Silk Road Travels The Artists of the Silk Road – Beziklik & Dunhuang By Chris Devonshire-Ellis The Silk Road has long held a fascination for travelers ancient and modern, and with the summer vacation now nearly here now is a great time to head off along the original route from Shaanxi Province, then east to Gansu and Xinjiang to go and see some of the most enduring features – the religious art painted in caves by those travelers long ago. From the China end, it’s best to start in Xi’an, where restaurants still serve “Shaanxi Beef Noodles” that have made so many think of the Italians – and of course Marco Polo. Freshly made, it’s an acrobatic dance to see the vendors toss their noodles in the air, gradually teasing the long strands of flour and water paste into six feet long strings, slung around their shoulders, before they are boiled, steaming, and served with a local sauce. Italy, really, doesn’t seem so far away. Xi’an itself has undergone a Rennaisance these past few years, with ancient pagodas and the city walls, impressive all, rubbing shoulders with the new, but classically designed buildings meant to show off Xi’ans proud history as an ancient capital. Just an hour away, too, lie the famed Terracotta Warriors, but it’s the silk road we’re on, and we must head west. The genes of those who ended up here having traveled east – from Persia, Arabia and Central Asia – still live on in Xi’an – blue lanterned restaurants denote Halal restaurants – prepared according to the Koran, these temples of central asian delights serve bowls of spiced lamb, aubergines and thick red beef tomatoes – along with nan breads, more noodles and if you’re lucky, still sticky sweet cups of Arabic coffee. They’re run by the old silk road decendants, and you can see the wild almond eyes of their predecessors within the dark complexions and skull caps. But we’re headed for Dunhuang, further west in Gansu, via Lanzhou. Much has been written about Dunhuang, the ancient scrolls found in one of the caves, the cave paintings, and really it’s the latter that impresses. A collection of Buddhist, Christian, Zororastrianism, Manichism traders and holy men, all faced with having to cross the Taklimakan, and it’s spirits, thieves and shifting sands, no wonder they congregated here to seek heavenly assistance. For the Taklimakan looms large here. Just some 200 km further west, it’s a nasty, gritty, searing furnace of a desert, with hot winds whipping over from the Mongolian Gobi, it’s shreds of sharp granite crystalised rocks spearing the unwary camel or horse, it’s not a place man is meant to be. It devours, and kills, and has done for time immemorial. Sometimes it teases, and enterprising souls set up villages, even towns. Yet 50 years they are covered again, their well source suddenly dry, or their life giving stream suddenly moved. The Taklimakan is a chess board for demons, and here in Dunhuang the humans play their religious card as a kind of hopeful joker against the worst the demons can do. For carved into Dunhuangs sandstone cliffs are nearly 500 caves, three-four tiers deep, spread along a cliff face for over a mile. Some are a hundred feet up. All carved out by the pious, the devout, or the merely very afraid, their interiors are covered with scenes of religious icons, a thousand Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Hindu angels, Tibetan demons, John the Baptist, Lotus flowers. The influences of central asia run deep here, China, India, Persia, the tribes of central asia all came this way and left their destiny in their deities hands. But not just the gods were depicted. Everyday scenes, of women dressed in silks, noblemen, and traders, Arabs with hooked noses, Europeans with big ears, Africans resplendent in lion skins, turbaned muhgals, and Chinese princesses are all escorted by elephants, peacocks aplenty, and in one cave, a giraffe. Camels of course, and horses, and game birds. Strolling along from cave to cave, the ancient pigments come to life, malachite green, ochre, lapis lazuli all depicting life on earth, and to some extent, hope for paradise. Knowing that death may be near, the hopeful painted scenes of flowing waters, flying asparas, and bountiful forests full of fruit. Crossing the Taklimakan – well that’s been partially tackled in the June issue of China Expat (see archives). But well on the way to Turpan, where the finest wines in China are grown (see China Expat, April 2006 issue) and en route to Urumqi, we stop off at the wonderfully named Beziklik. Set on an outcrop of rock, funneled out amidst previously rampaging summer melt waters flushing out annually the Flaming Cliffs, bright red earth and iron ore burns your eyes. At sunset, it seems the very land is grilled, a dry steak, scorched by the desert sun for the giant demons of the desert. But those deep water eroded valleys are what gives Beziklik life, for they still trickle water, and around grow almonds, poplars, berries and herbs. Smaller than Dunhuang, and consequently not as well known, Beziklik seems instead of Dunhuangs inherent dread, to be more a celebration of life. And it too, has caves. Monks still live here, and the chanting of mantras at this peaceful spot are more evocative than Dunhuangs curious tourists. Again, the Buddhas, Boddhisattvas, Hindu angels and Tibetan demons return, carpeted on beds of lotus and rose petals. Beziklik commends survival – you’ve crossed the desert, and lived. And the ancient paintings, terrifying as some of the images may be, by now seem friendlier, and forgiving. You crossed the Taklimakan, and survived the test they set in Dunhuang. The noodles later tonight will taste really good. Chris Devonshire-Ellis has traveled extensively in Central Asia & Xinjiang Province in China. This is the first of a summer series in which he will write about the silk road. Recommended Resources: Colin Thurbron, “Shadow Of The Silk Road”, Chatto & Windus 2006The Beziklik Thousand : www.meshrep.com/chinatrip/bizeklik/bizeklik.htmInternational Dunhuang Project: www.idp.bl.ukBuddhist Art From The Silk Road: www.textile-art.com.dun1.htmlChina Expat archives: April 2006