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A man with a donkey cart beside Lake Karakul in China

© ALEX SIEVERS

Why the Silk Road?
The historic Silk Road trade network provides a namesake-worthy metaphor for the Silk Road Project’s vision of connecting artists and audiences around the world. Yo-Yo Ma has called these routes, which resulted in the first global exchange of scientific and cultural traditions, the “Internet of antiquity.” The Silk Road Project takes inspiration from this age-old tradition of cross-cultural exchange.

Our Photos

We would like to recognize the photographers whose images appear in our homepage photo sequences and to note the locations where these photos were taken.

Sequence A
Lake Sayram in Xinjiang, China
© Thomas Adolphson

 
A fortified gate in the city wall in Khiva, Uzbekistan


         
 
Students participating in The Stone Horse, Chicago, IL
© Todd Rosenberg
    
Assorted dyes and spices at market in
Aswan, Egypt
             

 
Wu Man, Joseph Gramley and Shane Shanahan
© Jennifer Taylor

 
Inside a Kazakh tent dome
© Thomas Adolphson
             

 
Boys in the streets of Guangzhou, China
© Thomas Adolphson
     

Sequence B
Silk Road Ensemble members in New York City
© Jennifer Taylor

 
A tambourine being played in rehearsal
© David O’Connor


         

 
Prayer flags in Tibet
© Thomas Adolphson
  
 
Women carrying water jugs in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India
             

 
A Tibetan monk on his cell phone
© Thomas Adolphson

 
Tibetan silks on display at market
© Alex Sievers
             

 
A Yao woman in Longsheng, Guilin, China
     

Sequence C
Students participating in The Stone Horse in Chicago, IL
© Todd Rosenberg

 
The Silk Road Ensemble at Tanglewood Music Center
© David O’Connor


         

 
A Tibetan pilgrim
© Thomas Adolphson
  
 
A Kyrgyz man at Lake Karakul, China
© Thomas Adolphson
             

 
Azerbaijani mugham vocalists Alim Qasimov and Fargana Qasimova
© David O’Connor

 
Arab carpets in a shouk
             

 
A view of Amber Fort in Amber, Rajasthan, India
     

Sequence D
Huang Long scenic spot in Sichuan, China
© Thomas Adolphson

 
Storyteller Ben Haggarty and Ensemble musicians
© David O’Connor


         

 
Close-up of a stone gate in India
© Isabelle Hunter
  
 
A woman with embroidered umbrellas in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
             

 
Close-up of a cymbal

 
Kayhan Kalhor and Colin Jacobsen © Todd Rosenberg/Sony BMG Masterworks

 
The Forbidden Palace Hall of Supreme Harmony in Beijing, China
     

Sequence E
Sand dunes in Dunhuang, Gansu province, China
© Thomas Adolphson

 
Silk Road Connect students dyeing with indigo
© Johnny Quinn Alston


         

 
Shikaras moored at a dock on Dal Lake in Kashmir, India
    
A Tibetan family
© Thomas Adolphson
             
 
A wall mural depicting Ganesh in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India
 
Wu Tong performing at Damrosch Park in New York City © Jennifer Taylor
             

 
A ger (yurt), a typical dwelling in Mongolia
     

Sequence F
Sketch of the Silk Road Ensemble by a RISD student
© David O'Connor

 
Kaylan Mosque, with minaret, in Bukhara, Uzbekistan


         

 
A view from Okayama Castle in Okayama, Japan
© Heidi Koelz
  
 
Sandeep Das and Mark Suter in a workshop at RISD
© David O'Connor
             

 
A site in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China
© Thomas Adolphson

 
Close-up of fabrics dyed with indigo
© Isabelle Hunter
             

 
Camels in the Sahara Desert
     


“Headlined by cellist Yo-Yo Ma – family from China, born in France – the Silk Road Project started as a sort of traveling festival. Sexy and sophisticated, it was a massive hit that tapped the zeitgeist of multiculturalism, world music and ethnic empowerment. The project is now a permanent institution of tours, recordings and a lot of great music and related arts.”
– PIERRE RUHE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution