Why did the prehistoric rock carvings appear on the desolate cliffs? What stories lie buried among the fragments of pottery jars from thousands of years ago? How did an ancient woman dead for centuries come to be known as the Belle of Loulan? What role have the twin cities on the Silk Road played in history? Why is Hotan jade so precious? Is the Gelanmu carpet really a gift from Heaven? How have the silent stone statues on the grassland survived the ravages of time? Will the world's only species of wild horse ever gallop freely again across the land where its ancestors once roamed? Why does China's western frontier have a city laid out according to the eight trigrams? How did the Fragrant Concubine get her name, and where is she buried? Whether you have been to Xinjiang or not, this book will, by take you there, give you the chance to sample the full features of Xinjiang.
Table of Contents
let belle of loulan guide the way
legends at the foot of the mountain of flames
the ancient city of earth buildings
In Search of the Slone Slakles' Ancestors
Stories Behind lhe Rock Arl
H~sleries of the Ancienl Temples
The Secrels of the Pollerv Jar
Flower Rains on the Silk Road
A Carpel from Heaven.
Beauiful lade from the Kunlun Mounlains
Bagua, lhe Eight-Trigram Cin
The King of Grapes
The Mystery of the H-agranl Conct,bine's Tomb
The Evolulion of the Przewalski's Horse
