Study Journey
Silk Road Tour 2025
Lanzhou to Dunhuang along the Gansu corridor, in the company of caves, deserts and kitchens
Gansu corridor · Northwest China · Spring 2025 · 8–12 participants · Completed
About this journey
In spring 2025 we crossed the Gansu corridor from Lanzhou to Dunhuang, reading the route through Buddhist caves, imperial frontier works, desert water systems and everyday kitchens.
Bingling Temple on the Yellow River, ruined watchtowers, the painted caves of Dunhuang and hand-pulled noodles revealed one corridor carrying sacred art, state logistics and food culture together.
What we actually do
- ·Buddhist sculpture and cave painting at Bingling Temple and Dunhuang
- ·Watchtowers, passes and the material remains of imperial movement
- ·Roadside kitchens and the wheat-and-noodle culture of northwest China
- ·Desert ecology around the Gansu corridor and Crescent Lake
From the field
Swipe or drag
Practical
- Where
- Gansu corridor · Northwest China
- When
- Spring 2025
- Group
- 8–12 participants
- Languages
- English · Hebrew
Read first
Research
The Lotus in the Sands
How Buddhism travelled the trade routes into China — and how a Daoist caretaker at Dunhuang found the record of it behind a cracked mural.
Essay
The Elm Coins of Spring Hunger
On the young samaras of the elm tree: an ancient survival food turned seasonal delicacy in the cuisine of Gansu.
Essay
Yizhan: Notes from the Imperial Road
The relay stations of the Chinese Empire and the strange new life the concept has found in the modern world of logistics.
Completed
Continue along the Silk Road
The 2025 journey has concluded. Write to hear about the next west China departure or to discuss a route designed for a small study group.