St Thomas turned up to preach the gospel, while Chinese pilgrims, following the route that I had taken over the Khunjerab Pass, came looking for Buddhist scriptures.
Several Chinese companies accused of fraud have taken this route, and each time the results have come back in favor of the company and the share price soars.
Getting permission to come legally to America, though, can be next to impossible: Chinese citizens frequently move to Australia and go through the entire citizenship process there first, an absurdly circuitous route that they hope will eventually win them legitimate status in the United States.