Silk Road Videos

YouTube:  The Silk Road I and II Playlists

YouTube:  The Silk Road I Playlist    See  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLILRQ_uVCaoOtZ6Q6egVvUyEMhbN7OG9y

The Silk Road II Playlist   See  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6PRUprO-7R06U-dSuUI7mxIxlcPkfZWo     

All Episodes are about 45 to 50 minutes in length.

“The Silk Road” is a documentary television series produced by Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) that first aired throughout the 1980s. The first series was jointly produced with China's CCTV, which began filming in September 1979. The 12-part series covers segments of the Silk Road within the People's Republic of China from Xi'an up to the Chinese borders with Pakistan and the former Soviet Union. It was first aired in Japan on 7 April 1980.

The second series covers segments of the Silk Road outside of China in the Indian subcontinent, Central and Western Asia, Caucasus, Anatolia, until the crew reached Rome, Italy. The 18-part series was broadcast between April 1983 and September 1980.

This documentary was made at a moment when China was just beginning its post-Maoist opening to the world, and before the dramatic modernization and development of China that has happened since then.   While the cinematography and narrative techniques of the series are slightly outdated, the portrayals of the Silk Road landscape are powerful.  The roads, vehicles and trains of  early 1980’s China, along with scenes of local markets and architecture, give the film-making an authentic “old Silk Road” flavor  -- in great contrast to the highly professional Chinese travel films being made today.

 

                                 The Silk Road Series I:  From Chang’an to Kashgar

To find any one episode on YouTube, you can simply copy the full title, as show below, and paste it into the Google search field: e.g., “The Silk Road II - Episode 2: The King's Road.”

The Silk Road I - 1 of 12 - The Glories of Ancient Chang'an

This first episode is both a portrait of the ancient city of Chang’an and introduction to the series as a whole and to Chinese history and culture.

The Silk Road I - 2 of 12 - A Thousand Kilometers Beyond the Yellow River

The second episode follows the camera team from the city of Lanzhou to the edge of the Taklamakan desert near Dunhuang, travelling rugged country with spectacular landscape scenes.  It shows the lives of traditional peoples breeding horses and sheep as they have done for thousands of years, while also showing ancient forts and monuments on desert cliffs. 

The Silk Road I - 3 of 12 - The Art Gallery in the Desert

 This video is a portrayal of the Mogao Caves, the interiors, and the surrounding landscape.

The Silk Road I - 4 of 12 - The Dark Castle

The Silk Road I - 5 of 12 - In Search of the Kingdom of Lou-Lan

The Silk Road I - 6 of 12 - Across the Taklamakan Desert

The Silk Road I - 7 of 12 - Khotan Oasis of Silk and Jade

The Silk Road I - 8 of 12 - A Heat Wave Called Turfan

The Silk Road I - 9 of 12 - Through the Tian Shan Mountains by Rail

The Silk Road I - 10 of 12 - Journey into Music South Through the Tian Shan Mountains

The Silk Road I - 11 of 12 - Where Horses Fly Like the Wind

The Silk Road I - 12 of 12 - Two Roads to the Pamirs


 

The Silk Road Series II:  From Kashgar to Turkey 

All Episodes are about 45 to 50 minutes in length.

“The Silk Road” is a documentary television series produced by Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) that first aired throughout the 1980s. The 18-part series was broadcast between April 1983 and September 1980.

The Silk Road II is a eighteen-part documentary series produced by Japan's NHK, exploring the western reaches of the Silk Road beyond China and Mongolia, eventually arriving in historic old Rome. The journey begins in the Pamir Plateau at the border between China and Pakistan, where The Silk Road’s Season One ended. Now the Silk Road crew explore different trade routes beyond China and Mongolia, journeying through Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Central Asian countries.

To find any one episode on YouTube, you can simply copy the full title, as show below, and paste it into the Google search field: e.g., “The Silk Road II - Episode 2: The King's Road.”


The Silk Road II - Episode 1: Across the Pamirs 

 Departing from Kashgar, the film crew crosses the Pamir Mountains – producing spectacular scenery of dangerous mountain trails, raging rivers, 20,000-foot peaks and immense glaciers. Heading into India, the trekkers follow part of the route taken by the Buddhist monk Xuan Zang, who went on a 17-year journey from Xian to India and back in order to gain access to original Buddhist texts and teachings not yet known in China.

The Silk Road II - Episode 2: The King's Road

The Silk Road II - Episode 3: Legendary Ladakh

The Silk Road II - Episode 4: The Travels of Xuang Zang in India

The Silk Road II - Episode 5: The Scorching Sun and the Southern Road of Iran

The Silk Road II - Episode 6: The Desert: In Search of Wisdom

The Silk Road II - Episode 7: Beyond Baghdad

The Silk Road II - Episode 8: The Road Vanished into a Lake

The Silk Road II - Episode 9: Across the Steppes

The Silk Road II - Episode 10: The Sky Horses of Davan

The Silk Road II - Episode 11: The Soghdian Merchants

The Silk Road II - Episode 12: The Glory of Samarkand

The Silk Road II - Episode 13: Across the Karakum Desert

The Silk Road II - Episode 14: The Other The Silk Road

The Silk Road II - Episode 15: The Caravans Move West

The Silk Road II - Episode 16: The Horsemen of Turkey

The Silk Road II - Episode 17: The Silk City at the Edge of Asia

The Silk Road II - Episode 18: All Roads Lead to Rome