Chasing History: Adventure in China & the Silk Road, Part II

Hey everybody, my name is Chase Pipes and you're watching Chasing History, brought to you by Arrowheads.com and Smoky Mountain Railroad Group. And we are on an adventure in China. This is Chasing History International, man. And we're checking out the famous Silk Road, or specifically one section of the Silk Road. And that's the Gobi Desert portion around Dongho. Now, Dongho is the place where Marco Polo, of all people, came and visited. This is the place where East meets West and West meets East. This is the furthest East that Westerners came and the furthest West that Easterners came. This is the central area, central meeting place on the Silk Road. This is where routes from North and South met and East and West. This is a huge junction area. We filmed a lot on this trip, so we had to break this episode up into two parts. So we're back now and we're going to explore the oases of the Silk Road. Not only were you traveling long distances and you had to have geologic markers to get you there, but you had to have a place to get water to survive. And with these places, you're not only nourishing your physical body, but your spiritual one itself. And we'll see in the places that we visit, some of the religious aspects were not only trading spices and goods, but they were also trading ideas and religious thoughts and beliefs. And they were nourishing the entirety of themselves. This is a really cool area that we're at. We're in the Great Sinking Sand Dunes of the Gobi Desert in China. And behind me is an incredible ruin that was discovered in the 1990s. First thought to be over a thousand years old, but later dendrochronology done on the wood showed that this ruin was a mere 128 years old. But still culturally significant to this period of China's history. This is the Medicine King's Temple. This area, this monument right here, was set up for the trade and exchange and the worship of certain medicinal remedies. This is going back to a period where, in Western culture, medicinal remedies and cure-alls were highly thought after. That was your only medicine. There weren't pills or pharmacies or anything like that. You took plants and roots and stuff, and you made your own medicine. In Eastern medicine today, that is still practiced. And this is an area which encompassed not only that history, but those practices as well. The technology doesn't exist at the time to perfectly preserve the paintings on the inside. There's beautiful paintings of tigers and of Buddhas on the inside of this temple. But the technology doesn't exist to preserve it. So this is something really cool that the Chinese government decided to do. Since they don't have the technology to preserve it, they decided to cover it up. To rebury it. To protect it. To leave it in situ. Not to mess with it. Until there's a time when the technology comes that they can excavate the site and preserve the awesome history inside. Maybe 50 years from now. Maybe 100 years from now. But that is intense patience. And some patience that a lot of American archaeologists don't really have. There's an idea in Western archaeology to dig it now. But in the years that are coming up, we're starting to see a lot of patience. More patience with American archaeologists. So that whole, let's dig it, find it, get it, is kind of going away. And now it's more, let's preserve something for future archaeologists to discover and dig. Because really, a lot of things are being found. But still, as evidence behind us, discovered in the 90's, man. Come on, dude, that's MC Hammer time. There's still stuff to be found. So we've got a lot of cool places to see. Come with me. We're going to go climb up these dunes. And we're going to go check it out. So we've got a long way to go. Let's go. Geologically, there was a feature here on the landscape where the Silk Road is. It's this singing sand area. Now, you know, these are sand dunes here. Insane. And this was one of the areas that kind of was the cause for the Silk Road. This was, like we were talking about earlier, another one of these geological markers in order to get from A to B to C. And this part that we're at, there's an oasis here called Crescent Moon Spring. What's really cool about this oasis is this oasis has been talked about literally for 1,500 years in the written record. To have a place, a spring no less, in the middle of the Gobi that's been talked about for 1,500 years in the written record? Oh, man, that is awesome. So come on, guys. It's windy. It's cold as heck today. We're going to go check out some more stuff. Let's go. Coming out of the great deserts, the great Gobi Desert like this, with all of its sand dunes and everything like that, travelers on the Silk Road will need water. They'll need resources. They'll need a place to go and rest and relax. And so what they do is once they came out of these great dune areas like this, they would come down and they would find themselves in none other than a beautiful island oasis. If you look far beyond, better paths and towns ahead. This is Dongguan. This is an area that Marco Polo actually visited on his travels into China. And this is the great oasis, the Crescent Moon Oasis, out of the desert. So I hope you can get some of the sound. The wind is real bad up here. This is just another great thing. I definitely need to get my coat on. So, man, let's go down to the oasis and check it out and see what there is, all right? Woo-hoo! Oases like this that we have here, which were vital links on the Silk Road, because these places were not only areas that they would congregate, but it was also areas that would protect you for your life. You know, I mean, you've got to keep thinking, keep in mind, you know, you're in the desert. There's no water. So it's areas like this that were vitally important to know where they were, their location, and to establish a good group of trade area in those parts of the area. And it would become a marker for your entire journey along the Silk Road. Not much remains of these ancient oases, and this is one place in which it does. You can see the dunes behind me and what's left of this oasis. There's still water here. There's just a little bit, but it's deep underground. So, come on, we're going to check out some more places on this trip. Behind me here is Crescent Moon Spring. Now, this area was once one of the most important stops along the Silk Road. For obvious reasons, it's water in the desert. But around this oasis was the home base of the Taos religion. This is where a temple was built. Taos is an offshoot of Buddhism. Now, this area is a very sacred spot, not only for this religious group, but also for the cultural history of China. And you can tell by the amount of people that's around this, it's a very, very, very popular tourist destination. So the thing with this spring is that its aquifer is draining. Through the use of the rest of the population in the surrounding area, the aquifer is dropping and dropping. This water, this spring, has lasted literally for 1,500 years in recorded history. And now, just a shadow remains of what it once was. But still, it's an incredible piece of history that you can actually go to a spot and look and see that this spot right here has been recorded in history for over 1,500 years. I mean, that's freaking awesome. So, one of the earliest birthplaces of the Taos religion is also here in this spring. So it shows that travelers on the Silk Road were not only trading silks and spices, but also ideas and religion. And were sharing these things and spreading them out as they traveled along the Silk Road. So come on, let's go check out some other stuff. The temple that you see behind me was built in 1726. If you come with me, I want to show you guys something really cool and explain to you about the importance of it. Come on with me. That means follow. Come on. We're going to go past all these people taking pictures. Of course, this is a national area, and this is an awesome place for photographs. But when you come here, you know, to this religious site, you get a real humble feeling. So forgive me for not being too excited about it. But this is just too incredible. Come on up here and check this out. If you see the roof tiles up top and the original paint that's still left, this site was reconstructed in the 1970s for people to come and to visit and check it out. Come on, let's go around back. You've got to understand, this site that we're at is a very special and very unique site because of the spring, because you've got an oasis here. And for anyone, whether it be a traveler or a religious pilgrim, coming to an area like this will see the importance of a place such as this. And when you look back behind us and you see this spring, this is the only water for hundreds of miles. And that in and of itself is incredible. And like we were discussing earlier, the aquifer in this place is dropping and drying up. But if you look down here, this is all that's left. It's just this little bit. A lot of people ask, you know, what's the importance? Why save historic places? You know, this has been a religious center since the early Han period. So, you know, you're looking at 200 A.D. And, you know, throughout the centuries leading afterwards, you know, this has been a religious center for many religions, including Buddhism and Taoist. So, you know, when you come to a place like this, you know, it really gives you a sense of humility and just a humble feeling. So I'm not excited, man. I'm just in awe. And that is why we save places like this. This is why we take the time to protect places like this for, you know, not just the historical significance of it, but to be able to come to a place and to be humbled and in awe of its beauty and of its grandeur. And this, without a doubt, is a beautiful and grand place. And that's why we save historic sites. So we're going to go check out some more historic sites along the Silk Road. So come on with me, guys. This will be fun. Behind me is Yongguan Pass. Yongguan Pass's importance on the Silk Road is it was a military defensive area. This was the area that all of the jade that was brought through from the north to go on to the Silk Road and eventually make its way further west and further east was brought through this area. You could not get to, you could not bring jade anywhere except through this one pass. If you look behind me here, we've got a big giant tower. And this tower, this is all that remains. This is it. You've got to keep in mind, guys, these structures are built of mud. You know, they're not built of granite or stone or stuff like that. These structures are in a very harsh environment. The only reason, the one and only reason that they've lasted so long is the amount of rain, less than one inch a year, falls in this part of the Gobi Desert. This is all that remains. But what the Chinese government has done is they've done something really, really cool. Come here, I want to show you guys something. This is a modern reconstruction of Yongguan Pass, of the entrance gate to it, and this whole facility that was here. And it was a very important military facility. And because of that, they've also recreated, come on, check this out, this is pretty cool. They've also recreated some very cool military tools, some siege tools. Tools like this, like a battering ram. This type of ram was once used during the Han period to breach defensive walls, gates to get through the cities. So these Hun and Mongol warriors that were trying to attack places like this, these are the things that they would make. Another thing that they would make is this, a catapult, where they would take stones. The basket's missing on this one. They would take stones, and they would set the stones here, and they would have a counterweight, and it would thrust and lift them up and launch them over the wall. Yongguan Fire Tower. Now, it's fire towers like this that were stationed on the highest points of the area. And what they would do is if travelers, well, all these posts were manned by soldiers, and they would have been strung just like Lord of the Rings. Remember Lord of the Rings, the fire towers from Gondor and all that stuff, you know, lit up and told everybody. Anyway, long story short, those towers actually existed, and this is an ancient example of those towers. Where we're at, we're in Dunhuang, and this is the place where literally Marco Polo went. This is the home of the Silk Road. This is where east meets west and west meets east. This is the place where it all came together. And today, in modern Dunhuang, it's still alive today. Only not with silks or with spices, but the markets are still alive today with dried fruits. And that is the primary industry that this area exports out is its dried goods. And you can see the best dried grapes, apples and pears and apricots that you can ever imagine. But these markets are still alive today, even after 2,000 years. It is really cool to go to a place and think that for 2,000 years, from the turn of the millennium all the way up through Marco Polo and me today, I'm standing in a town, in a place, in a village where this history has taken place. That's pretty cool. Let's check out some more. The Silk Road is more than just mere transportation of goods and bringing commerce. But the history of the Silk Road is all about peoples coming together, about east meeting west, and even in places as vast and as desolate as this, as where we are now, in the Gobi Desert. This is seriously the most remote chasing history we've ever done. And it's a fitting end for this part of this history. And I'd like to read you something. I'd like to read you a poem that I think would be very fitting for this end. I've been reading some Chinese poetry, and I found a poem in this book that fits the place that we were at. So the poem goes, The chopping and ribbon-shaped yellow river runs mountains high, Borders on clouds in the distance, How lonely both desolate town and towering mountains are. Don't complain, no green shallows for friends, Because the spring breeze being far from Yemen Pass, which is where we were. Which shows that no matter what in history, even your lives today, where you're living now, there will come a time, there will come a point, in which your house, your home, your office, your city, will be no more. And a new people will come, that will work and struggle, but at a place where once you were here. And it's wild to think and to imagine that where we are on this spot, thousands upon thousands of caravans, crossed, bringing trade, not only spices and silks, but also knowledge and medicine and understanding, and bringing us together, one planet. And to me, that's the story of the Silk Road, is us coming together. That's the whole reason why we do this, why we chase history. History is not only found in the United States or in Europe or in Africa, history is found all over the world. And even in the middle of the Mongolian Desert, or the Gobi Desert, you can find awesome history. So this is why we do this. This is why we chase history, man. So, thank you guys so much for watching. This has been a great trip, an awesome adventure. I'm ready to head back to the States. But most importantly, what keeps me going, and what should keep you going, is why we do this. Why do we chase history? Because how do you know where you're going? Unless you know where you've been. It's in studying and understanding the mistakes of the past that prevent the failures of the future. All of man's future lies in the past. If you understand how they succeeded, how they screwed up, and how most importantly, especially today, how they came together and worked together and shared knowledge, the better we can know and share those experiences in the future, the better we can get along, and the better we can have an awesome world that not only that we can inherit, but our kids and grandkids. History freaking rocks. Follow us on YouTube at Chasing History. Follow us on Facebook. And we will never, ever, ever be on Twitter. You know why? Because I don't like Twitter. That's why. History is awesome. Thanks for watching, guys. Yeah!