* M8 l$ C/ y l% K' B0 h9 p" `' D2 [ ' @- d) V1 j1 U! {* n; P2 ZA new customs compound is to open this year on the outskirts of Murghab. It will help speed the flow of Chinese goods.0 E) ]( Z, G( E x X
/ ?# c4 l* u* V6 oCentral Asia, says Gen. Liu Yazhou of the People’s Liberation Army, is “the thickest piece of cake given to the modern Chinese by the heavens.” 3 x8 s, [' |1 L F1 ^
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Kyrgyz shepherds in Tajikistan packed a Chinese solar panel. Chinese goods like clothing, electronics and appliances have lately flooded Central Asia.4 V' l5 R; q5 S }
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Chinese merchants have set up shops inside containers at a market in Kyrgyzstan, selling items like DVD players and stuffed animals. & f1 A8 \" c8 ~ p9 j; M W. X! k# L7 s4 W9 A , b; D. m' f) ^% [% ]; E9 `" N. rChinese workers building a road on the Kyrgyz side of a key pass between China and Kyrgyzstan, which until independence in 1991 was part of the Soviet Union. * W) ]% p! G/ n7 K5 h% Q $ F0 a4 M; R) j1 G8 K' k7 ^ 1 T$ o! Y$ {) E g) m A; ?
Students learning Mandarin at a Confucius Institute in Kazakhstan. China has opened several of the institutes to teach Mandarin in cities throughout Central Asia.
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