Pakistan: A Land of Allures

By Mr. Muhammad Iftikhar Raja， Counselor (Press and Culture) with the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in Beijing

By Mr. Muhammad Iftikhar Raja， Counselor (Press and Culture) with the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in Beijing

Pakistan is a land of breathtaking natural beauty. Snow-capped peaks touch the sky， forests spread， rivers zigzag， deserts stretch away， valleys and chasms present emerald views. The 900 km of the country’s lengthy coastline offers crystal waters， sands， sunshine. As a tourism destination country， Pakistan offers a lot to experience and enjoy: architectures， festivities， palaces， royal gardens， ruins of ancient civilizations. The old country is literally a treasure house of artifacts. The Karakoram Range， the Himalaya Mountains and the Hindu Kush Mountains stretch across Pakistan and offer perfect destinations for hiking and mountaineering. The country has a well-developed transportation system of roads， highways and flight routes. Pakistan has first-class healthcare and education institutions， modern camping and leisure facilities， hotels and restaurants.

Pakistan is home to a galaxy of world-class people: composers， musicians， singers， folklore experts， scientists， historians， mountaineers， philosophers， poets， and Sufi Muslin sages.

Mountains

For nature explorers and mountaineers， Pakistan has a few world-class peaks:

K-2 is the second highest peak on earth， locally known as Chogori. From its first discovery by westerners in the late 19th century up to the end of the 20th century， the pyramid-shaped peak of rock and ice attracted more than 100 expeditions. Nearly one third of them made it to the tiptop at 8，611 meters above sea level.

Nanga Parbat is the ninth highest peak on earth and the second highest in Pakistan. The 8，125-meter peak presents three mountain faces: Rupal， Diamir， and Rakhiot. The rocky faces rise out of different valleys and present different views. An explorer may find the way to the base to climb Nanga Parbat full of brilliant sightseeing views， but the climb to the top abounds with hazards. The route to the top passes precarious glaciers; snow storms and avalanches occur frequently. This peak was once dubbed “killer peak” and remained unconquered for a long while. It attracts hikers and mountaineers.

Gasherbrum I is the first of the six peaks in Karakoram Range all named Gasherbrum， which presumably means “shining wall”. The 8，068-meter peak presents part of a huge towering limestone mountain face. As the mountain is tucked away in glaciers， it is also known as the Hidden Peak.

Archaeology

Within Pakistan are 392 ancient ruins and archaeological sites， seven of them are inscribed as UNESCO world heritage sites. Archaeological findings convincingly portray Pakistan of today as home to ancient civilizations: the Indus valley civilization (2，500BC)， the Aryans (1，500BC)， the Persians (660BC)， and the Greeks (327BC) and Muslins (712AD).

Mehrgarh is an archaeological site recently discovered by a French team in the province of Balochistan in Pakistan. The findings at the site indicate a 7，000-year-old civilization. Archaeologists found evidences of farming (wheat and barley) and herding (cattle， sheep and goats) and early human settlements.

Mohenjo-Daro was one of the largest city-settlements of the Indus Valley Civilization situated in the province of Sindh. The civilization experienced its boom period from 2，500 to 1，700 BC. First discovered in 1922 by archaeologists， Mohenjo-Daro was inscribed in 1980 as a UNESCO world heritage site. It is regarded as a central urban of the ancient civilization. If one goes northward from Mohenjo-Daro， one passes a few ancient towns before one reaches Harappa， a city site of the ancient civilization.

The discovery of Harappa was very dramatic. In 1856， the British began to build a railroad from Lahore to Multan. The railroad bed needed a great quantity of hard materials. Harappa became a source for bricks of ancient sources. The brick robbing continued until 1872 when people noticed that the bricks were part of a fortified city buried about 14 to 18 meters deep. In the 1920s the site was pronounced a reserve.

Harappa turned out to be a fortified ancient city with public buildings， individual residences， workshops， and even heating facilities. The dead were buried in large， decorated earthen urns.

Ruins of different historical periods have been found in Taxila. The small city has seen rises and falls over the past thousands of years. The best conversed and most ancient of all these sites is Bhir Mound. Taxila Museum houses unearthed treasures such as sculptures， gold jewelry， and some scientific instruments from nearby sites. Archaeologists have also found other sites in Taxila such as Sirkup and Sirsukh. These ancient sites indicate ancient urban planning in the evidence of wide straight urban streets. A small mound near the ancient Buddhist temple in Sirsukh has small pagodas， which are in good conditions.

Situated in the north of the province of Peshawar in northwest Pakistan， Swat Valley is known for its natural beauty and for the presence of the offspring of ancient Greek and Roman people. Another noteworthy point about Swat Valley is that Xuanzhuang， the famous monk of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) of China， visited the valley on his way to India. Nearly 2，000 sculptures relating the life of Buddha have been found in this valley. In the collection of Swat Museum are a few gilded statues of Buddha.

The four provinces of Pakistan have their distinct features. Punjab is famed for its yummy food; Balochistan presents towering peaks; Sindh abounds with unusual arts and crafts artifacts; North-West Frontier Province is a pearl of natural scenery. People of Pakistan are known for their hospitality.

Aware of the country’s great resources of tourism， the Pakistan Government has adopted preferential policies to boost tourism industry and attract capital for tourism development in the hope of turning the sub-continental country into an international tourism destination. □