Camel caravans, which could cover distances from 30 to 40 kilometres a day, used to play a major role as a means of transport in the Mongolian economy and trade. Caravan leaders, whose living conditions were very hard and who had an important function in society, had to combine various skills with knowledge and experience. Caravan roads through Mongolia linked important commercial centres in the country with Chinese and Russian towns. Furthermore, they were used by European merchants for their trade with China.
Mongolia attracts tourism of diverse kinds, such as environment/ adventure tourism, historical tourism, ethnic tourism and cultural tourism. Museums and crafts play a major role in the tourism industry. While art forms such as painting, folk songs and dance flourish and are widely recognized in Mongolia, craft skills, which are vital for the country’s cultural identity, also need to be valued. The survival of Mongolia’s craft skills is threatened by modernization and changing fashions.
According to textual sources, Buddhism was introduced in Nepal during the Buddha’s lifetime, and there is some probability that the Buddha himself visited Kathmandu valley. A Nepalese chronicle states that during his sojourn in Nepal in the 3rd century BC, the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka also passed through Kathmandu valley.
The Nepalese valley of Kathmandu, which was situated on an important trade route between India and Central Asia, counts various sacred Buddhist sites. Due to the arrival of numerous Tibetan Buddhists from 1959 onwards, Mahayana Buddhism has flourished in Kathmandu valley, which is one of the four most important pilgrimage destinations for Buddhists.
In and around the Buddha’s birthplace in Lumbini, Nepal, several important archaeological sites associated with the life of the Buddha were discovered from the end of the 19th century onwards. Findings such as the pillars which were erected by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BC revealed important information about the birth and life of the Buddha. In the late 1960s, UN Secretary-General U Thant visited Lumbini. He subsequently called on the international community to develop the area into a pilgrimage centre.
After the birth of Buddhism, the new religion quickly spread to large parts of Central, South and Southeast Asia. Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha, was a very important pilgrimage destination from the 3rd century BC onwards. A pillar with an inscription erected by the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka in 245 BC identifies the spot where the Buddha was born. Lumbini was densely populated and much visited until the early Middle Ages. However, the site was concealed by a forest from the fifteenth or sixteenth century onwards.
The decorative arts and crafts in Kashmir, which was an important trading centre due to its strategic position on the land Silk Road, absorbed many foreign cultural influences. Kashmir’s history was marked by subsequent religious conversions. Following a Buddhist and a Hinduist period, Kashmir was ruled by Muslim Sultans who brought in artisans from other regions, for instance Central Asia. There were several stylistic changes and high points in the evolution of the decorative arts.
The study of Mongolia’s cultural ecology poses numerous difficulties, due to the size of the territory and the lack of archaeological and historical data. Cultural ecology analyses the interaction between humans and their environment, which is shaped by culture. It seems promising to apply a research strategy which uses tools from various disciplines. Remote sensing, for instance via satellite images, allows to examine physical and biological environments and detect traces of human activities.
Ancient ceramics, which are usually well conserved in tropical climates, constitute valuable evidence for the dating of excavation sites and the study of historic cultures and trade relations. Peninsular Malaysia was a stopover for merchants travelling from East to West and vice versa on the maritime Silk Road, and ceramics were also transported on the inland river routes. Excavations in Malaysia, especially in ancient ports, have revealed porcelain from various origins including China, India, the Middle East and several Southeast Asian countries.
Ancient Korea was renowned for its textiles. It was probably closely connected to the emergence of sericulture, which had its centre in China in the nearby Shandong province. The English word “silk” might have its etymological origin in Ancient Korean. The Korean language was influenced by Western elements which reached the peninsula through China and Mongolia.
