This is a Chinese road block which is very common in the mountains here. The Chinese are building roads through Tajikistan and I've heard various reasons as to why the Chinese are building the roads. I've heard that they want to open a route to Europe and build roads all the way to Australia (ha...good luck with that one!). I've also heard that they are building these roads from Dushanbe to Garm to Gorno Badakhshan because they are hotspots for the start of a revolution and the government has no way to get tanks to these areas if it's needed. The Tajiks can't afford to build the roads themselves so they took a loan from the Chinese government on the condition that they must use a Chinese company AND repay the loan. The Tajiks are getting a road for the movement of goods and tanks and the Chinese are getting their money twice. It seems to be working for everyone involved.





This is what we do when there is a Chinese road...photo op! Look at that view! It looks like it's flat behind me but there is actually a SHEER cliff that drops all the way down to the river. If I took a step back it would be all over.

This is how the Tajiks wait while the Chinese build the road.

This is how the Chinese wait...ummm wait? Shouldn't they be working? Is that why I had to wait 2 hours?

This is a Tajik road block which takes a lot less time to clear.