In 1907 explorers discovered a vast treasure of ancient scrolls some of which were Christian. Dating from the 7th Century, the Jesus Sutras are Chinese accounts of the life and teachings of Jesus. The legendary Chinese monk, poet, and scholar Xuan Zang traveled the Silk Road to India and back approximately 1,400 years ago in search of the teachings of Buddha. When he returned to China, he brought with him Buddhist manuscripts and is thus credited with having brought the religion to his homeland.

In this documentary, the route taken by Xuan Zang, the Silk Road, a collection of routes snaking across Eurasia from the first millennium BCE through to the middle of the second millennium AD, is followed by a film crew, and the fascinating history of Central Asia, and the life of the traveling monk, is seen to be resonating to the present day.

Ancient sites visited by Xuan Zang are seen today, including meditation cells carved into rock walls in the desert and remote monastery ruins that were once enormous art galleries containing thousands of murals. The fabled cave temples where hundreds of Buddhist scrolls, including the famous Diamond Sutra, were discovered in a phenomenal archaeological find, is visited. Xuan Zang is a revered figure in the East to this day, with thousands of people visiting shrines in his honor.