NHK's program series The Silk Road, originally broadcast in 1980 in Japan, returns as a new series. Using the latest digital technology, more refined images of the Silk Road reappear on screen. As China has changed drastically in the past 25 years, Silk Road 2005 offers a new documentary series combining the realism of travelogue with a historical perspective based on facts that cross both past and present. This leaves viewers captivated by the ancient route and the evolving changes. With dramatic reenactments of historical events, Japan's latest digital technology, and the latest information, this series takes viewers on a journey to the "new" Silk Road.

Episode list:
Loulan -- The Sleeping Beauty of the Taklamakan
Turfan -- Finding Buddha's Lost Masterpieces
People of the Wind
Khotan -- Mona Lisa in the desert
Kuqa -- A Fallen Monk's Mission
Dunhuang -- The Long Lost Lives of the Grottoes
Qinghai -- Traveling the Road of the Sky
Khara Khoto -- Disappearing Oasis
Kashgar -- Melody of a Lost Nation
Xian -- The Eternal Capital