Great Wall - Yumen City

Located west of the Hexi Corridor on the edge of Gobi Desert is the small city of Yumen. Today it is an industrial city, primarily focused on oil drilling, wind power-generation and large-scale factories. However, 2,100 years ago, when it came under Han Dynasty control, it was a thoroughfare for merchants, warriors, diplomats and missionaries to trade goods and exchange knowledge, technology and religious beliefs.

This ancient trade route, along with several others, made up the renowned Silk Road. This overland route began in the city of Xi’an, then travelled along the northwest section of the Great Wall, over the Pamir Mountains, through Afghanistan and to the Mediterranean Sea where the goods were shipped to Europe.

At 4,000mi (6,400km) in length, the Silk Road was a melting pot of cultures and ethnic diversity. Very few people travelled it in its entirety, giving rise to a number of middlemen and trading posts along the way. Bandits were a major threat to travellers. To protect themselves, they would often join together in caravans and over time, inns to accommodate them cropped up.

Silk was one of the major goods exported by China to the west, hence the name Silk Road. Production of silk was a closely guarded secret in China and the fabric was highly prized by the Roman elite. Being of high value but low weight, silk was an ideal product to carry on long distances. Other significant items used for trade were: horses, jade, paper, spices, glassware, furs and unfortunately also slaves.

Marco Polo was one of the first Europeans to travel to China via the Silk Road. He was 17 years old when he embarked on a journey with his father to the far east. Leaving Italy by ship, they sailed to Acre, in modern-day Israel and then travelled by camel to Persia (present-day Iran) where they planned to sail straight into China. The ships, however, were not seaworthy and so they decided to continue overland through the Silk Road. During their trip, the Polos joined a travelling caravan that was soon ambushed by bandits who used a sandstorm as cover. They were fortunate to escape through a nearby town but sadly many of the caravan members were killed or enslaved. It took the Polos three years to reach Kublai Khan’s summer palace in Shangdu, China.

Trade on the Silk Road came to an end in the 15th century when transportation shifted to the sea, this became known as the Maritime Silk Road. The ability to carry more goods at a cheaper price marked the decline of the overland route.

The Silk Road could be seen as an early example of globalisation. It connected the Orient to Europe through trade and cultural exchange and at its end it inspired Europeans to cross the ocean and explore the New World (the Americas).



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Great Wall - Wuwei

In ancient times, Wuwei was an important town along the Hexi Corridor, a significant trading route that connected central China to the western regions. This 620mi (1000km) passage was linked by Wuwei, as its eastern terminus, to Yumen Pass, in the west. The Corridor, an arable plain, was long and narrow, sandwiched between the inhospitable plateaus of Mongolia to the north and Tibet to the south. It became a hub for the ancient silk road.

During the 2nd century BC, the Hexi region was reigned by the Xiongnu, a nomadic tribe, until a Han General, on the orders of his emperor, conquered the tribe and took over the corridor. As a result, Wuwei became a provincial capital of the Han Dynasty. Driving the Xiongnu out allowed the emperor to expand the corridor westward and protect the goods traded along the Silk Road.

In 1969, a group of farmers, digging air-raid shelters underground, unearthed a Han tomb belonging to an army general. Within, they discovered more than 200 relics consisting of wares made of precious metals, potteries, ceremonial figurines and a horse sculpture made of bronze known as the ‘Flying Horse of Gansu’.

The sculpture is an incredibly valuable piece, so much so that it is listed as one of 64 cultural relics prohibited from ever being exhibited outside of China. The horse is meant to depict the Ferghana breed (from modern-day Uzbekistan), that was highly prized by the Han emperor for its speed, hardiness and endurance. He went on to name the breed ‘heavenly horses’, after he was told that divine horses would appear from the northwest. The artwork itself is brilliant as the horse, in a galloping state, is balanced by one hoof resting without pressure on a flying swallow. The sculpture became a symbol of Wuwei City and it is used as a logo for China Tourism.



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Trek to Petra - Feynan Ecolodge

Trekking on the exposed trail, I felt the brunt of the sun as it radiated in its full glory. With little shade on offer I welcomed reaching the end of Wadi Dana and squirreling myself away in Feynan Ecolodge. The elevation has dropped from 4100ft (1250m) at the top, above the valley floor, to 800ft (240m).

Built in 2005 and first of its kind in Jordan, the lodge was inspired by the historical roadside inns found along the Silk Road known as caravanserai. These ancient inns were resting stops for caravans travelling on long journeys across Central Asia, China and Europe and a place for travellers to share stories, trade ideas and gain knowledge.

The lodge is located at the confluence of Wadi Dana and Wadi Feynan. The area is historically known for its copper deposits and its intense extraction between 4500 BC to 1516 AD. In the past 30 years the area has been continuously explored and studied hoping that more copper could be found to provide Jordan with much needed natural resources. The results to date have been meagre and economically not viable. Of greater concern to various groups is the environmental impact should any digging and extraction occur. 

By building the lodge the local Bedouin community were provided with a source of employment. There are four main tribes that live around the Feynan area who continue to live in their traditional tents known as beit al-sha’ar, translated as ‘house of hair’ because the tents are made of goat-hair. As they continue with their traditional life of herding goats, sheep or camel and moving camp from valley to plateau depending on the season, the local Bedouin are also slowly adapting to the modern world by acquiring phones, pick-up trucks, plastic water containers and kerosene stoves. Access to water, electricity, doctors and schools has driven many Bedouin to give up their traditional way of living and move into villages but those that remain, with the exception of finding a good spot for mobile reception, continue to hold onto their simple way of life and connection with nature.

Dinner at the lodge was a vegetarian adaptation of Arabic cuisine. I enjoyed the simple yet tasty serve of Mujadara, a combination of rice and lentils topped with caramelised onions served with a side of Baba ganoush, chopped roasted eggplant tossed with tomatoes and onions.



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