Getting on the road to economic development with Karakoram Highway

Khunjerab Pass, Pakistan

AT an elevation of more than 15,000 feet (4,500 m), yaks far outnumber cargo trucks crossing over Pakistan's border with China. A lone border agent stands guard on the Pakistan side, when he has not ducked into a steel shelter to avoid wind-whipped snow.

But here in the mountains, and all the way down to the sea, China is now pouring in billions of dollars in investment, as part of a bigger project to re-create the fabled Silk Road.

Beijing hopes in doing so to bolster China's economy, discourage separatism in its mostly Muslim west…