so it was impressive to see especially these young people being interested in this very,
19:41very important research.
19:43It's crazy to think that you have a railroad project, but the whole department of the whole
19:49project is solely allocated to sand control so that the rest of the project can move along.
19:55Here, we will go to the rest of the house, the first stage, the first stage is capitalism.
19:58It's an identity for the fact that it is, you can see, I can see, but there's a problem.
20:00It is a problem with man.
20:01It's a problem with man.
20:02It's a problem with man.
20:03Third stage, the second stage is the opportunity to die.
20:04The second stage is to lose the form of the sand.
20:05The second stage, to be the safe and the other, the latter one is the散?
20:10The third stage of the battle is the dak and the greenstone tree.
20:11The third stage is theallah tree.
20:13You are welcome.
20:14Welcome to the塔中植物園.
20:15Welcome to the tower.
20:16I am a my my my my my my my my my my my my my my my my my my my my.
20:17It is hard to believe, but actually, I'm in a botanical garden in the center of Taklamakan Desert.
20:31It's the world's only garden of this sort.
20:34I'm here to meet Chang-Chin, who is a chief botanist who has led this project for 19 years.
20:42What's the idea behind creating a botanical garden in the middle of the desert?
20:47Taklamakan Desert要修一条很大的公路,如果说是不做防沙处理的话,几场沙尘暴,它那个路就给掩埋住了。
20:55所以我们就想选出能适应这种环境的物种,用生物防沙的技术用在沙漠公路上。
21:02最大的影响是在环境上的影响,空气的湿度增加了,同时各种鸟类、小动物就越来越多了。
21:11我在二十年前到这儿来的时候,这个地方是葱草不僧,总感觉这个地方太荒凉,太寂寞了。
21:18这片沙地能把它做出这么绿,一般人是想象不到的。
21:23在常规人想象中算是一个奇迹吧。
21:26哈哈哈哈。
21:27哈哈。
21:28what's happening now is that they're bringing down the long rails from the back over there,
21:33they're installing the rail first, and then they will move on with the machine, install the sweepers and lay the rail on top of it.
21:41It's incredible.
21:42你好。
21:46法国的。
21:48法国的。
21:49法国的。
21:50你们呢?你们是本地人吗?
21:51我们是三系的。
21:53三系。
21:54三系。
21:55可以说沙漠画房的这个话题也不仅仅是咱们中国的话题,是全球面临的。
22:00我们把策略模式推广到条件类似区域,是一种沙漠精神的传承。
22:05征服沙漠我觉得达不到了。改善一下环境,让这个环境更加能适应人的生存吧。
22:13我也希望这些物种能走出这个植物园,给更多的地方带来类似。
22:21哈哈哈哈。
22:22I've never been in a place like this.
22:24It creates life inside of a sea of dryness and death.
22:28是不是甜的?
22:29嗯,很甜。
22:31很甜的是吧?
22:32这个就是你吃的那个菜,它已经快落了。
22:35已经落了这个。
22:37The place is just allowing you to connect with the nature,
22:40telling you the story of thriving and survival into a difficult, challenging atmosphere.
22:46We can think of the oases surrounding the Takumakan desert
22:50as islands floating in a sea of sand.
22:53In order to benefit each other and themselves,
22:55they need to build up networks and relationships among them.
22:58the Takumakan desert is famous for being a very harsh environment.
23:07It's quite inspiring to see people's ingenuity comes into play,
23:12whether it's to find better life conditions or to achieve engineering projects like this one,
23:17to help for other people around the region.
23:20you need to respect the desert.
23:25it's a force of nature that's incredibly powerful,
23:28but there are ways to work with it.
23:30It's quite touching because there's a real passion among these people
23:38who consecrated their lives to Xinjiang.
23:43the Takumakan.
23:45the Takumakan.
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