The modern day Silk Road starts in the city of Chongqing, where one of the century's most ambitious rail projects is underway. The Yu-Xin-Ou rail- a 11,179 km route takes up to 16 days to reach Duisburg (Germany) from Chongqing, compared to the 36 day container ship transport time. How will this change global logistics? Along with the hardware, China is also pursuing a strategy of cultural diplomacy, and no where is this more evident than in ...

Channel News Asia journeys to China's Western frontier- the restive Xinjiang, home to Uighur Muslim populations. For years, Beijing has struggled with managing this region. Now it is an important component of the Silk Road master plan, and massive changes are taking place to transform Xinjiang into a modern metropolis, and one of the largest special economic zones in China.

We cross China's western borders into the former Soviet Union state of Kazakhstan. (made famous by Borat) The grand plan is to create what Chinese President Xi Jinping calls” a market of unparalleled potential” with 3 billion consumers in Central Asia and China. Kazakhstan's leaders have bought into this vision and the country is busy constructing rails and roads as part of the Silk Road plan. But unrest stirs in some Chinese oil companies, w...

In the final episode, we journey onwards to Kyrgyzstan. A former important American ally, Kyrgyzstan has now closed its American air base. The country is now hosting several Silk Road projects, including gold mines, oil refineries, rail projects, Confucius Institutes, and thousands of kilometers of Chinese built roads. The Silk Road has brought wealth and prosperity to this impoverished former Soviet State, yet there is a growing trend of Sin...