The farEAST-team has arrived in Central Asia and finds itself marveling at the ancient city of Bukhara - an oriental dream in Uzbekistan. But between Bukhara and the Uzbek capital Tashkent, another large desert, the Kysylkum, also known as the red desert, has to be crossed. In the capital, the team is welcomed by an inhabitant of the historic district who introduces them to the secrets of Uzbek cuisine and at the gates of Tashkent, they are even granted access to a formerly clandestine research facility by the Soviets. Here, solid matter is liquified with the help of sunlight. The team continues its journey on the silk road. In the Fergana valley, they learn how silk was made centuries ago. The "Roof of the World," the giant Alai mountain range, already begins in Kyrgyzstan and the Pamir towers in front of the horizon. From a lonely mountain village, the journey continues across high mountain roads to West China. In Kashgar, the old caravan city, the Chinese and the Uyghurs live together peacefully. In the historic district, the farEAST-team follows an Uyghur potter, who is a master of his trade, on the day of the Islamic Feast of Sacrifice. One thing has been made clear by the authorities: the highlands of Tibet are off-limits for the travelers. What lies ahead of them now, is the way through the huge desert of Taklamakan, also known as "the place of no return."