No. 125 • SPECIAL EDITION 2017–revealed
28 Walking the Wilds
Sarah Marquis discusses walking
around the world – solopicturesque
14 The Great Explorers
Journey along the Silk Road, the
Great Wall, into the Mekong, and
in the footsteps of Zhang He and
Marco Polo
BY MICHAEL YAMASHITA
reflections
26 Voyages of Discovery
Trace the routes of some of
history’s geographic pioneersnature
30 The Ghost Lands
The Lyakhovsky Islands are home to
a high concentration of mammoth
remains, drawing tusk hunters and
palaeontologists to these shores
BY JEAN-FRANÇOIS LAGROTscience
40 The New Space Race
China and India vie for supremacy
in the region’s space exploration
programmes – from the Moon to Mars
BY NAMRATA GOSWAMIheritage
48 Making Tracks
The world’s longest railway traverses
Asia. In celebration of its 101 years,
we explore the legacy of the iconic
Trans-Siberian Railway
BY SOPHIE IBBOTSON, ANNIE LINGculture
58 On the Silk Road
A caravan of camels crossing the
desert is the epitome of the Silk Road.
But why were they journeying?
BY SOPHIE IBBOTSON, MICHAEL LEEcare
88 Tuk-Tuk Adventures
Follow the escapades of a tuk-tuk
fundraising initiative
BY HASTINGS FORMANChairman
LIM Geok KhoonPublisher/editorial direCtor
John THET • [email protected]
editor
Alex W. CAMPBELL • [email protected]
assoCiate editor
Ian BONGSO-SELDRUP • [email protected]
online editor
Hastings FORMAN • [email protected]
senior GraPhiC desiGner
Shellen TEH • [email protected]
ContributinG desiGner
Tin HTWE • [email protected]
Web/it
Dutch CATALON • [email protected]
aCCounts manaGers (reGional)
Desmond HO • [email protected]
Anne LOW • [email protected]
events & marketinG exeCutive
Spencer NAH • [email protected]
senior manaGer
Victor OW • [email protected]
oPerations exeCutive
Kaero TEO • [email protected]
editorial intern
Sarah CHEW • [email protected]Contributors
Namrata GOS WAMI, Sophie IBBOTSON,
Jean-François L A G R O T, Kris LEBOUTILLIER ,
Michael LEE, Annie LING, David RENGEL,
Aaron “Bertie” GEKOSKI, Michael YAMASHITA
Editorial Submissions • [email protected]
Subscriptions • [email protected]
Feedback • [email protected]ASIAN Geographic is published bi-monthly by Asian Geographic Magazines Pte Ltd, 20 Bedok South Road, Singapore 469277
Singapore Tel: +(65) 6298 3241 Fax: +(65) 6291 2068 • Email: [email protected] printed in Singapore by KHL printing Co pte Ltd58Contentspassport
10 2 A Step Back in Time
BY ALEX CAMPBELLicon
11 2 Zheng He
BY HASTINGS FORMANMeMories
10 8 On the Roof of the World
BY SARAH CHEWIMAGE © MICHAEL LEEexpeditionS issue