Legendary silk road was one of the wonders of the ancient world now this trade route is being brought back to life. The new silk road is a vast undertaking and a demonstration of power and might. Hundreds of billions of euros are flowing into new infrastructure right away lines harbors streets bridges and tunnels in 65 Different Countries its a project the likes of which the world has never seen. Its a powerful vision and for many an inspiring one for some it brings opportunity for others misery. The new silk road a testament to chinas revived ambitions on the global stage. Just 40 years ago this was a market town today shenzhen is a high tech metropolis with more than 25000000 residents china silicon valley. Look littering metropolis brimming with confidence is the face of the new china an ambitious china with eyes clearly focused on the west. And the way there is the new silk road we retraced 2 routes overland and city from the chinese city of shenzhen to the german city of do sport. What lies behind chinas grand ambitions what transformations will base root bring and how will these changes be felt in germany and western europe. I boarded a train from shenzhen headed west through the night in my restless sleep the sound of the wheels on the tracks conjures up the plot of the camel caravans that once traversed this route. The train is scheduled to arrive in didnt one at 6 30 in the morning. But it pulls into the station half an hour early. China has taken many by surprise in its hurry to reach the west. As day breaks in doing the sand dunes slowly emerge on the horizon as though they are born anew every morning. A lizard searches for warmth. The daily throngs of Chinese Tourists are about to arrive. There are camels here too an echo of the ancient trade route. They greet the crowd with patient indifference. Laden with chinese vacationers the caravan heads out toward the do its for tourists this is like a journey into the glorious past a time when china was a global power. Centuries ago traders brought silk jade spices and gold along this. Route the old silk road link the east and west on what was a perilous journey inside these caves frescoes tell tales of the old silk road one shows traders from central asia being ambushed by bandits. The traders prey to buddhist gods and are saved. The frescoes are a distillation of the influences along the historic trade route the goods came from some are conned the style of painting from ancient greece and the buddhism from india. Fungi and she directed the conservation of the caves and their friends goes and has spent her life learning from them. The exchange along the silk road enriched arjen life in china its good to learn from each other and be open thats how the world should be today to. Suit their hunting. But do long not only recalls chinas former greatness it also reminds us of one of the countrys greatest humiliations in the early 20th century european colonial powers robbed the caves of important manuscripts and scrawled paintings which are now held in museums around the world in a surprise 2000 at the time the tonight history was in decline and because chinas government was so weak the european researchers simply ignored the order not to remove the treasures from the caves so. 6 for china it was an arduous ascent from the plaything of the west to a new global power that is now extending its reach westward. In doing hong we see the ideological foundations of the new silk road a longing for the past grandeur and superiority over the west that was taken for granted by chinas rulers for thousands of years. Our trek continues following the path of this mega project that china plans to extend halfway around the globe. We passed the jade gate the past that was once at the frontier where china ended and central asia began. The tang dynasty poet wang wei once wrote if you go further west you will see no more friends. For centuries chinas harbors have been its great ways to the world and those gateways have only grown. We board a ship to embark on the next stage of our journey along the maritime silk road. The harbor is enormous spot its just one of many in the country of the worlds 10 largest harbors 7 are in china. Some 25000000. 00 containers pass through shen gens harbor each year filled with goods headed around the world. Chinese tourists are flocking to new destinations too as we discover on our 1st stop the city of sihanoukville in cambodia. Its become popular with chinese looking for a beach vacation. Its a leisure paradise with all the sun sea and shopping they could hope for the. Place. For many locals the sudden tourism boom in sihanoukville is a very mixed blessing people like sri german and business say they now feel like outsiders in their own home. From borno but its terrible with all the chinese here theyre so badly behaved theyre going to let my pet nobody that are friends dont want to come here anymore there are too many chinese in just one year everything changed im a templemore the chinese have taken over our city how long now matter how much. It does. Appear that a takeover is underway chinese Construction Projects are transforming for city. Ville has practically vanished. Workers materials and plans for new projects are all imported from china how did this happen. Political scientist diviner of chang is one of the few cambodians willing to speak openly about the topic. And the chinese. Government. Says through certain. Process its not really transparent. We dont know much what. The chinese are here in force and locals are being crowded out we meet in the center of the city he used to run a small restaurant here but recently he had to give it up a Chinese Investor is building a hotel in its place. Rents downtown are soaring but the prices the chinese compay on affordable for locals like this now everyone he talks to has bad news for him. I saw your side. I 30000. 00 a month. There is no way i can pay that kind of rude not to mention water and electricity on top of it and i still havent paid my Children School fees only chinese can afford these rates soon there will be only chinese restaurants for chinese customers we cambodians dont stand a chance you. See in oakville used to be a sleepy place. Thats all changed is specially at night. The mood has shifted in the city there are more drugs on the streets more violence and a sense of unease disputes around between locals and Chinese People foreigners prefer not to acknowledge the situation directly but they have put more police on the streets. Out of what they call. In the presence of our camera team the police dont treat the locals and the chinese any differently but rumor has it that a small bribe can help brush matters under the carpet. But the crime is on the rise thats true but we have things under control and response with lee when theres a problem cambodians and chinese dont really trust each other but thats not a big deal but sometimes theres a brawl and some chinese drive when theyve been drinking. Along with drinking theres a lot of gambling gambling is illegal for cambodians for chinese as well but only in china so some 80 casinos have sprung up overnight in c. And who fill huge sums of money are changing hands little of it trickles down to the locals which adds to the tension. When live by the reason issue and say are not real its there they stir. The nationalist sentiments they get china. And this has been spreading very fast because china is the new chinese to cambodia similar to other parts of the world they dont add that to local culture different from my chinese 18. 19 centuries. Which are willing to learn local language. To create it to a local culture theres little sign of that here. I. See a new film is becoming the backdrop. Locals a chance to extras while the leading roles of played by the chinese. They enjoy freedoms that are often denied them at home. In china life is stricter and more regimented especially in the weaker region the city of cash car was once a major hub on the ancient silk road. For the caravans was a fabled stopping point marco polo praised the citys size and great beauty catch cars traders he wrote travelled the entire world to cross the karakoram mountains to the south and the t. On Shan Mountains into central asia because car was always special and it still is. The region is part of china but the majority of people are weaker a Muslim Minority that is deeply mistrusted by beijing. In front of one of the gates to the old city some people are performing a traditional weaker dance its popular with visitors from the rest of china. After the performance we approach one of the dancers and ask what he thinks of the city carter the Carter Center ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. He tells us that life is good here but then we were interrupted a man comes over and stands in front of our camera to provide. This from talking. To the elderly man is intimidated by him and leaves. The cosmopolitan cashcard of old has become a city where mass surveillance is the norm hour car is followed constantly. Police and state Security Forces monitor our every step and everyone we want to talk to. Chinas leaders see religious extremists lurking everywhere they shut down mosques and when allowed to remain open then only as museums. Some of the old city has already been demolished with more to follow. For weaker culture its a terrible loss. We were here 2 years ago as seen in this footage surveillance was widespread even then but we werent permitted to film in the old city now its off limits. Back then we saw how much care went into maintaining the old mud brick buildings. That. We also met a potter who lived and worked in a 400 year old house. Shaping the local clay on the wheel firing it in the kiln is a skilled craft and has a long tradition here. 6 just sit there with my started here when i was 5 in the meanwhile i spent 50 years of my life in this workshop my family has been doing this for 6 generations. Tore soon soon told us that the chinese authorities plan to demolish the Old Buildings here all in the name of progress. That it was good there are rumors that they want to change the district which they told me that ill get a modern building and i told them that wont work but i cant make my pottery in a modern building. Because im in luck. On this trip were not permitted to visit him and his family we dont know if his house is Still Standing or how he and his grandchildren are doing the grandchildren he hoped would follow in his footsteps. Everywhere we look the old weaker city is being torn down to make way for a new chinese one. Human rights organizations estimate that up to 1000000 we are being held in socalled reeducation camps anyone who gets too close to one of these camps is forced to turn around or. China is venturing even further into other lands but it fears the influence of anything they see as different or foreign the country wants the Free Exchange of goods and capital but not of people and ideas what is happening in cashcard bodes poorly for chinas plans along the new silk road. China is seeking what is in short supply at home like wrong materials for its burgeoning industry that greed is difficult to quench on board a ship filled with 15000. 00 containers we continue our journey along the maritime silk road. The next destination is myanma for decades it was a reclusive country that shunned outsiders but now it has become to draw more visitors keen to explore what the country has to offer for example from the arab. Audience. That. The wide expanse that im fells beneath has testifies to a rich history one of ancient kings and lost empires. We continue from bug on along the irrawaddy river to mandalay another city steeped in history. Life here can be a struggle coach oh who wants to sell vase rock for the equivalent of 50000. 00 euros its wrong jade a coveted natural resource. Man man has the worlds richest jade mines in the north of the country jade miners work on the often desperate conditions thats not important to the bias here they care only about the stones quality. Last not least of much of the shot fired by the local g. M. According to the carrier by cutting back at the get off. That outcome of the bailout they drive a hard bargain they always give you a rock bottom bed want to ask 4100000 they are 20000 at most not a little and they wont go higher than 30000 but they never lose they always win thats how it is we lose the day when. You go to buy a day he means the chinese man delays jade market is in chinese hands from the raw stones to the finnish jewellery jade has been an important part of Chinese Culture for thousands of years. Coach or who is a middleman he wont reveal who sent him or how much he earns from the deal. He tries a 2nd sound this time with rings. But here too hes turned away. That. The chinese buyers are usually operating as middlemen to the actual customers are back at home in china. The rising chinese middle class is a hungry for status symbols the bids come by smartphone the online trade is a duplicate business. Was free trade were unlocked we have a direct link to china thats good because the people in line dont know much about j. And cant judge quality we bring the jade with us when we fly home but taxes are high and that gets to ducted from our profits if were wearing the necklaces or rings when we arrived we dont have to pay any taxes its a coach who finally manages to celebrate split but he has mixed feelings about the business. That will find out that all over the course its sad like were selling our countrys treasures but theres no other way. Theyre very strong and were weak we need money and the chinese have money that ive got. In china jade is a symbol of good fortune as we watch the trading it does almost seem as though good fortune is leaving myanmar for more prosperous shores. We go north to the catch in hills theyre rich in jade mines and other resources that are highly sought after by myanmars powerful neighbor entire villages have been displaced and the lives of local people disrupted. I. Thats whats happened to da job shes brewing a traditional drink thats believed to ward off colds menstrual complaints and impotence but its useless against johns current situation. Well i know that much but no medicine can fix our situation if we had a medicine that could do that full leave me i would brood every day. They gave over about you know i would give it to everyone free of charge he should know yeah it isnt about the guy but its not that simple needing to be paid on. Instead local people have launched a protest movement. That signed some posters say no damn no no. Charles have not tried china has back to the construction of the launch dam projects near the source of the irrawaddy river many local people oppose it. Genius or somalia that we join irrawaddy river is our lifeline it looks as though our own blood flows through it this river has to survive no one should be allowed to destroy it. Were fighting for the river and for ourselves we dont want. That battle is directed at this enormous concrete and steel structure rising from the water. Its the 1st stage in what was to be a major dam project 90 percent of the hydro power generated by the dam was to have been exported to neighboring china. The final cost of the project would have run into the billions. In the face of vehement opposition yet mans government agreed to suspend the project march to the dismay of beijing. Johns entire village was resettled to make way for the dam so theyve come back to take a look at the pain they feel about being forced to leave their homes is still fresh. No no no. Well this is where we lived going back generations in peace and quiet. Then they made us leave they still wont let us return because no one knows what will happen to the project. Im afraid will never be allowed to come back you know the chinese wont give up until they get their dam one day all of this will be underwater and gone forever. I mean. China is an economic powerhouse the country we own is enormous financial clout and money brings political influence its hard for poor countries to assert their interests sri lanka is another case in point. At 1st glance all seems peaceful at this beach resort. With the breeze coming off the indian ocean the days seem to pass at an unhurried pace. Down below pushback amati is walking through his plantation. Hes always been a melon fama but he too was forced to move. I mean the middle of the jungle this is where im supposed to farm my fields in the middle of nowhere i used to have a good piece of land now its a horror. Film his life has been turned upside down along with many others who used to live in. The hopper expansion projects. One adopt their farms the villages protested to no avail and the promises to compensate them came to nothing. And. They never told us the truth. They took our land and said wed get jobs in the port. But the chinese have no work for us farmers they only have jobs for their own people. They are in control here no. I dont know that im. Sure lanka is heavily in debt it gave china control of hambantota on a 99 year lease in return the chinese cancelled a dent worth 1100000000. 00 the deal is controversial and rife with rumors some say beijing is planning to build a military base at this strategic location we are unable to find out more about whats happening at the port the visitors station was recently declared off limits to foreigners aloso good money when we go to the viewing point. Very clearly theres a viewing point but here in tokyo. Thats ok if you can live through a series of god thats over here. The port is big but its not as busy as china had hoped thats why a new directive was issued as a job creation scheme every car imported by sri lanka must enter through the ports of hambantota. Even if the destination is on the other side of the country. One man is behind much of this mind rajapaksa. During his tenure as president of sri lanka he promoted deals with china. Rajapaksa i was born in a small town and the hambantota district. He initiated many expensive Infrastructure Projects with little oversight now his home district has freeway overpasses with next to no traffic and roads that the rest of the country can only dream of with more livestock than vehicles on them. There is a Convention Center that lies unused. At the hospital with doctors or patients all paid for with loans from china. Has been studying the situation for years hes dismayed by water lanka has done for example they are giving us a little one of 600 rupees and they are taking 92 pieces of that back to themselves and on top of that we are paying in interest its like i go to the bag i take a loan and the band to me look ill give you a 100 piece but you have to build your house according to this this and this and he had to buy all the bricks from me to take my people. And what it thats what is happening and then the 20 percent interest on top of that is where it i