This is the revised and expanded English edition of Baumer's "Geisterstaedte der Suedlichen Seidenstrasse Entdeckungen in der Wueste Takla-Makan," originally published in 1996. Since then, the author returned to his site for a second expedition and this is the result.
The site is the Tarim Basin, a part of China, though on the very edge, where a number of now autonomous states border. It is double the size of Britain, and is mostly occupied by the Taklamakan desert, one of the world's largest.
The sand has covered ancient oases and wealthy cities, riverbeds and lakes have long dried up, and here passed the southern Silk Road where, says the author, "in olden times, heavily laden camel caravans carrying precious silks moved along well-worn tracks and Chinese emperors' military posts protected the commercial routes."
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