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Marie-therese Barrett
For Marie-therese Barrett's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
LIFE / Travel
Jun 28, 2000
Beguiling smiles along an ancient road
All Silk Roads lead to Xian, China's capital during some 2,000 years of its history and the cosmopolitan center of East-West trade during the Tang Dynasty (618-907).
LIFE / Travel
May 24, 2000
Echoes of Gandhara and ancient Rome
LANZHOU, China -- Four hundred kilometers from Dunhuang the Jiayuguan Pass, the "Greatest Pass Under Heaven," marks the old border between China proper and the Western Territories. The Chinese considered it the outer limit of civilization. In the 5th century B.C. the legendary Taoist master Laozi, aged 200 or so, rode his buffalo through the pass and into the sunset, leaving the "Dao De Jing" with the guardian of the gate. Three centuries later General Zhang Qian went by on his quest for the flying horses of Ferghana.
LIFE / Travel
Apr 26, 2000
Buddhist cave art and mummies on the Silk Road
An overnight stop in Urumqi (there's even a Holiday Inn) gives a chance to see the museum there at leisure. Especially the famous mummies, perfectly preserved by the dry desert air in the tombs of the region, and the variety of grave goods, textiles and designs in the tombs that testify to the mixing of races and cultures that took place in Central Asia.
LIFE / Travel
Apr 19, 2000
Kashgar to Turpan along the Silk Road
A journey on the Silk Road in the year 2000 is a less adventurous undertaking than when General Zhang Qian, the "Great Traveler," set off in 138 B.C. toward the unknown lands of Central Asia. His mission for the Han Emperor Wudi was to locate Western allies against the Huns and find the famous horses of Ferghana, swifter than swallows, that were to be exchanged for silk.
LIFE / Travel
Oct 9, 1999
Beijing throws new light on Silk Roads
BEIJING -- As China celebrates the 50th anniversary of communist society and evolves toward a more prosperous future, it is once again recognizing the value of its rich past.

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores