Significance of the Title

The Silk Road was the ancient network of trade routes that once linked China with Central Asia, India and the West, carrying silk, goods, animals and ideas across thousands of kilometres. The title fits the extract in several ways. The author's own route towards Mount Kailash follows these historic tracks: at Hor he rejoins 'the old trade route from Lhasa to Kashmir'. History surfaces along the way — the fierce Tibetan mastiffs were carried along the Silk Road in ancient times as tribute to China's imperial courts. And the author points out a modern twist: the cheap striped plastic sheeting lining the Darchen café is today 'one of China's most successful exports along the Silk Road'. The title thus links the author's small personal …