If you prefer to freeze instead of sweat, a northern Trans-Asian route is also being planned. Alternate routes include northwest through Inner and Outer Mongolia, or a trip across the width of China and, with an extension beyond Urumqi, into Kazakhstan. All three Chinese gateways could then grid into Russia's railways, for further passage to Moscow. The Russian capital already allows Trans-Asian travelers to book onward trips to Europe. Experts promise it would be cheaper to move cargo by the new train route instead of by today's laborious sea journeys.
Environmentalists say trains pollute less than cars or planes.