Euros are flowing into new infrastructure away lines harbors streets bridges and tunnels in 65 Different Countries its a project the likes of which the world has never seen. Its a powerful vision and for many an inspiring one. For some it represents opportunity for others misery. China is reaching toward the west along the new silk road we retraced 2 of these routes traveling from china to germany from the city of shenzhen to the city of to spork. We travel thousands of kilometers overland to central asia. And resale to thousands of kilometers across the oceans of Southeast Asia following the major overseas trade routes. We have traveled great distances but europe. Its still far away. And we retrace the route of the caravans heading West Crossing remote passes in the t. On shon mountains. Its a journey into the past along the ancient silk road. A route that today is marked by hope and opportunity and by burdensome debts and dependence on china. The route followed by the ancient traders and their caravans was filled with danger. There are arrival at tosh rabat gave them a temporary respite. Here they found food and shelter and were able to Exchange Goods and information about the journey ahead. To. The markets of kyrgyzstan still bare traces of this history. Aku back back to our offer is a nomad a day ago he left his yurt near song called lake early this morning he arrived at the market in cos core. Full of those little puzzle because this is the main trading season many come here from afar to make their purchases and then they bring the honor most to kazakhstan as well to cause us to believe that. A cool back enjoys the bustle of the market after the silence of his home near the lake. But. Hes planning to buy a horse. And he knows exactly what hes looking for. Out of the compound of some of those. 2 you have to stroke them they like that a good sign if it stays calm when i stroke it then i know itll do what i ask it to because it is a little tough. But the purchase will have to wait. Back has invested in the promises of the new silk road and thats pushed him to the financial brink. Much the same as has happened to the country of kyrgyzstan but he invites us to visit his home to find out more. The wide expanse is all wild and untamed to untag the government believes to improve infrastructure its gone deeply into debt with Chinese Companies. In the early evening i call back and his grandchildren round up the herd. The family has bought 3 new yorks with their savings. On the. Roof theyre intended for tourists who want to venture and a taste of the simple life. Is to a nearby and but them and were not afraid of anything. Alone has already improved here in the last 8 years. Our standard of living is much higher now. In the. If we do. The family hopes that money and affluence will come from the tourists who booked overnight stays here and the chinese who have promised to invest on a grand scale. In india i believe the silk road still exists. Because the those values still exist so thats a fact. Every country can profit from cradle long the silk road as was. But what if these hopes are not fulfilled in the search for a better life things of great value might also be lost. At the world nomad games tradition still holds sway. And his master norbeck are local celebrities norbeck raised the falcon and says its like a son to him but norbeck needs the falcon every bit as much as the falcon. When i remove the hood. Spray and flies to capture it. He sees for me. It into a. Thats true or that it might 1st seem your back is blind. Norbeck took gold at the 28000 world nomad games his brother on back knows who they have to thank for it. We were hoping for 3rd place and everyone was shocked when he took gold. Nor back his promise to show his nephew some of the tricks of the trade. That. The family is proud of their showing at the nomad games. But they also wonder whether theyll be able to maintain their culture and traditions. You know thats all we dont need gold we need clean water the mountains earth us nature. So far our people havent seen any good come of the Chinese Investment thats why were taking to the streets thats why theres been arson. Give us a call. On april 11th 2018 there was a violent protest over a gold mine built in cause im on with Chinese Investment. About a 1000 people were here and they lost their patience. They dont listen to anyone. They burned the building to the ground on their t. V. s most of us every day i mean this is whats left of the gold rush obviously some village elders are willing to speak with us. They brought documents to show what the Chinese Mining Company has been planning what sparked the weeks of protest against. The old soviet era mine was believed to contain some 40 tons of gold. The chinese wanted to take it over but local say they had no permits. From sugar then this little consistency it creates our land kyrgyzstan and why should we give our land to a bunch of chinese with no permits it is leading to skin be. Up to 7 tons of gold might lie beneath this field full of mining waste the soviets mind using toxic sodium cyanide. Could that account for the cases of cancer in the village and what were the chinese planning the village elders say the cure is authorities answered none of these questions. The government didnt investigate all the illnesses here they just want chinese money they dont care about us that that. Everyone from the chinese to the kyrgyz government wants a share of the golden cause im on. In the end the chinese left. This time. But the flow of goods is awakening hopes along the new silk road the Chinese Initiative wants to vastly increase the amount of freight transported by rail. And theyre planning many new cargo relay junctions to transfer containers to the gauge of the russian made track. Along the maritime silk road we find ourselves at another junction thousands of kilometers from china a country has now gained access to another deep sea port some 40 percent of the worlds oil passes through here for china the port of quite dar is another base in its string of pearls. Such on how good morning in chinese the teacher. Started in china a stroke of good fortune because thats now come in handy here in quite dark aftab wants to help others here reap the same benefits without a lot of. Our side i didnt have this opportunity to learn in my hometown learn chinese but they have so. We have a life our children really can be good chinese they have Good Business to do with their. This school has facilities that many others in the country can only dream of all financed with money from beijing china is investing in the young people of pakistan. For off topic teaching is only a sideline hes actually an engineer and he has plenty of work to keep him busy china and pakistan are building for the future each in their own way. Is the force on the side the chinese on the budgets done for the likes of you to get a good job. But youre working for china and yet that big must go to light about this. And. They were building a road to china. One day ill be able to drive home on it you. Know silk road will bring us together were friends and that you might help if. The chinese may be friends but theyre under guard on the construction sites and elsewhere in the city block to stand is a conflict zone where violence and terrorism are rife foreigners are especially at risk many locals regard them as invaders and not investors. We stand here is a very terrible. Towards the extent to place the interest on the floor so we go the. 3 chinese engineers died in that attack jango as young as a businessman and he knows that a lot at stake here for both countries. People cannot move freely. That the few flee the big the 2nd to achieve will be affected power on the other side please understand that the government or the army are responsible person this. Gen boy was sent here to turn quite dark into a transit hub china has signed a 40 year lease on the ports but its conditions are being cancelled largely out of public view we are not permitted to film on site where dar has a clear Strategic Value as a gateway to the arabian sea but its unclear whether chinas interest is only an economic one some believe it might also have military significance for beijing. Or you. Break close to see the i dont know whats in there scared of. The military. Is really pissed about this country. And it is. And you see we dont have any history of. Any countries. The chinese presence is impossible to overlook and more on the way the China CommunicationsConstruction Company is planning more projects here the construction giant has big plans in what i. And i think around 5000 people are going to come Chinese People going to go on but for this project i think maybe 802 like this youve overcome for this. Its going to be like a little china town just definitely china. Ya ya grew up in quite dark after studying in karachi he returned home for him the arrival of the china. Spells an opportunity. To use it a creature to save money but that is what a space definitely youre walking in a new quad to. Your morning toward our future and theres a future bother youre part of it. Definitely on you know following a number of this. This optimistic outlook cant be taken for granted in god. But for other people here peace and prosperity seem but a dream they fear theyve been forgotten and will keep falling further behind. And they feel deep resentment of those who are proclaiming the arrival of a new golden future. The world live but the chinese only care about their own interests they want to make a lot of money here they dont care about what happens to the poor to us maybe one day they know why yeah money arsenical. Theyre taking everything. Right our doesnt belong to us anymore they take in the ocean from us the land theres nothing left men like us have no work no think. The arrival of the chinese seems to have further splits the region some stand to benefit others to lose everything. We resume our journey 98 percent of all goods on the new silk road are transported by ship the advantages of a maritime route are way the risks just as they did centuries ago. Ships sent on. From sura to Distant Shores turning into a trading empire ship building also has a long history here but the wooden dowel but its a vanishing the last dour shipyard insua is run by the alligator me family that keeping the traditional line down to the last detail. Boil soaked constant seals the gaps between clanks collets family have been building downs for generations. Its in our blood and we passed it on to our children god willing well continue doing this work for a long time. They build without a plan creating the entire ship from memory and the work is done by hand as its always been. The reputation of a Ship Builders is keeping the tradition alive times are changing machines have replaced sales but for us seafaring in trade is still an important tradition. But. Oman has a rich history and thanks to the countrys wealthy today but oil reserves are finite what will happen after theyre gone we continue through the desert pressing forward through the heat and sand. Finally we reach water in the very modern shipyard where at the dry dock into come. Ships are repaired here and readied for the next voyage the former fishing village has become a major hub on the new silk road. Truly you get many different tell you see in. Europe shaped from a critic from issue as the. Way from a good location having the right course of for there being an attorney if its nearby. Or. And it begins to. Look im is now an economic free zone which offers incentives to investors from all over the world including china. Its up to a man his job to bring in the chinese investors he says the chinese have vision and energy. Shining is the out of it it is a very active. Fairly fast sometimes youll feel them theyre out of fairness no i didnt. But in that. They would have been out of their program well. Ive been there but ive been there that they dont get there but walk. After that they would have stopped us to see that area there isnt much to be seen yet but the china oman Industrial Park is shantel to go up here manufacturing facilities Pipelines Oil fields and a hospital out of thin air. At least there you can sleep but frankly its a real fire you know very ambitious. Desk now working in. A cluster of containers in the middle of nowhere this is just the beginning inside 2 men share a space of 12 square meters. Theyre far from home but earning good money. Wages here are quite a bit higher than in china. So are they happy here. Blue on we chinese are industrious people well theres either that thats not the case when it comes to our Foreign Workers to look as though it was the new tool to be honest theyre a bit lazy. We seldom see the hoover the only little. Workers from all over the region have come to work you know mom used to low wages at home theyre a pliable workforce. But. When you come from from bangladesh if you plan on your part and you dont know. How to start new york some. Folks from pakistan by you know this. Demand almost seem to be marching information theyll work under the brutal desert sun to bring chinas planned to fruition but most of them have never heard of the new silk road theyre working to feed their families back at home. The grand visions they leave to the chinese. Here are very important and their stride the. Play is you know it is the years Chinese Government puts their Chinese Companies under prices go all out of the county florida why is all the one belt one road one beltre also known as the new silk road demand sacrifices from the chinese to we work here half a year we have the one we can call to our family but we also know why did our family bring our family to here but no here no place. Maybe after one year we come pouring over a farm in the 5 years to here. They are seeking their fortunes here in the desert and adding another link to chinas new silk road. Some are calling the city of stone. It was also a stop along the route of the ancient silk road. After the harsh terrain of the tian Shan Mountains summer cond welcomed the caravans with one of the wealthiest civilizations of central asia. A lot of the. People. The madrassas of samarkand are still overflowing with gold and ornate decorations. Were meeting one of these better stands backers of the new silk road. But i bet austin off speaks excellent german and will be our translator into your guide. Tonight hes serving coffee peel off the traditional feast. And the silk road didnt only transport ideas it also disseminated ideas and recipes for prof speak when people from spain come to his back is fan are served prof they say oh this is spanish by you know. How you not. Plus is traditionally eaten with the fingers not so easy for a left hander. And traditionally we eat our food with our right hand as. I should have known. Everywhere in samarra cond there are signs of how far west we ventured. The influence of ancient persia is also visible everywhere beca stan was once the center of an empire. 7 in the 12th and 13th centuries culture and scholarship flourished here. Timor also known as tom alain was a great patron of art and culture and a brutal tyrant. His tomb is still an object of veneration. Boy beck has taken us to the bazaar of book. A place filled with Hidden Treasures from old sock on. He picks up a small dusty binder almost at random. And dining onto youre Holding History in your hand that tells a 1000 years old 900 years old is 700 years old 200 years old. The coins come from far and wide china persia greece theyre a testament to the travel and trade that shaped the region over the centuries. To do this is for them this is just old plunder for me its history its each item tells a beautiful story from the days of the old silk or. Just used this is one of the oldest books according to our modern day calendar is from the 17th century. I find it very sad when these books are bought by tourists and end up in europe somewhere they should stay here we need to build museums for the. Most minimal scene organs and. We continue onward these cotton fields white gold. Stand has long been accused of using forced labor in the cotton harvest they say thats no longer the case but taking pictures here is still prohibited. We wonder how carefully factory owners are monitoring compliance with labor laws. This new factory processes raw cotton into thread. The managers come from china the high tech equipment from germany built and run by the chinese with high tech equipment made in germany from Companies Recently bought out by the chinese only the workers and the cotton are from here. The railway. Free we invested here because the cost for water electricity gas and wages is much lower in speculate on that in china. The room tiriel cotton is also a lot less expensive here. I usually say to me you. China is buying high tech equipment from germany and cheap labor from pakistan. China is also benefiting from tax breaks. But what about the end product. One in geo that was back german forum for human rights claims that abuses are ongoing. Their companies from its own from around here are fortunately or where do you buy it from. Joy or what georges or from the state trade center that is that government sets the price you know why dont you. The chinese dont want to know more. The gone goes to factories to be manufactured into products made in china. Consumers wont be told where the cotton came from. Perhaps thats always been the case on the silk road. The value of the goods is what counts not where or how it was made. We continue onward to the bosphorus where asia ms and europe begins. The afternoon sun bays istanbul in a golden light. The rider on pommel has said that istanbul is marked by a special melancholy a kind of hazy memory of last grander coupled with decay 7. The last capital of the Ottoman Empire was a jewel on the ancient silk road the caravans arrived here filled with treasures that ended up in the citys palaces and bazaars. Candied fruit. Exotic fragrances. All that and more can still be found in istanbul spice market. Lulay isnt interested in that right now. Shes a natural optimist but today is putting a dent in that. She runs a shop in the asian market nearby the risen isnt going well after a few hours a custome