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Here in California, the term highway
means multiple lanes of traffic.
In Pakistan, however, the Karakoram Highway
is an entirely different visual.
It is rugged, like the people living alongside it.
It is actually part of the old Silk Route traveled
by the likes of Marco Polo.
And some of the traffic jams might caused by the nature
because Pakistan has a very dynamic geologic history.
And since Mesozoic, there were three microplates
in this area that collided with each other
to form all these different mountain ranges.
And the Pakistan part of Hindu Kush Himalayas and Karakoram
are among the highest elevated mountain ranges on earth.
So come travel with us along the Karakoram Highway.
See what it is like to travel along such a rugged route.
Come to the Hunza Valley and witness
the wives of miners being trained to cut
gemstones so they can move up the value chain
and receive more revenue for their natural resources.
Then, Dr. Tao, we will take them to the Swat Valley,
and they can witness mining emeralds
and see the rebuilding of people's lives
and their industries, including emerald mining
after the conflict of the Taliban ended.
This truck was stuck in a landslide
on the famous Karakoram Highway, which was the old Silk
Route to China.
Today this so-called highway stretches from Islamabad
to the China border and passes through the Gilgit Hunza Valley
gem-producing area.
For us to get from Islamabad to the Hunza Valley,
it took 17 hours straight traveling by Jeep
along this road, where landslides
were common due to the collision of the Hindu Kush, Karakoram,
and Himalayan mountain ranges.
It was truly a joint effort for all these people trapped
along the roadside waiting for this truck
to get out of the way to push it through and clear the path.
I witnessed in the Hunza Valley the Rupani Foundation training
the wives of miners to cut rubies
and other gems mined there so they
can move up the value chain and obtain more revenue
from the natural resources.
I was one of the first to enter the emerald mines of the Swat
Valley after the Taliban was forced out
by the Pakistani military.
No explosives were allowed at that time,
so they were mining using a jackhammer
to break the schist away from the tunnel walls
and then further break it apart by hammers
while looking for emeralds.
Emerald mining is one of the industries that
is rebuilding this conflict-ravaged area
and rebuilding the lives of the people in the community.
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