I first came to Xinjiang in 1991 with a bicycle that I pedalled from Kashgar almost to China's border with Pakistan, a story that is told in my book Among Warriors. In 1993, 1995, 1997, and 2000, I returned to Xinjiang--sometimes to pursue an archeology project that used synthetic aperture radar to … [Read more...] about Vanished Xinjiang
Photos from the 1990s
culture
Vanished Xinjiang
Tibetan Nomads and the Permanent Camping Trip
By golly, I have pitched tents in some wild and wooly places. Once, while sneaking into forbidden Tibet Autonomous Region, I camped in a forest beside the Dri Chu river. Later that same year (1991), while biking the Karakorum Highway, I camped beside the yurts of Kirgiz herders. I’ve camped in … [Read more...] about Tibetan Nomads and the Permanent Camping Trip
Survival and Evolution of Sky Burial Practices
The Practice When I first saw a sky burial in 1997, what struck me most was how quickly it was all over: vultures devoured the man’s flesh in just thirteen minutes. The charnel ground (durtro or dursa) was set in a large fenced meadow with a few small temples and outbuildings, and a large circle … [Read more...] about Survival and Evolution of Sky Burial Practices