Following flaxen threads

Trekking the old Silk Road, a modern team of Belgians retraced the centuries-old footsteps of their linen-trading forebears, hoping that the prosperity they once found can be revived in today's global economy. Martin Banks reports.

It may not be the Yellow Brick Road but, like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, the old Silk Road has got people in Belgium and China dreaming. They are hoping the route once trodden by Flemish traders can again help promote closer economic ties between Asia and Europe.

A group of Belgian executives has just returned from the trip of a lifetime, retracing the steps once taken by flax and linen traders from the Low Countries.