I know a guy who has some family in Kyrgyzstan. He’s ethnically Russian and a lot of Russians who were sent there during Soviet times ended up staying. Sounds like a fascinating place as he describes it.
I knew an ethnic Korean Kyrgyzstan but spoke Russian. in the Soviet era they were not allowed to speak Korean in public.
Fascinating is one way to describe it.
Central Asia has some places that are downright wild wild west like.
While in my oilfield working days we had a rule to avoid any place that ended in ‘stan.
I’d actually enjoy seeing the chicoms get their collective heads handed to them on a pike by invading some place like Afghanistan. It has not been called the Graveyard of Empires for no good reason but they may be worn down by now. First the Brits, then the Soviets and now us in the last 200 years or so.
I think the ‘Stans allied together might give the chicoms a good run for their money. Throw in the Indians and a few others for good measure.
Their money is not going to run out. It is a relative thing and for places like Africa they are the rich kids on the block. For the corrupt ‘stans they have enough.
Interesting, gold mining has taken place in the tributaries of the Yangtze and other rivers for a long time. I don’t know of any big placer operations in the mountains of the ‘stans or the Tibetan Plateau. I have to admit considerable ignorance of the area’s geology as well as culture and other resources. Interesting corner of the world though.
One of the interesting things about all of that region of the world are all the various endorheic basins.