Winds of the Steppe: Walking the Great Silk Road from Central Asia to China

Longue Marche #3

by Bernard Ollivier, Dan Golembeski (Translator)

Taking listeners from the snows of the Pamir Mountains to the backstreets of Kashgar—a Central Asian city that could be the setting for One Thousand and One Nights —to the Tian Shan Mountains to the endless Taklamakan and Gobi Deserts of China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Bernard Ollivier continues his epic foot journey along the Great Silk Road hoping to make his way to Han China and reach, at long last, the legendary city of Xi'an.

After traveling through a region dotted with former Buddhist shrines, Ollivier finds himself craving the warm welcome of Islamic lands, where, regardless of their culture or nationality, travelers are often treated as esteemed guests. Beyond the occasional vestige of the old Silk Road, Ollivier comes face to face with sites of religious significance, China's Great Wall, and of course thousands of everyday people along the way.

As Ollivier tries to make sense of his journey and find connections between these people's daily lives and the so-called "modern" world, he does so with a sense of humility that transforms his personal journey into a universal quest.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Memoir, China, History, Walking, Asia

269 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 17, 2020

Reviews

[Calzean · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book covers Ollivier’s last two years walking the old Silk Road. He walked for about 3 months each year so overall his journey spread across 4 years. His time for walking was limited due to the effort it took on his body and mind as well as the bureaucracy imposed limits of his visas.
The book is similar to the previous one but tends to be more introspective in the last part as he covers China where there is little to no trace of the Silk Road, his appearance is often not welcomed and he lacks the interaction with the locals that made his earlier walks interesting for himself and the reader. Still it’s an admirable feat of stubbornness and mind over body.

[Hal · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the 3rd book and final leg of the author's 7000 plus mile walk across Asia as he tries to follow the Silk Road. At 64 years old he is able to walk up to 42 miles in a single day while hauling his camping gear, water and supplies in a small cart. Amazing! He averages well over 20 miles each day in anything but ideal weather conditions, climbing mountain passes and just keeps on going.
The first half of the book is very interesting, but as he enters China on the final leg of his trip he becomes depressed. He does not speak the local languages and therefore can't have conversations with most of the people he encounters. At this point I began to hope he would finish the trip and therefore end my reading as soon as possible.
I'm debating whether I should read his first two books, but I'm sure they would be more interesting and upbeat compared to the last half of this book. Along with his native language of French he is able to speak Russian and English so he would be able to talk with people along the way during the first two legs of his journal (and the first two books).

[Joy D · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the third and final book about Bernard Ollivier’s memoir of his journey alone on foot following the route of the Silk Road. This installment covers his travels from Samarkand, Uzbekistan through Kyrgyzstan to Xi’an China. The account of his journey is interspersed with descriptions of the countryside, cultures and customs of the various groups of people he encounters, and history of recent changes in the region. He is better prepared for this trip, drawing on experiences of the last two. For example, he brought a carrying cart (which he calls Ulysses) with him this time and plenty of waterskins. He faces many challenges – weather, language, bureaucracy, altitude, fatigue, and isolation (especially in China where he did not speak any of the local languages though he was able to make a few friends along the way). His trip through the Gobi Desert was grueling.

He has a great sense of humor, and his writing gives the reader a good idea of his personality. Especially in the first part of his trip, he encounters much hospitality and helpfulness. His anecdotes about the people he meets are entertaining. Too bad he found so few traces of the Old Silk Road. At age sixty-three, he was not ready to fade into the background, as is expected from an aging person in his native France (and other western countries), so it was refreshing to go to a part of the world where older people are valued. He engages in some soul searching about why he wanted to take on such a daunting adventure. He was carrying on his (deceased) wife’s dream of traveling, getting away from the hectic world, and wanting to continue to live a full life in retirement. The total journey from Istanbul to Xi’an covered around 7400 miles (or approx. 11900 km) in four separate trips of three to four months each over the course of four years (1999-2002). It is quite a lifetime accomplishment. I always enjoy reading about parts of our world I am unlikely ever to visit and very much enjoyed reading these three books.

4.5

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bernard, and I along with him, have finished his long walk, 4 years along the Silk Road from Istanbul, Turkey to Xi'an, China. Reading his books about it have been rewarding in so many ways: the people he meets, the food, the scenery, his own musings, trials, tribulations, and joys. You truly do feel as if you walked every step with him - though without the sweat, blisters, dehydration! The only criticism I have: I wish some of the photos he took were included. I spent a lot of time diving deep into Google rabbit holes as I read thanks to the ease of doing so as I read the ebook.

[James Frase-White · Rating 4 out of 5]

A marvelous ordeal, and accomplishment by Ollivier. He is possibly the first person to follow the fabled Silk Road in its entirety. This vast wilderness, as well as the inhabited sections of this ancient highway between East and West is often a monologue inside Ollivier's mind. I often wished for accompanying photographs, of the vistas which he describes with sensual, visual beauty, as well as the people he meets along the way. Some folks, and the desert they live in seem to be disgruntled, if not rude, opportunistic individuals, and the hiker's mood sours with the discourtesy. Yet, other people greet him with kindness and interest. He describes photographing them, often with himself (at their request) and this reader longed to see the faces of this kindly, curious crowd. The book becomes not just a travel journey in time, landscape but of the human animal. I look forward to traveling back to the first two volumes of this trek, walking step by step with Bernard on this great journey.

[Eden · Rating 4 out of 5]

2021. bk 62. He did it! He finished the walk. It was interesting seeing the differences in cultures across the countries involved in Ollivier's travels along the old Silk Road, and interesting the note that the rural Chinese were the ones to least offer assistance. I was surprised at the large number of small restaurants that he encountered everywhere, except in the Gobi area. Ollivier's writings are such that I feel that I walked the distance with him. For those armchair travelers or those anticipating a visit to any of the countries along the path, I heartedly recommend these three titles. They will provide you with much needed information on what you need for the journey. Thank you Bernard Ollivier for sharing your adventure.

[Nelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Winds of the Steppe" is the final book in the trilogy describing the author's walk from Istanbul to China, following the Silk Road route. That a 62-year-old man was able to accomplish this feat, difficult and dangerous as it was, is amazing and even more so, considering the fact that much of his diet consisted only of boiled noodles, cooked over a makeshift campfire!

[Rick B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A marvelous conclusion to a marvelous three (3) volume travelogue about traversing 7500 miles along the Silk Road on foot. To accomplish this amazing feat is impressive, but it's the acquaintances and friendships established along the way that make these books so enjoyable. Well done!

[Rafael · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Come on. Let’s get going”

[Dottie (I'm not dotty) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author's memoir of his journey, with plenty in here of the peoples, the culture, the lands travelled, including the winds, the rain and the sun.

I really enjoyed this: walking the Silk Road is on my list of things to do.

[Canton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Formidable aventure en 3 tomes de l'auteur fraîchement retraité : marcher le long de la route de la Soie d'Istanbul à Xi'an. Il nous fait part de tous les aspects de son épopée : sa forme et ses transformations physiques, les routes et paysages traversés, sa fascination pour les caravansérails, son intérêt pour l'histoire et la politique, et ses rencontres dans lesquelles ils puisent son énergie. Le climat et les cultures changent au cours du périple. La fin de son périple en Asie Centrale puis en Chine est plus extrême, plus sèche, plus froide humainement.

[Sherrill Watson · Rating 2 out of 5]

See Hal & James' reviews.

I'm sorry that his family passed on, and so he determined to take this hike, but . . . I suppose some people are just driven. The first part of this book could have been titled People Who Fed Me When I Hiked, the last part, Chinese People Who Were Rude To Me. Perhaps if he had learned to speak their language . . . It took a chapter before I grasped who Ulysses was. I, too, would have liked photos; the cover photo was nice, but inadequate. Would have made a good two-part travelogue.

[pierlapo quimby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ollivier alla fine ce l'ha fatta.
E' arrivato a Xi'an, l'impresa è compiuta.
E come per lui è stato difficile percorrere l'ultimo tratto - l'entusiasmo iniziale si è raffreddato, altre questioni lo hanno distratto (e si sa che camminare richiede una testa sgombra) - anche per il lettore un po' di stanchezza è subentrata. La Cina attraversata ci ha delusi entrambi, niente a che vedere con le continue scoperte dell'Asia centrale.
Anche per questo complimenti vivissimi.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1998, the author’s wife had passed away & his children were adults, he decided to hike from Paris France to Santiago de Compostela, a journey of about 1500 miles. In doing so, he decided to help troubled young people find their way in society with a program of mentored hiking through an organization called Seuil. Olivier also decided to hike the 7500 mile Great Silk Road which he proceeded to do over the next 4 years, hiking in segments. This book is of the section from Central Asia through China. Pulling a modified golf cart which held his food, pack of clothes/tent and extra water, he headed out on this last huge section meeting the locals experiencing their food and culture, fighting bureaucracy of each region as well as the diversified weather, and the cities, mountains, deserts, plains. He occasionally stayed in hotels with modest amenities to rest/clean up but more often stayed in one room hostels, people’s homes, or camped wherever he could find a place to put his tent up.It is an incredible story of his strength both mental and physical as well as his resilience. Even through occasional illnesses (surprising that their weren’t more as he was in some of the most rugged areas he hiked and ate through), he prevailed. I found this book on Book Bub but definitely want to look for the first and second parts of his journey on separate books.

[Steve Majerus-Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bernard Ollivier's trilogy documenting his walk from Istanbul to Xi'an in China is at times breathtaking, at times irritating and frequently fascinating. Two decades ago, spread over the course of several years, a retired French journalist walk the route of the old Silk Road through Anatolia, Persia, the lands north of Afghanistan and across the immensity of China. Along the way, he saw all sorts of interesting sites and met a wide assortment of mostly friendly people. I don't envy his long journey across deserts, mountains and all manner of places in between. But I do ache a little at the sure knowledge that I will never see or experience anywhere near so much of the world, especially the spots where old ways are not yet stamped out. I thought the first two volumes were better than the one focused on China, partly due to his having less interaction with people in China, who were quicker to sell him things and less eager to befriend a foreigner traipsing through. But it all of it, I saw through Ollivier's eyes a vast stretch of the planet that seems ever more a marvel as I grow older and gain a greater sense of both the fragility of the earth and its utter timelessness. Thanks, Bernard, for taking us along on your amazing trek.

[Studebhawk · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Final Leg of the Journey
It’s with some sadness that I have come to the end of this marvelous journey with Bernard. His dogged determination, his irrepressible spirit serves to draw the reader in as he treks on the Silk Road path.
With every swing in his mood, you root for him to overcome his difficulties with every encounter with strangers. You can feel his fear of potential assault, robbery, or arrest by corrupt police officers.
For me, the best part of this series was his continuous narration of the history of the area. Even when the trail of the Silk Road disappeared, Bernard continued with a narration of the history of the surrounding area. As a lover of history, these are the moments I will miss now that I have completed this series.
There were times I wanted to reach for an atlas of the Silk Road route following along with the author’s journey. I imagine that Google Earth might be helpful as well. This series was a joy to read. I will miss reading about the adventurous journey. It was a journey well worth reading.
Thank you Bernard Ollivier.

[Gregory Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bernard Ollivier finalizes his trilogy with as much interest, excitement and intrigue as the first two books. They are non-fiction; they read like novels.
While Ollivier's travels through China - the second half of Winds of the Steppe - are not quite as interesting as those through Turkey, Iran and Central Asia, his struggles and encounters are. These books are a must read if you want to experience what one man achieved in his 60s, walking alone on a 6,500 mile road, making friends along the way, surviving incredible odds against weather and human challenges, against corruption at borders, and so on.
I found myself looking forward to reading passages each day, then mulling what was described. While I couldn't possibly understand the personal achievement that Ollivier created for himself, his fantastic journalistic ability allowed a little peak into that personal best!!!

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I happily write this review as I finish the 3rd book in this exceptional description of a 7000 mile walk tracing the ancient Silk Road. I feel like I have been on this adventure with Mr. Olliver , and whats a better recommendation to make, I don’t know . Besides learning much history of such an important human advancement, his story of the Silk Road provides mostly humane and kind involvement with a long list of interesting individuals…. Mostly just normal people of their land going along their daily routines. But as a strange tall “big nose”, stranger approaches their villages, he is welcomed, fed and given a place to sleep. Who would do that in the more industrial areas of the world? Mr. Olliver’s descriptions were fascinating , and the book was so well written, I didn’t want it to end. I Highly recommend all three books.

[Booknblues · Rating 4 out of 5]

Winds of the Steppe: Walking the Great Silk Road from Central Asia to China is the final book of the trilogy of books about Bernard Ollivier 4 year walk along the Silk Road from Istanbul to Xi'An, China.

As with the others it combines his travails while walking, meeting local people along the way and a good bit of history thrown in.

This last stretch involves 2 years, 2001 & 2002.

I love a book about slow travel and Bernard is a wonderful companion, although admittedly during this stretch he isn't at his peak, but I still loved following along with him.

[Carol Wakefield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating is for both the book and the journey. I happily read accounts of travels to places that seldom feature in books or in news. Here sections of the eastern countries that were once part of Russia and of western China are the areas crossed on foot by the author. Nice that there are adventurers who also write well and take readers to areas most of us would never chance ourselves. And most of who aren’t envious of slogging through 100 plus heat, heavy rainfalls, eating local foods of questionable origin, sleeping in seriously unclean rooms etc. thanks Bernard.

[LRKK · Rating 4 out of 5]

The end of the trilogy leaves the reader satisfied, but not wholly. The writing* here is more assured, more playful, a bit more reflect, but the story itself is the least interesting of the three. There are no signs of the Silk Road in China, and Ollivier has, simply, fewer interesting experiences here.
As a side note, I encourage the reader to supply the missing piece from this trilogy, a piece Ollivier cannot discuss. He mentions that his beloved wife died some years before his long walk, and the reader will benefit from realizing that she, and grief, are his constant companions.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the final volume of Ollivier's travelogue of walking the Silk Road - from Istanbul to Wuhan. It was written around 2000-2002 so some of his observations and the politics of the region will have changed. However all three of them are well worth reading.

If you like contemporary travel writing, I recommend them.

He wrote in French. I read the translations. But if you are so inclined I'm sure you can find the originals and read them.

[Jo Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

such a difference from a Walk to Samarkand. But none the less equally interesting. More melancholy and such differences in climate and countries! Melancholy because he didn't meet as many open and gracious peoples so the trip was more lonely. But the mountains and deserts were so very extraordinary. I think the mummified man lying in the ditch by the road said so much about disregard and compassion. It made me melancholy too. However a thoroughly interesting walking adventure.

[Sara Laor · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read the English translation. The book could have used heavy editing as it is sometimes boring. He walks. He meets people who may or may not be nice to him. He sets up tent. He boils food. Repeat. Not a lot of insight into the people he meets. Some mention of notebooks with foreign phrases written out for him (he mostly does not speak the languages of the people he meets), but little detail on actually how he made it all work. Specifics about the equipment, dehydrated food, etc.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the third book in Bernard Ollivier’s trilogy, which describes his attempt to walk the Silk Road from Istanbul to China. In this volume he starts in Uzbekistan and then walks through a bit of Kyrgyzstan and then into China. He is a 64 year old retired journalist. Ollivier started this unusual walk partly from curiosity and partly from a desire to spend some alone. The side benefit is learning about different cultures and developing friendships with the local people. It is a long journey, so he does part in 2001 and finishes in 2002. His biggest challenge will be in crossing the Gobi dessert. When he gets to Tufar, he flies home and then returns the next year to complete his walk.

The Chinese people are very different from those in the Middle East. As he crosses the border he finds many nationalities; many are people from the countries where he just walked. Most are Muslims. There are the usual complications at the border, of course. The people are generous at first until he is mostly with just the Chinese; they want to take advantage of foreigners. In the shops, the restaurants and the hotels, he is charged more than the locals. Language is more of a barrier here. He is lonely as finds few people to talk with. They call him “big nose” and don’t trust him.

Ollivier finds it harder to find vestiges of the Silk Road in China. Apparently, preserving it isn’t as important to them as it is to those in the East. But he does walk along the Great Wall for a time. He is lonely as language is more of a barrier. Fewer people are curious enough to come up to him. So he walks further every day than he did the previous years. In the Middle East, he occasionally found French speakers, but not here, although some are learning English and are delighted to find someone who speaks it.

Winds on the Steppes lacks some of the charm of Ollivierr's earlier books in this series. He might just be tired of the long and arduous walk, or he finds less charm in the sites and people. Perhaps it is that the Chinese people lack Middle Eastern hospitality. This volume is less chatty and less informative than the first two. Obviously he is tired of the whole project.

We listened to the audio book, in the car, as we ran errands. The narrator for the first two books, Nigel Patterson, had a charming French accent which was very appropriate for a Frenchman’s book. While listening to this book, I often wondered if the audio studio went out into the street and dragged in the first American man they found. His pacing and breath are all wrong. Yes, it is hard to replace a well loved and familiar narrator, but the studio did not try very hard.

Rating: 3+

[Feng · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting travel stories, despite vastly changed facts on the ground since the author's journey and at times gross generalisation by the author about China and Chinese people which many of us can also fall into such shortfall towards a foreign culture. You only see what you can see and want to see on a journey. Don't assume that's the whole picture.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

This spans two years of trips walking through China to complete his Silk Road journey. His struggles through China were more personal than on the previous installments and the people were not as welcoming. In a sense, I feel as if I've concluded the trek right beside him and that I've reached my own journey's end.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Final installment of the Long March series. While this book dealt less with the history of the Silk Road history vs. the other two books, the description of his walk through western China was engaging.

[Edward L · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Review

This final book in the Silk Road Series by Bernard Olivier a retired French journalist did not disappoint. It continues an odyssey that thrills the soul. Filled with interesting characters encountered along the way it excels.

[Ted · Rating 5 out of 5]

Olivier's third volume of his 4 year trek from Istanbul to Xian in the PRC. All this on foot, too. 1999-2002. Through Iran, Uzbekistan & Kyrgyzstan..

Interesting travelogue.