Asian Geographic Issue 04/2016 | Page 7

tribes and travellers Features HISTORICAL PHOTO OF SLAVES AND INDENTURED WORKERS, ‘CHINESE AND NEGROES’ OF BRITISH GUIANA (1870–1931) FEATURE 30 HERITAGE Pangaea, Dance of the Moving Continents The Tale of A Shifting Earth The lands of Earth are conducting a great slow dance – they come together and rift apart with titanic grace. Since the light rocks of the Pangaea continent separated from the heavier rocks of the oceanic crust, they have migrated around Earth in slowly shifting configurations. Today, we look at the familiar map and see the seemingly stable shapes of the land, but we are just catching a moment in a much more complex dance. 38 CULTURE In Search of Sweet Success The story of Fung A Pan and the Chinese cane reapers of British Guiana The sugarcane reapers of the early 19th century contributed in no small measure to the community of British Guiana, just as Fung A Pan and other Chinese coolies did. This is the story of one man from Poon Ye in Canton who travelled to an unknown territory in South America, and the story of his descendants today spread far and wide across the globe. 46 Reviving the Ancient Silk Road Kashgar as a key point in China’s ambitious plan Once a cultural pillar of Central Asia and a key point in the legendary Silk Road, Kashgar is today undergoing a socio-political and economical facelift, even as the Chinese government is looking to revive the ancient commercial artery as a way of expanding its influence across the region. BY ZIGOR ALDAMA BY KHONG SWEE LIN BY YD BAR-NESS AsianGeo @asiangeographic asiangeo.com On the cover “The Huli wig men of Ambua Falls, in the Tari Valley of Papua New Guinea (2010)” by Jimmy Nelson