Christoph Baumer (born June 23, 1952) is a Swiss explorer and historian of Central Asia. From 1984 onwards, he has conducted explorations in Central Asia, China, Tibet and the Caucasus, the results of which have been published in numerous books, scholarly publications, TV and radio programs. Life Baumer grew up in the Swiss Canton of Thurgau. His father was a businessman; his mother had been a war correspondent for the French national press agency and reported during the Finnish-Russian war in the winter of 1939–1940. Sven Hedin, the renowned explorer of Asia, aided her return to occupied Belgium, at that time her home. As an adolescent, Baumer was already fascinated by the travel reports of Hedin, and these likely laid the foundation for Baumer’s later development. After obtaining a PhD at the University of Zurich, he first worked in business till he became a freelance author and photographer with emphasis on the cultural history of Central Asia and the Caucasus. His books have been published in five languages. Christoph Baumer is, together with Therese Weber, initiating Founding Member and President of the archaeological Society for the Exploration of EurAsia. The Society makes scientific contributions to the exploration of the cultures of Eurasia. It promotes archaeological fieldwork in 6 to 8 countries and the scientific exchange of ideas and experience through publications and international conferences. Exploration in the Taklamakan Desert In 1994, Baumer led the First Sino-Swiss Taklamakan Expedition, and was the first Westerner to reach the ancient oasis of Niya and Loulan since the 1930s. The Second International Taklamakan Expedition followed in 1998. Christoph Baumer was the first visitor to the ancient ruined city Dandan Oilik in the Taklamakan Desert since Emil Trinkler and Walter Bosshard in 1928. Results of this expedition were, among others, the rediscovery and excavation of unknown ruins in Dandan Oilik and Buddhist murals dating from the mid-8th century A.D.; the discovery of a paper document from the 7th/8th century set in the Khotanese language and Brahmi script; the discovery of a very rare stone inscription in Kharoshthi from the 3rd century A.D. in the ruined city Endere; and the rediscovery of a Tibetan inscription from 790. From this expedition stemmed the ZDF (Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen) TV-documentary "The Lost City of Taklamakan". In 2003, Baumer conducted the Third International Taklamakan Expedition in collaboration with the Archaeological Institute of Ürümqi, Xinjiang and a representative of the University