Gen Z rises, turning on Asia’s ‘crazy rich’

(SCMP/South China Morning Post) Corruption all over Asia

(Movieclips) Crazy Rich Asians eat lunch

Crazy Rich Asians | Crazy Rich Asians (novel)

Dried plants bring dead land to life

Vegetation restoration and its environmental effects on the Loess Plateau, China (MDPI.com)

How could dead and dried plant matter bring a mountain and a dry, dusty desert plateau back to life, making a wasteland lush with green plants and a restored ecosystem after its manmade ruin?

The Loess Plateau [a] is in north-central China. It is formed of loess, a clastic silt-like sediment formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. It is located southeast of the Gobi Desert and is surrounded by the Yellow River. It includes parts of the Chinese provinces of Qinghai, Gansu, Shaanxi and Shanxi [4].

The depositional setting of the Chinese Loess Plateau was shaped by the tectonic movement in the Neogene period, after which strong southeast winds caused by the East Asian Monsoon transported sediment to the plateau during the Quaternary period [5].

The three main morphological types in the Loess Plateau are loess platforms, ridges, and hills [4], formed by the deposition and erosion of loess.

How could dried plants give life to dead mountain?

Most of the loess comes from the Gobi Desert and other nearby deserts [6]. The sediments were transported to the Loess Plateau during interglacial periods by southeasterly prevailing winds and winter monsoon winds.

After the deposition of sediments on the plateau, they were gradually compacted to form loess under the arid climate [4]. Loess Plateau

• What is permaculture (permanent agriculture)?
• Sustainable agriculture is planning ahead

What's happening in the world?

(DemocracyNow.org) World headlines for May 30, 2025

• Incredible Stories, May 29, 2025;Kelly Ani, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit

China: world's biggest gold deposit? No

African Mansa Musa would laugh in his soup at calling China gold rich. Uganda's where it's at.

Gold nuggets, metallic mineral from the earth (Bodnarchuk/Getty Images/Nature)

Now, along with our partner, Putin's Russia, we will divide the world in three: CH, RU, US.

.

World's largest gold deposit found, worth over US $80 billion

(Nature) A deposit of high-quality gold ore containing around 1,000 metric tons (1,100 US tons) of the precious metal has been discovered in central China, according to Chinese state media.

Valued at approximately 600 billion yuan or U.S. 83 billion dollars, the discovery could be considered the largest and most lucrative reservoir of gold ever uncovered, surpassing the 900 metric tons estimated to lie within the mother of all gold reserves, South Deep mine in South Africa.

• What kind of story suppression is this? A mere $83 billion worth of gold? There was WAY more gold or found in Uganda in 2022: 31 million tonnes of ore -- with an estimated 320,000 tonnes of extractable pure gold:
• If one troy ounce is worth $2,700.00 then 320,000 tonnes, according to my handheld calculator, would today be worth $[ERROR], a number so high we have to hire a mathematician to calculate it.
• How many ounces in a ton of gold? The answer is a metric tonne, which is 32,150.7 troy ounces. So multiply that by $2,7000, and then do it 319,000 more times. It equals: $86,806,890 + $27,691,397,910,000 = That, in our innumerate opinion, equals about 27 to 28 trillion dollars, yes? Or $27,778,204,800,000 to be exact. So what in the world is a mere $83 billion (from 1,100 metric tons) in China? It's not a fraction worth mentioning, except that China is good to go at extracting right now. By our calculation, 1,000 metric tons would be worth $86,806,890,000 (=1,000 x 32,150.7 x $2,700).
• Uganda's discovery of '31 million tonnes of gold ore' and what it could mean for [the manipulated] world gold market
• Uganda is over the moon after discovery of HUGE gold deposits
• Mining industry of the Republic of Uganda, Africa
• Largest gold deposit in the world worth $83 billion found in China (Fox News)
• South African Gold Rush: A Journey Through Top 10 Largest Mines
• VIDEO: China claims to have unearthed the largest gold deposit in the world -- worth $83B+
• Costco gold bars selling out quickly as bullion prices rise: survey | Fox Business
• China is officially communist atheist. How? By not counting its 1 billion+ Buddhists.

Chinese technicians survey the gold (Xinhua)

PHOTO: Technicians of Hunan Province Geological Disaster Survey and Monitoring Institute check rock samples at the Wangu gold field in Pingjiang County, central China's Hunan Province, Nov. 5, 2024 (Xinhua/Su Xiaozhou).

The Geological Bureau of Hunan Province announced the detection of 40 gold veins within a depth of 1.2 miles (2 kms) in the northeast Hunan county of Pingjiang.

These alone were thought to contain 300 metric tons of gold, with 3D modeling suggesting additional reserves may be found to a depth of 3 kms.

The massive find was made in Pingjiang County, well within undisputed Chinese territory. "Many drilled rock cores showed visible gold," says bureau prospector Chen Rulin.

Core samples suggest every metric ton of ore could contain as much as 138 grams (nearly 5 ounces) of gold – an extraordinary level of quality considering ore excavated from underground mines is considered high grade if it contains more than 8 grams.

China already dominates the world's gold market with reserves considered to be in excess of 2,000 tons earlier in 2024, its mining industry contributing around 10 percent of the global output.

• Mike McRae, ScienceAlert.com/Nature, Nov. 29, 2024; Eds., Wisdom Quarterly

China's poor economy forces sex work

Winston (serpentza), Jan. 2024; CC Liu, Seth Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

The Chinese economy really is this bad!

(serpentza) Jan. 31, 2024: This is the reality of the Chinese economy: It's grim.

• Racy shadow banned documentary: Stay Awesome China (full)

Join Winston for the China Show, a weekly dive into what's happening in China: advpodcasts. And remember his secret Monday show: advpodcasts. Support Sasha and Winston on Patreon: serpentza.

Take your personal data back with Incogni. Use code Winston at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: incogni.com/winston

China is hiding its homeless (video)

Serpentza, July 15, 2023; CC Liu, Seth Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

China is hiding its homeless people -- pretending they don't exist

(Serpentza) No one is allowed to see homeless people in China, especially the outside world. Join Serpentza for The China Show, a weekly dive into what's happening in China: advpodcasts.

We are the most prosperous and lucky nation!

Check out the stunning footage used in background of No Place to Place (the shared bicycles) • and No Place to Place 2 (the shared cars). And remember the secret Monday Show: patreon.com/advpodcasts. Support Asian wife Sasha and Serpentza on Patreon: patreon.com/serpentza. Bitcoin - bc1qxfjp2t6x5dpslv59u0jl89m6k643hcn8h2jsvp Ethereum - 0x6Da150a2A8529110017Ed4db68B3dF0084900280 Paypal: paypal.me/serpentza.

DOCUMENTARY VIMEO LINKS: Conquering China Boxset SPECIAL, Conquering Southern China, Conquering Northern China, Stay Awesome China (Serpentza's new documentary).

For motorcycle adventures around the world and a talk-show on two wheels, go to ADVChina every Monday 1pm EST: advchina. For a realistic perspective on China and world travel from an American father and a Chinese mother with two half-Chinese daughters, go to Laowhy86 every Wednesday 1pm EST • Chinese People Wo... For a no-nonsense on the street look at Chinese culture and beyond from China's original YouTuber, join SerpentZA on Friday at 1pm EST: serpentza. Join me on Facebook: facebook.com/winstoninchina Twitter: @serpentza Instagram: serpent_za. Protect yourself online with Guardio: guard.io/serpentza

Daily life in Chinese police state (video)

Serpentza, June 15, 2023; CC Liu, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

China is throwing away fields of EVs, letting them rot

(Serpentza) June 15, 2023. Hundreds of thousands of EVs, electrified cars, are being left to rot in fields. Join me for the China Show, a weekly dive into what's happening in China: advpodcasts. Father's Day gift wallet discounted from Ekster?

Chinese students enforce gov't censorship

(Serpentza, 2/24/22) International Chinese students enforce censorship on behalf of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) all over the globe. Come and see it in action. For daily content on China, see China Fact Chasers: @chinafactchasers. For a deeper dive into China's propaganda, influence, and soft power, watch live show ADVPodcasts: advpodcasts.

• Support Sasha and me on Patreon: patreon.com/serpentza
• Bitcoin: bc1qxfjp2t6x5dpslv59u0jl89m6k643hcn8h2jsvp
• Ethereum: 0x6Da150a2A8529110017Ed4db68B3dF0084900280
• PayPal: paypal.me/serpentza

• VIDEO: How university girls enforce brutal Chinese law
• VIDEO: Abuse and genocide of ethnic Uyghurs
• VIDEO: Do we need to change our mind about China?

Dalai Lama will never return to Tibet (video)

Hindustan Times; Dalai Lama (dalailama.com); Ashley Wells, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Dalai Lama on why he never wants to leave India; slams 'narrow minded' Chinese leaders 

(Hindustan Times) November 10, 2021. Tibet's spiritual leader, the current (14th) Dalai Lama, has hailed India as a country of peace and religious harmony, announcing that he has no plans to leave to some other nation -- or even back to Tibet/China -- and that he would like to stay until the time he is no longer alive.

The exiled spiritual and former political leader of Tibet said as much as he was was addressing an online press conference, where he took potshots at Chinese Communist Party leaders for being "narrow minded" and said that he has no plans to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping.

On the issues of Tibet and Xinjiang, the Dalai Lama accused the current Chinese government of not understanding the local cultures and traditions of its empire and instead forcing its will on the people living in those two places. Watch this report for more.

#DalaiLama #China #Tibet #India #XiJinping #CCP. Music SONG: "Something is Going On" by ARTIST Godmode from the ALBUM Something is Going On.

China's war on "South Park" (cartoon)

South Park deleted scenes; Ross A. Lincoln, The Wrap, 10/9/19; Sara Gonzales (The News and Why It Matters); Noah Trevor (The Daily Show); Seth Auberon, Pat Macpherson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

“South Park” declares “F— the Chinese government" in latest episode. The episode comes two days after creators joke, “Like the NBA, we welcome Chinese censors into our homes and into our hearts.”

“South Park” celebrated its milestone 300th episode by escalating its criticism of China’s government on Wednesday, continuing a plot line from the previous week’s episode that concluded with one of the main characters shouting, “F–k the Chinese government!”

In the episode called “Shots,” one of the plots follows Stan’s dad, Randy, who has founded a weed business, faced with a moral dilemma when immense profits from China come in conflict with human rights concerns.

As it happens, Towelie, Randy’s former business partner, bashes China for its human rights violations and condemns anyone who does business with them.

Randy eventually agrees to stop selling to China, and in order to make Towelie believe he’s sincere, ends up shouting, “F— the Chinese government!” See a video clip of the moment below, courtesy of the official “South Park” Twitter account.

.

#SouthPark300 #BannedInChina pic.twitter... — (@SouthPark) 10/10/19

The episode comes just two days after “South Park” creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker mocked both China’s reaction to last week’s episode and the way the NBA caved to Chinese pressure after the general manager of the Houston Rockets expressed support for Hong Kong protesters:

“Like the NBA, we welcome Chinese censors into our homes and into our hearts,” they said a statement.

“We too love money more than freedom and democracy. Xi doesn’t look just like Winnie the Pooh at all. Tune into our 300th episode this Wednesday at 10! Long live the Great Communist Party of China! May this autumn’s sorghum harvest be bountiful! We good now China?”

Last week’s episode, “Band in China,” heavily criticized China’s influence over Hollywood and other American businesses with large financial ties in the Communist-controlled country, including digs at [money-hungry] Disney and Marvel. More

Afghanistan's ancient Buddhist heritage (PBS)

Brent Huffman; PBS NewsHour; K Films; Amber Larson and Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly

Medhill University's Prof. Huffman, the director behind the new documentary “Saving Mes Aynak,” tells the story of one of Afghanistan’s greatest Buddhist archaeological treasures and the threats it faces from a Chinese mining company (NewsHour.PBS.org/art)

• FILM: “Saving Mes Aynak”
• RELEASE: Kartemquin.com/films/saving-mes-aynak
• CAMPAIGN: Saving Mes Aynak DOC campaign (Variety)
  

Experts: How to preserve ancient Mes Aynak ruins while mining

ARCH (Alliance for the Restoration of Cultural Heritage)

Mes Aynak near Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, is one of the largest copper and gold deposits in the world, located 20 km south of Kabul in Logar Province. The huge site looms as a potential revenue source for Afghanistan, a country deeply in need of economic growth, hectored by years of war under U.S. occupation. But Mes Aynak is also a vast Buddhist temple complex with over 20 ruin locations, including numerous 5th-6th century Buddhist monasteries and nunneries, a fortress, and evidence of even older Bronze Age settlements buried beneath the rubble of ancient copper mines. Archeologists from around the world hold that Mes Aynak represents a cultural heritage site of immense importance. More

Where was the historical Buddha really born? (Kartemquin Films)

Central Asia: Kalmykia, Ukraine upper northwest of map, India, Nepal in lower south east.

Saving Buddhist statues: Afghanistan’s big dig

Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly; Valerie Plesch (@valerieplesch, Al Jazeera English, america.aljazeera.com, 6-24-14)

An archaeologist in Logar Province, Afghanistan (Shah Marai/AFP/Getty Images)

 

Ancient statues and other artifacts are buried under Mes Aynak -- and so is a $40 billion copper mine.

Saving Afghanistan's Cultural Treasures

Gilded face (Prof. Brent E. Huffman)

MES AYNAK, Afghanistan - Less than half an hour’s drive from [the current Afghan capital of] Kabul, the congested and narrow two-lane highway is scarred with craters from improvised explosive devices [thanks to the U.S. Empire's attempt to seize, enslave, and include Afghanistan in its imperial holdings].

Logar province, southeast of Kabul, is considered one of the most dangerous [provinces] in Afghanistan. It’s near Pakistan’s volatile Waziristan region, where armed militants roam freely across the porous border.

French map showing Messe Aynak, Kabul

Here, in the midst of vast desert, a massive archaeological dig is taking place under the watchful eye of Afghanistan’s Ministry of Mines and Petroleum (MMP).

Mes Aynak (“little copper well” in Dari), which was once a [Buddhist] city on the Silk Road [competing with Bamiyan, Afghanistan, as possibly the original Kapilavastu, the "Shakya'stan"/Sakkastan where Shakyamuni the Buddha was born and raised], is home to one of Central Asia’s oldest Buddhist artifacts, dating to the time of Alexander the Great.

• Who were the nomadic Shakyan/Scythian tribes? (Issyk Kurgan)
• Was Tomyris a Shakyan princess or Persian Amazonian?

Great Afghan stupa at Mes Aynak (AS)

Buddhist statues and sculptures, intricate monastic complexes, stupas [one massive Scythian stupa, or "burial mound," is shown at left, which possibly contains up to 1/8th of the Buddha's relics] and frescoes, pottery, [Scythian and Bactrian] coins, gold jewelry, and an ancient copper mine are buried beneath this mountainous 4.8-million-square-foot [Buddhist temple archeological] site.

 

Afghanistan lost a rich piece of cultural heritage in 2001 when the Taliban [aided and abetted by the CIA setting the stage for an American invasion, much as they are currently doing with ISIS/ISIL to set up a pretext for the invasion and full-spectrum dominance of more of the geopolitical "Middle East"] used dynamite to blow up two massive Buddha statues carved into sandstone [Himalayan] cliffs in Bamiyan in northern Afghanistan [along the Hindu Kush, which is part of the extensive Himalayan range]. 

Mes Aynak,Tepe Narenj (isaw.nyu.edu)

Now the country is at risk of losing many [2.6] thousand-year-old artifacts if this excavation isn’t finished soon.

 

In addition to its cultural significance, Mes Aynak is the site of one the world’s largest undeveloped copper deposits.

 

On April 25, 2008, the MMP signed a 30-year, $3 billion contract with the China Metallurgical Group, a state-owned mining enterprise based in Beijing.

 

The deal is the largest foreign investment in Afghanistan to date. The Chinese have already spent close to $200 million on payments to the Afghan government and on preliminary work on the site.

But the mining project is at a standstill until the archaeological dig is completed. More

Mes Aynak Buddha statues revealed by early archeological digging (irtiqa-blog.com)

Mes Aynak saved? China reneges on deal

Dhr. Seven (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly; Lynne O'Donnell (SCMP.com, March 21, 2014)

Excavations were rushed due to impending MCC doom in Mes Aynak (irtiqa-blog.com)

Mining site in Mes Aynak, south of Kabul, exploiting Afghanistan's vast mineral wealth (AP)

Mes Aynak treasures were only being cataloged.

China’s MCC turns back on US$ 3 billion Mes Aynak Afghanistan mine deal. State-owned giant trying to renegotiate the terms of US$3b contract it signed in 2007 to mine copper deposits [and rare earths] and build infrastructure.

Chinese state-owned mining giant MCC has been re-negotiating a huge copper contract with the Afghan government to reduce its exposure to the war-torn country in a move that threatens Kabul's plans to use revenue generated by its mineral resources to bankroll development.

 

MCC has a US$3 billion deal to mine and process copper south of Kabul [in the world's largest Buddhist temple complexes yet discovered but as yet unexcavated].

With copper prices falling, the Chinese economy slowing, and security in Afghanistan deteriorating, the company has yet to begin production on the site. And according to the mining industry and other sources, it no longer wants to abide by the terms of the contract it signed in 2007.

The company wanted to renege on building a railway, power plant, and processing factory, as stipulated in its deal to mine at Mes Aynak ["Copper Well"], site of one of the world's biggest copper deposits, the sources said. 

 

Map of site near the capital of Kabul, Afghanistan between Iran and Pakistan/India

  

MCC also wanted to renege on paying the remainder of a bonus worth US$808 million to the Kabul government, having already paid US$133 million, one source close to Kabul's ministry of mines said. 

It also wanted to cut the royalty payments, currently set at 19.5 per cent, about double the worldwide average.

Neither the ministry nor MCC responded to requests for comment. Mining industry executives and sources close to the Afghan government said that MCC was in a position to dictate terms, having secured a 30-year lease on the mine, which contains 5.5 million tonnes of high-grade copper ore. More

"The Oldest Son" Tibetan lama incarnation

Wisdom Quarterly; BroadwayWorld.com (4-10-14) via Buddhist Art News, April 22, 2014

High lama of the Gelug sect of Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism teaches (dalailama.com)

 .

The Lincoln Center Theater will premiere Sarah Ruhl's new play "The Oldest Boy" this fall. The production, directed by Rebecca Taichman, will begin previews on Oct. 16, 2014 and open on Nov. 10 in the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater (150 West 65 Street). In it, Tenzin, the toddler son of an American woman and a Tibetan man, is recognized as the incarnation (tulku) of a high Buddhist teacher. Differing cultures contend with competing ideas of faith and love [as they did in Hollywood's "Little Buddha"] when two Buddhist monks seek permission to take Tenzin to a monastery in India to begin his training as a spiritual master. His parents must decide whether to send their young son away or keep at him home. More

 

Day 8 teaching the Dharma in Mundgod, India (dalailama.com)

• 2014 Mt. Everest avalanche kills 16
• Former Dictator George W. Bush is no "artist," he "copied off Google images"
• Autobiography of Thai Buddhist elder Ajahn Lee (PDF) 
• Katy Perry gatecrashes a children’s birthday party and makes everyone cry
• What a surprise, Israel abruptly pulls out of Peace Talks [so it can continue its militant ways]
  
  

  The right wing Israeli government is "furious" that after all its divide and conquer efforts, Hamas and Fatah have decided to unite for one Palestine with an invader and occupier in the self-styled God-told-us-we-could country of new "Israel." It will continue to build and expand illegal settlements as it usurps more precious land. The current government of Israel wants endless war.

Afghan treasures stay buried (audio)

Seven, Wisdom Quarterly; Sean Carberry, Kabul Correspondent (NPR.org, May 18, 2013)

Bamiyan, Afghanistan, the real Kapilavastu in Himalayan foothills of Hindu Kush (wiki)

Afghan worker excavates ancient Buddhist city at Mes Aynak, Feb. 2013. Afghanistan is believed to be sitting on massive cultural, mineral, and metal deposits, but obstacles prevent large-scale mining (Matthew C. Rains/MCT/Landov).

 

Emerging treasures of Mes Aynak (B. Huffman)

For years, reports have suggested that Afghanistan is sitting on massive deposits of copper, gold, iron and rare earth minerals valued up to $3 trillion. This provides hope for a future economy that would not have to rely so heavily on foreign donations.

 

But with an uncertain political, regulatory and security environment, international investors are hesitant. And it could be many years before Afghanistan begins extracting its mineral wealth.

 

The Afghan Geological Survey office in Kabul is one of the few agencies in the country that measure up to international standards.

  

Journalist walks by mineral exhibit on the way to news conference by Afghan minister of mines, Kabul 2010 (Musadeq Sadeq/AP).

 

The CIA's "Taliban" damage

 Here, a U.S. government task force is helping train and advise Afghan geologists in processing samples from potential mining sites.

 

On a recent day, technicians are busy cataloging core samples from North Aynak in Logar province, about 30 miles south of [the war torn capital of] Kabul. Afghan and U.S. geologists are evaluating the site's potential as a copper [and rare earth] mine.

  

Fitzgerald (InvisibleHistory.com)

Long thin cylinders of greenish rock from the site are lined up in cases. After they are cataloged and photographed, they go to the cutting room, says geologist Mohammed Idrees Ahmadi.

 

"We cut them, we can see the mineralizations, the structures, and the textures of minerals or rocks that are in the sample," he explains. More+AUDIO 

• "CIA worked with Pakistan to create Taliban" 
• CIA and ISI together created Taliban: Zardari

Saving Buddhas of Mes Aynak (Afghanistan)

Beauty and significance of largest unexcavated Buddhist temple complex in the world: Mes Aynak

Gold plated meditating Buddha

“The Buddhas of Mes Aynak” page on kickstarter.com succeeded! It met its initial goal of $30,000 to promote the preservation of perhaps the world's greatest Buddhist archeological site, located in war torn Afghanistan which is being destroyed by US greed and Chinese opportunism.

 

The updated ambition is to aim at stretching the goal to $40,000. This would enable the project to hire a composer, sound mixer, and additional film editors.  

 

Afghan archeologists struggle to document treasure before Chinese government mining interests destroy them and plunder the wealth of metal and mineral treasures on the site.

 

The additional funds would also allow for a creation of a Thai section to the film. It would become composed of interviews with people in Thailand, one of the most Theravada Buddhist countries in the world, who have been fighting to protect Mes Aynak ("Little Copper Well").

(Ancient Rome Live) The Buddhas of Mes Aynak: Brent Huffmann shares

his work documenting Mes Aynak before its destruction for copper mining

  

Original goal

Workers continue to uncover treasures as the Chinese eagerly approach with dreams of billions of dollars' worth of raw ingredients for iPhones and other electronics.

    

The original goal of the campaign was to fund the production of a documentary film (segments of which have already been featured by BBC, NPR, Wisdom Quarterly, CNN, The Washington Post, PRI, Huffington Post, etc.) about the imminent destruction of the ancient Buddhist city and massive temple complex at Mes Aynak, Afghanistan.

The U.S. War on Afghanistan has so destabilized the country that it is desperate for foreign investments and the development of Afghanistan's natural resources. Enter the newly capitalist Chinese government. It plans to exploit the mineral wealth of this ancient copper, gold, and rare earth mine beginning December 2012. 

 

The film will also document the work of international archaeologists and all of their findings at Mes Aynak. 

Brent E. Huffman is a documentary filmmaker and professor at Northwestern Univ., working since 2011 on a story about this ancient Buddhist city now converted to Islam and populated by Pashtuns. Having felt deeply connected with Afghanistan and the Afghan people while covering the first democratic presidential elections in 2004, he vowed to do something to bring this amazing land and its people to the attention of the world.

 

Photographer documents recently uncovered "gray earth" (shakya) structure.

  

Huffman first visited Mes Aynak in June of 2011 and immediately fell in love. He felt the need to do everything in his power to save its cultural heritage for future generations of both local Afghans and the international community.  

 

In addition to destroying one of Afghanistan’s most important archaeological sites yet discovered, the Chinese copper mine will devastate the environment by polluting the land and poisoning the water supply in Logar province, killing all life forms in the area.

  

The money raised in this expanded campaign will goes toward documenting the site and its eventual disposition by film. This will create international awareness that may save Mes Aynak and prevent the destruction of other Afghan cultural sites located on or near other mineral sources. 

 

The Film: The Buddhas of Mes Aynak

A documentary by Brent E. Huffman

This is a story of a race against time. The documentary follows an international team of archaeologists fighting to save a 2,600-year-old Buddhist city and temple complex in volatile Logar province, Afghanistan.

 

Led by Philippe Marquis of DAFA, the French Archaeological Delegation in Afghanistan, the specialists attempt to document ancient Mes Aynak before it is destroyed and buried.

  

The location, called one of the most important archaeological discoveries in all of Asia (Afghanistan is in Central Asia, bordering India and an ancient Indian territory known as Gandhara), will be demolished by the Chinese government-owned mining company MCC. MCC will exploit the location for over 100 billion dollars worth of copper located directly beneath the Buddhist temples and precious reliquary burial mounds on the site. 

 

The film will also examine the cultural and historical significance of the Mes Aynak Buddhist complex and show in vivid detail what life was like for the Buddhist nuns and monks who lived, meditated, and attained enlightenment there.

 

Gorgeous figures in the Western-influenced Gandhara-style predating Indian depictions

 

Background

Mes Aynak is desert region 15.5 miles (25 kms) southeast of the capital of Kabul.

 

It is an enormous archaeological treasure trove 400,000 square feet in size. It is an ancient Buddhist monastic complex with abbeys, halls, courts, extensive wall frescos, massive devotional temples, and more than 200 life-sized Buddha statues comprising a discovery of immense global significance.

 

At the same time, Mes Aynak is home to the largest undeveloped copper reserve in the world.  Directly beneath the Buddhist site lie mineral deposits worth an estimated $100 billion (a figure that increases as the dollar and other international currencies plunge).

  

The fate of the ancient Buddhist artifacts hangs in the balance as the Chinese begin planning their destructive exploitation using open-pit style copper mining techniques. More

• Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly; Brent E. Huffman (kickstarter.com) THE BUDDHAS OF MES AYNAK (teaser trailer)