Across The Steppes Of Central Asia

As I read this article, in my mind I heard the strains of Borodin's music.

Would you believe a seven thousand mile journey of freight trains carrying high value cargo from China west across Central Asia through Russia and Poland to Holland? It's happening. The economics of it are fascinating, but also what it tells us about developments in the heart of Asia.

It all began in the late nineteenth century with the Trans Siberian Railway. Propelled by long-forgotten wars.

Now the sinews of commerce are tying the region together in unimaginable ways.

And we knew nothing about it.