 The National Broadcasting Company and its affiliated stations present the Pacific story. In the mounting fury of world conflict, events in the Pacific are taking on ever greater importance. Here is the story of the Pacific and the millions of people who live around this greater sea. The drama of the people whose destiny is at stake in the Pacific War. Here as another public service is the tale of the war in the Pacific and its meaning to us and to the generations to come. Sengkyeong, China's Wild West. On the roof of Central Asia where Russia and China and India meet, in the center of the greatest land mass on Earth, at the point farthest on Earth from any sea, there lies fabulous Sengkyeong, or Chinese Turkestan, crossroads of conflict for 2,000 years and today a teeming center of activity in a war-torn world. Across this fabulous land walled the ancient Silk Road, where for thousands of years, caravans flooded between the Far East and Europe. We are taking the silks of Pate to Rome. We shall bring back furs and priceless treasures. And over this same road, through Sengkyeong, past Marco Polo and Tamalain and Genghis Khan, the fierce hordes, the Mongols, the Turks and the Huns, swept out of these plains and mountains and deserts and sacked the cities of Europe in the rich centers of the Orient. Now for years Sengkyeong has been a crossroads of conflict, for Sengkyeong is a rich land, a land of unbelievable wealth and resources, and Sengkyeong is the land of many peoples, a melting pot of the little-known peoples of Central Asia, where the influences of Russia and Britain and China meet. At the turn of the century, rumors filled the air of Sengkyeong. The Russians are plotting to march through Sengkyeong to invade India. The British are sending agents into Sengkyeong with the idea of developing a road through it to Urca. The Chinese are going to take important steps to keep the Russians and the British from extending their interest in Sengkyeong. And as Japan rose as a power and a peril in the Far East, there were rumors of another kind. The Japanese are conspiring to move into Sengkyeong and use it as a base to set the Muslims of the Middle East in revolt. With the passing years, it became apparent that with the Japanese at least, there was some truth in the rumors. Truth? Because in Sengkyeong, there are many peoples with many conflicting interests. This man is a Kyrgyz. We are shepherds of the upland pastures. There are 60,000 of us Kyrgyz here in Sengkyeong. The Kyrgyz are attractive and civilized people, and this man is a Tatar. We come from European Russia, we Tatars. The Tatars are an exclusive people, the state of themselves. Many of them are rich. And this is a Mongol. We left Russia to escape the rule of the Jars. The Mongols have been in Sengkyeong a long time. And this is a white Russian. There are 14,000 of us white Russians here. We came here when the Soviets overthrew this hour. The white Russians are farmers and clerks and laborers. And this is an Uyghur. We are Muslims. We have been here in Sengkyeong since before the time of Genghis Khan. The Uyghurs are the most numerous of all the peoples of Sengkyeong. They number nearly three million, three-quarters of the population of Sengkyeong. And all these peoples are ruled by the Chinese, the sons of Han, who number only 182,000. All these peoples. Some speak Turkish. Some of them speak dialects of Turkish. The Mongols speak their own language. Some speak Russian. But the official language is Chinese. The sons of Sengkyeong have been soaked with the blood of all these peoples. We, Uyghurs, have fought the Chinese a hundred times. We have joined forces with the Tungans against the Chinese. But when we found the Tungans cruel and bloodthirsty, we have joined with the Chinese against the Tungans. Again and again, the Chinese have fought the bloody rebellions of the Muslim millions. But even this has only been part of the conflict of Sengkyeong. The other peoples of Sengkyeong, each with its own interests, have for centuries used the sword against each other. We of the cities are against the people of the country. We nomads are against those who have settled down. We Turkish-speaking Muslims are against the Chinese-speaking Muslims. We Mongol nomads are against the Turkish nomads. And behind these conflicts is the basic value of the place all these people occupy. Fabulous Sengkyeong. Sengkyeong lies almost in the very middle of the great land mass of Europe and Asia. It lies in that shadow land behind the front doors of China and Russia. It has been little trodden by men of the outside world. Yet it has been the crossroads of trade for centuries. Its plains and mountains and deserts that last are coming to have meaning to the great powers of the world. For years, its borders have trod with the beat of marching feet. It seems to me that Sengkyeong is a buffer between China and Russia. It's more than that. Because of the nature of Sengkyeong, it affects everything that happens in India, Afghanistan, Iran, as well as in China and Soviet Asia. I see. Then it is also affected by everything that happens in these states. That's true. You see, Sengkyeong is a large land. Two and a half times the size of France. Yes. It seems to be a link between two different kinds of worlds. Well, to the lands around it, it may be regarded as a vast passage from one of these lands to the other. But within itself, it is a land of wonderful promise. Promise. Under its surface lies a treasure. Sengkyeong today is like California before 1849. We are mining gold here in Al-Qaeda. There is so much gold here that for centuries this has been called the Golden Mountain. Gold mines. When they are developed, they will attract railroads. Here we are mining coal. We have coal at Urumqi, Kulja, and Kashkha. Yes. Coal in great quantities. And copper and oil. This is just one of the ten districts of Sengkyeong where oil has been discovered. And we are prospecting in other districts for more. petroleum. Let this Chinese tell you the importance of oil in this part of the world. Highways are the arteries of development in any land. In China we are building many highways. But we have virtually no oil. To import oil is too costly. Unless we have oil and gasoline for our vehicles, our highways are of little value. The oil of Sengkyeong is priceless to China. Yes. Sengkyeong has oil. And it has other products known around the world. Look down at those fields of corn and rice and barley and millet. Look down at those orchards, the apricots and features, the luscious grapes, rich yellow figs and the juicy melons. Ask this Uighur about the melons of Sengkyeong. The melons of Sengkyeong are known throughout Asia. The Sengkyeong pilgrim and the melons. He was one named Ma. And he set out one day from Hamid. He set out to see the great Iron Bridge that the Americans had built over the Yellow River, Merlan Joe. Midway in his journey, he met a countryman from Lan Joe, named Shah. I have heard such wondrous stories about your army melons. And I am on my way to Sengkyeong to see them. And I have heard such wondrous stories of your high bridge that I am on my way to Lan Joe to see it. Yes. Our bridge is the highest yet. A year ago today, a man fell from it. And when I left, his body had not yet reached the river. Ah, yes. Concerning our melons, you are wasting your time traveling all the way to Hamid to see them. They grow to such great size that by the time next year, they will be with you in Lan Joe. Yes, luscious fruits and veal crops and magnificent horses and campers and minerals and oil, precious oil. But besides all these, still another thing makes Tiankeng valuable. It's strategic importance. And this, as much as the others, has been the crux of its history, the crux of the squabbling and scrambling for its control. By 1932, Japan had seized Manchuria, renamed it Manchukuo, and set up a puppet government. By 1932, a Chinese general named Cheng Chi Cai was chief of the general staff of the border defense of Sengkyeong. The Japanese will not stop in Manchuria. Cheng knew the Japanese. The Japanese are imperialists. Cheng had studied in Japan and graduated from the Japanese Military Academy. They are trying to set up a puppet Mongol system in Inner Mongolia. As one of Zhang Kai-shek's high officers, Cheng understood Japanese tactics. Unless the Japanese operations in Inner and Outer Mongolia are brought under control, they might gain access to the caravan routes into northwest China and Sengkyeong. The Oberland passages are the lifelines of Central Asia. There are indications that the Japanese are preparing to take Greyhall. That will give them a corridor from Manchuria to Inner Mongolia. By this maneuver, Japan could cut China off from Russia. For now, Japan was infringed in Manchuria and was looking ahead to her full-scale war against China. Now, a new cycle of rebellions of the Muslim masses was underway. General Cheng. Yes, Colonel? A Tunggung force of great strength is moving toward Tunggyeong. Who is leading the force? He is one called Ma Chong-ying. Ma Chong-ying, yes. He is only 26 years old, but he is an able general. There is evidence that he is supported by the Japanese. Then he is well equipped. Call together the staff at once, Colonel. From Kansu province, Ma Chong-ying, the 26-year-old Tunggung Napoleon, swept with devastating terror across the frontier into Sengkyeong. Ah, kill the infidel Chinese! One of them! Burn the dwellings and the infidel Chinese! Kill them, everyone! Attack every city and every village of the infidel Chinese! Show no mercy! Kill them! Ma Chong-ying swept through the mountains and butchered the Chinese by the tens of thousands. Once again, the soil of Sengkyeong was drenched with blood. Once again, the Muslim masses of Sengkyeong were in famine. General Cheng appealed to Russia for help. Here are heavy trucks for transport and armored cars for combat. In the Russian trucks came machine guns, ammunition and field weapons. Here are bombers to destroy military bases in installation and fighters to spray the ground force. Russian war materials flowed into Sengkyeong and with it came Russian troops and Russian advisors. Ma Chong-ying scourged and slaughtered as he surged forward and General Cheng gathered strength to meet him. Here is the information, General Cheng. Yes? Ma Chong-ying is concentrated on the Urumqi River. You have the disposition of his forces? Yes, General Cheng. His cavalry is concentrated here and his line of communications is here behind him. With three white Russian regiments and with his own Chinese troops General Cheng moved against Ma Chong-ying outside of Urumqi. To all the states bordering on Sengkyeong, this was more than another in the long, long series of Muslim rebellions. For years the borders of Sengkyeong had echoed to the sound of marching troops of China and Russia and Britain. But this rebellion meant that the force power was for the first time exerting important influence in the affairs of Sengkyeong. This was Japan. If Ma Chong-ying succeeded, Japan would, in effect, have a line of control from the Pacific to the heart of the greatest land mass armor. We will attack from this position. Ma Chong-ying will counterattack with his cavalry and then we shall strike with our full power. Riding like the wind, the young Tungan Napoleon's cavalry swept down upon Seng's force. It becomes interesting. Exactly as we planned. And here come our Russian speaking troops. Look at those planes. Flying so low they are cutting the Tungan down like wheat. Not many of Ma Chong-ying's postmen will live through this. No. Look at them falls. Faults is in men, one upon the other. They are breaking ranks. They are scattering like seas before the wind. Can Ma Chong-ying rally them? No man can rally cavalry against striping planes. Ma Chong-ying is lost. Ma Chong-ying was defeated. But from that time until 1937, when the Japanese unleashed their full-scale attack upon China, the Japanese tried again and again through their efforts in Inner Mongolia to promote unrest among the powerful Muslim minorities of northwest China. But meantime, General Shang had risen to power and the Russians had extended their influence in Sengkyeong. Sengkyeong was emerging at the world focal point and observers who had never before taken notice of it now keenly watched its development. General Shang permitted Russia to establish the Soviet garrison here on the condition that the soldiers wear Chinese uniforms. That's a sort of index of the importance of the Russians here. Russia, perhaps more than any other nation, is exerting influence in Sengkyeong affairs. Yes. I recall the movie we went to yesterday with Russia. Most of the experts here in Sengkyeong are Russians. Mining and structural engineers, doctors, agricultural advisors, technicians. Well, what about money? Russia has sent a great deal of money into Sengkyeong, too. In the next several years, there was more and more evidence of Russian influence in Sengkyeong. The Russians brought in modern machinery and the Uighurs, the Khazaks, the Tungans and the Tatars watched them lay down modern roads. My father would not have dreamed there would ever be a road like this in our country. The roads have brought motor cars. And now it is possible to go as far in one hour as we used to with the caravan in days. They are changing our country, General. They have built roads to our minds. And where once we brought out our gold and copper and coal on the backs of beasts, now it is sometimes brought out by these growling machines. Yes. And in our skies are other machines that roar. The Russians have brought them. Yes, and the Russians have built the great spaces where these roaring machines of the air settle down. The Soviets brought in the airplanes and trained the pilots and built the airfield. The Soviets trained and equipped the army. And after the Japanese launched their attack on China, Russian advisors were put in all departments of the Sengkyeong government, and Soviet schools were open. This would indicate that Russia was planning to establish a communist regime among the people of Sengkyeong. On the contrary, no effort of this kind was ever made. While the Russians were sending men and material, General Shang was taking steps to reconstruct Sengkyeong. Among the conflicting factions, he sought to bring about some measure of reconciliation. In the face of the age-old antipathy, many of the factions could do no more than see active opposition to each other. But even this meant progress. First and foremost, there must be racial equality. Racial equality. Among a state of fierce and belligerent people, among a state of fierce and belligerent people of different faith. Second, we must guarantee religious freedom. Religious freedom. In a land where blood has been spilled for thousands of years because of conflicting creed. You see, these principles are evidence that far off as it may be, some kind of understanding between the peoples of Sengkyeong is on the way. It is all based on mutual trust, it seems to me. Yes. And these two principles are only part of General Shang's declaration. He has also declared such policies as anti-imperialism, clean government, reconstruction, peace, and kinship to Sovietism. Sovietism? Uh-huh. That seems to be significant. Actually, Soviet Russia is withdrawn from Sengkyeong. And this can be interpreted as showing Russia's basic thinking so far as Central Asia is concerned. Not only did General Shang proclaim a policy comparable to the Magna Carta to the peoples of Sengkyeong, but under his leadership, Sengkyeong developed from an isolated wilderness into a province with most of the modern innovation. Electric lights? Yes. And many of us who a few years ago did not know what the telephone was, are now daily users of the telephone. Radio? Our own people are trained in radio, and we not only use them, but we build many of our own. Electricity, telephone, and radio. In a land where the vestiges of thousands of years ago are still evidence. Aeroplanes? We are as familiar with them as people anywhere else in the world. Newspapers? Yes, this newspaper is printed here daily. And it brings us all the news of the world. Motion pictures? We see the same pictures here that are shown in the great cities of America and England. Airplanes, newspapers, motion pictures, ideas, ideas in many forms. These are flowing in upon Sengkyeong as a deluge. And out of it is coming literacy. And this literacy is the same to Uweger, Tatar, Tungan, Kazak, and Uzbek alike. To all, it is building a basis on which in some degree they can meet. I am a Chinese school teacher. Within the past few years, we have expanded our primary schools from 30 schools to more than 2,000. And some of our teachers even follow the nomads to teach the children. These are helping to knit together the thinking of the peoples of Sengkyeong. I am a Chinese social worker. To help promote understanding, we are forming racial clubs in Tihua and in all the biggest centers of Sengkyeong. Education and social work, basic steps, basic measures come to a forgotten land to well together peoples who traditionally have slotted each other. And these are only part of General Shang's broad program of reconstruction and of modernization. You see, most of the Chinese in the governing class here in Sengkyeong today are from Manchuria. Manchuria. Refugees from the Japanese? Principally, yes. The Japanese took Manchuria in 1931 and 1932. Manchuria and army retreated out here to Sengkyeong. How big an army was that? About 10,000. Most of their officers were men educated and trained in leadership. They are the ones who are leading the way here today. Of course, for centuries before 1931, other Chinese had come here. Peasants, merchants, and artisans. Well, it seems to me that many of the persons I've seen here cannot be identified definitely as of any particular strength. Actually, nearly all of the races here in Demari except the Tatars and the Uzbeks. But gradually the racial lines are fading. But very gradually. The war in Europe and the war in Asia are still only echoes in Sengkyeong. The edges of the Great Seas became the warfront. The edges of Europe and the edges of Asia. And Sengkyeong, as far from any ocean as a place can be on Earth, became one of the many rear areas of the war. But the coming of World War II made Sengkyeong more important than it had ever been before. General Sheng, as Vice Commander of Generaless of Mochungkai-shek's Eighth War Area and Governor of Sengkyeong, took steps to prepare Sengkyeong for its part in China's war. We have hardly touched the oil preserve of Sengkyeong. Sengkyeong seems to be a completely modern field here. Yes, only equipment is modern. Except that old piece there. That's made of wood, isn't it? Yes. It is very crude. The world will work with wooden machinery of that kind before the Russians first came in and installed modern machinery. This field is as modern as any in the world. The Russian experts taught us much about oil operation. Now we know that there is an area of oil land here 1000 miles long. You will need all that oil to develop this country out here. First, we must help win the war against Japan. Yeah, China needs oil badly. It will take a long time to develop these oil fields and it will take a long time to develop the many other resources of Sengkyeong. But this country out here is like your California before your gold rush. Once the world learned the value of the new frontier, people flocked in by tens of thousands. In the ancient cities whose beginnings are lost in the sands of the deserts, modern buildings are going up. Lumber, sawed by hand, is brought in from the forest along the mountain ranges. Wool from Sengkyeong's 12 million sheep is woven into cloth. Flower from the grain of Sengkyeong's rich valleys is milled in modern industries. And tea-war, the capital, is being reconstructed in modernized. Steamroller, are we out here in Sengkyeong? Yes. It's the only one in all Sengkyeong. Sengkyeong is three times the size of Texas. Not much work out here for operators as steamroller is there. All that operator there can do. You see, he's doing an excellent job of making this a main street that tea-war can really be proud of. Is this part of General Shang's plan? Yes. General Shang is building tea-war into a modern metropolis. Tea-war. Why is it that this city sometimes is called tea-war and sometimes called Arunchi? Well, Arunchi is the Turkish name of the city. You see, there are really four languages here in tea-war. Chinese, Turkish, Russian, and Mongolian. That explains the difference in the science here on the street. Yes. Now let's walk down the street. Yes. See that building over there? Mm-hmm. That's a Chinese store. Chinese store, huh? How can he get his merchandise way out of here? That's the big problem. He came from Sengkyeong himself and brought a good deal of his merchandise with him. Now, he is all the other merchants of Sengkyeong is running low. Are there no trucks available for transport? Not many. There were quite a few, some thousands. But most of these are worn out now. Because of the war, replacements are scarce. Mm-hmm. I see. Yeah. Let's stop a minute at this market. All right? Hey, look at those melons. Those are the famous Hami melons. Finest melons in all Asia and perhaps in the world. Mm-hmm. They just smell of this one. Mm-hmm. And they're just as delicious as they are fragrant. And look at those grapes and apples. Think of what Sengkyeong produce alone will mean when this country is developed and gets its lines of transportation. Sengkyeong now stands on the threshold of development. Because of a geographical situation, she is more easily accessible to Soviet Russia than to China to the east and India to the south. Thus, Russia has played the biggest role in her development thus far. But now Russia has withdrawn from Sengkyeong and now the development must be done by the enterprising pioneers. Who, as in the development of America's Great West, must hew out their own world. Today, through General Shang's efforts, fabulous landlock Sengkyeong is open to the world. We have roads, but we need more roads. The opening of our communications provides a great opportunity for western as well as eastern enterprises. Yes. Sengkyeong is almost like our new land. It needs everything. Yes. Airlines and railroads must be built. And we have radio and newspapers and motion pictures. But these must be developed. All your needs out here seem to be tied together to be interrelated. Exactly. When our irrigation systems are developed, this will lead to more agricultural development. And when we have more agricultural development, then we shall have still greater need of transportation. Then, in effect, our new world is taking shape out here. It is a new frontier. Everything is waiting to be developed. Our minds are now in operation, but we have not begun to touch them. We have only scratched the surface. New colonists will probably play a big part out here. The time may not be too far away when the great immigration of colonists will begin. For Sengkyeong will give them the chance to make their all-way in the world. And that is what all of us are seeking. The people of Sengkyeong, as well as the great powers around Sengkyeong, know that Sengkyeong has another value. Its strategic position. And Nazi Germany also knows this. After Pearl Harbor, when Nazi Germany severed diplomatic relations with China, the German ministers left Chungjing with a prophecy. We regret that we must leave. It is unfortunate. We say goodbye now as a mere formality. We hope that China and Germany may resume cordial relations in the not too distant future. We shall return. Possibly more quickly than you expect. Can we interpret that as an omen of hope? That you will have to decide when we return through Sengkyeong. If, when the Nazis invaded Russia in 1941 and drove southeast to the Caucasus, they had been able to drive through Russian Turkestan and Sengkyeong and join hands with the Japanese or with Wang Qingwei's Chinese puppet government, the story of the war in the Pacific would be different. You have been listening to the Pacific Story, presented by the National Broadcasting Company and its affiliated independent stations as a public service to clarify events in the Pacific and to make understandable the crosscurrent of life in the Pacific Basin. For a reprint of this Pacific Story program, send 10 cents in stamps or coins to the University of California Press, Berkeley, California. To repeat, for a reprint of this Pacific Story program, send 10 cents in stamps or coins to the University of California Press, Berkeley, California. The story is written and directed by Arnold Marquess. The material for tonight's broadcast was largely taken from the book Gateway to Asia, Sengkyeong, by Martin Noren. Your musical score was composed and conducted by Thomas Paluso. Your narrator was Gain Whitman. This is the National Broadcasting Company.