Turpan- Ancient cities and Mummies in the Desert

One of my last days in Xinjiang, we set out for a day adventure to the nearby city of Turpan. We took the highspeed train and reached the city in roughly an hour. The temperature was vastly different from Urumqi! It was like we transported directly into the middle of summer. Maybe it something to do with the fact that its a desert.... 

First stop was food. Our driver that we met at the train station took us to a local Uyghur place that was delicious! The Polo we ordered was 100x better than the stuff we had earlier in the week in the capital- probably the best I've ever had! And we had grilled meat kebabs also.... mmm, good! It was hot in the restaurant tho! whew. 

Next we went to the city museum. Some museums are cool and others are lame, but this one was interesting. Outside of town are some ancient ruins of a former city. In these ruins, several mummies have been found. They weren't embalmed like the Egyptians used to do to their dead, but simply because of the dry heat of the desert, these bodies have been preserved. One of the first things you see in the museum is several mummified hands. Kinda of startling if you aren't expecting it. Farther in are several full mummies, some remarkably preserved. One guy even had his toenails in tact! The history was interesting to read also- all the different peoples that inhabited that region over the centuries. There were a few dinosaur skeletons also. 

Now on to the ancient city itself! We drove out of town a little ways past vineyard after vineyard. The area is known for its grapes, raisins and wine. The green of the grapevines stood in sharp contrast against the tan sand. We also drove past the Flaming Mountain- its red rock sides look like flames of fire. Being non-tourist time, there was practically nobody at the ancient ruins. We wandered through old houses, climbed walls, peered into dried up wells and created random stories about the former inhabitants. I love history and geography, so exploring ancient ruins is right up my alley. 

Nearby is a traditional Uyghur village where the inhabitants still reside in mud/clay huts. This particular town has been in that particular location for hundreds of years. Now it has been partially commercialized, but still it was neat to visualize how these people lived for generations. The view was incredible, as the village is set back against the hills. Within walking distance are some old Buddhist caves that unfortunately we didn't have time to visit. Turpan is a place I'd like to visit again, for sure! 

The Mountains Called...

Last time I was in Xinjiang, we had wanted to go to the Nan Shan mountains for a day trip, but I wasn't able to make it. My friends went after I flew out, as they were there for an extra couple days. They said it was amazing and ever since then, I've wanted to go. Last week, we made a plan to go and I'm so glad it worked out. The day was beautiful for hiking in the mountains and we enjoyed our time out there. Well, I did at least and I think everyone else did as well. It was a little cool with the wind, but the sun was shining and the sky was clear. 

There was still snow on the higher mountains and ice on the lakes and rivers. I know it would be so much more beautiful in the summer when everything is green, but I never seem to travel in the summer. Alaskan summers are so amazing, that I never want to leave during that time, so I always experience other cool places at their non-peak times. Oh well. It was still beautiful. 

When we got to the park area, we ran into another expat family that my friends knew, so we teamed up with them for our hike/picnic. They also had visitors from the States, so were out for a day of exploring. The wind was so boisterous that when one of the girls tried out her huge kite, it dive bombed me at one point and I almost suffered an injury, but all was well. It made for a good laugh. 

I could definitely tell we were about 8,000 feet above sea level, as hiking up the hills were a little difficult at times. Need to work on my endurance, especially in higher altitudes, if I want to make that trek through the Himalayans one of these years. :) 

on our way to the mountains

still partially frozen lake

I love pine trees

had no idea that boys were being silly in the background :) 

Kazakh yurts in the valley

Back in Xinjiang after Three Years

Three years ago, I experienced the trip of a lifetime. Friends and I went on a ten day trip around the Xinjiang province. We had an amazing tour guide, so we got to see and do a lot more than we would have if we had been by ourselves. This past month I had to awesome privilege to visit these wonderful friends, who are now living there. We had a grand time exploring new places in their city and even nearby places. 

One day we went to a park across the city, and they actually had water in their fountains and manmade creeks! There are a lot of parks that have fountains or places for water, but lack the H2O. Not sure if that's because its so much trouble to clean it out all the time, or what. Anyways, we had brought a picnic lunch and enjoyed being outdoors. The pond had been freshly stocked with fish, so there was goldfish out the wazoo. 

My little buddy/nephew and I had fun! especially with the big bell at the park. During my time there, I taught him all kinds of fun things... hehe Isn't that what aunts are for? and he has an unique laugh, just like me! There's his regular baby-like laugh and then sometimes he starts chuckling in a deep-throated base voice, like an old man. I love it! 

Some days we sure wore out Little Man. Sometimes we just relaxed around the house, but other days were long days filled with adventure! Stay tuned for more adventure stories.... 

Hohhot, Inner Mongolia

Went up to Inner Mongolia for a weekend... Inner Mongolia is a province of China, it is not the country of Mongolia. Big Difference. Just to clarify for those who aren't up on their Asian geography. :) 

There are a lot of Mongolians who live in the province and the signs are all in Chinese and Mongolian. Only thing is, they use the old script Mongolian, not Cyrillic. So, I couldn't read any of it. And the whole time I was there, I didn't hear any Mongolian being spoken. 

It is a cool little city. One thing about Chinese cities, they look pretty cool at night. I wasn't able to get too many pictures and these ones barely give any justice. But the apartment I stayed at was on the 14th floor so I had a nice view of downtown. There's usually a lot of buildings lit up and many of them change colors, as you can see from the next three pictures. 

Mountains and Desert

After a long, stinky sleeper bus ride, it was pleasantly nice to take a personal car for the 7 hour drive up through the mountains to Tashkorgan. The drive was beautiful, as the skies were clear and the rocky mountains jutted up alongside the road. We stopped several times during the drive to get pictures of the mountains. Every time we would stop, the air was cooler and cooler. Coming from the desert, it seemed cold, especially since the wind was also blowing. But oh, the snow frosted mountains were worth it.

We only spent a night and day in Tashkorgan, but it was fun. The main population of the town is Tajik – which is a Turkish people group. Many have lighter brown hair and I saw some with green or blue eyes. They have their own language, but it is unwritten, so they also know Uyghur and/or Mandarin to communicate with others. Thankfully, I did not have to greet any ladies in the culturally acceptable way, since they kiss on the lips when they greet each other. That could have been…. Uh interesting?

in the Pamir Mountains

On the outskirts of town is an old stone fortress, built about 1300 years ago during the Tang Dynasty. It was fun exploring the ruins with Tim & Cara. Especially when we discovered an long -lost mummy. Just kidding. But we had fun pretending and those who were also visiting the site got a kick out of it. We even got asked for our picture. (which happened several times during the trip)

After driving back to Kashgar and spending one more night there, we set off on another  bus to our last stop, Hotan. Located in the desert area, Hotan was much warmer than the other places we visited. Actually it was quite hot there, but the people who live there looked like they wore the same amount of clothing as those who live in the cold mountain regions.

Many interesting things happened and many unique places visited during our short stay in the south desert. One of my favorites was the Carpet Factory. We watched as many ladies sat and handmade beautiful, intricate carpets by hand! Some were as small as one meter square and others stretched about 10 meters in length. The larger ones have as many as six women working on them at a time. All is done by hand: the different color silk threads are knotted into a pattern, cut roughly so they can do the next thread, after a few rows have been weaved, they use large shears to cut the threads to be one length. Several of the ladies have been weaving carpets for 15 years or more. Because they use silk as the threads, the carpets are very soft and smooth to the touch. And yes, I did buy a small one.

We also went to the Atlas Factory to see how their strangely unique material is made from start of finish. They begin with silkworms, which they boil so to loosen the silk threads of their cocoons, then the rough threads are spun into bundles, after it is refined a little, they die their random, rainbowish patterns in huge vats. After the threads are dyed, they are hooked up to a loom manned by a single person. And then there it is – the vibrant, chaotic fabric.

Another stop in Hotan was an ancient Muslim mosque in the Taklimakan Desert. The people there are Islamic, but they have mixed that faith with older folk beliefs. So their religion is lax form of Islam with much superstition. The path leading to this old mosque was strewn with burial plots of fallen warriors from an archaic battle and though Islam teaches not to worship any but Allah, many stop to pray to these dead heroes. Most are not avid follows of Islam; to them being Uyghur is to be Muslim, even if all that means is that they don’t eat pork.

We also visited a Jade Market – which was an experience. All’s well that ends well, but the way to the end can sometimes be unforgettable. Not understanding the language did not hinder me from seeing a near riot begin. For a time, it got quite heated. Thankfully most of those involved were on our side of the argument and we were able to leave with anybody getting hurt. It was kinda cool to see 40+ Uyghur men campaign for us, even to the point of pulling money out of their own pocket to pacify the crazy shopkeeper.

Yep, another unusual day in my life. 

Kashgar

The Silk Road. Largest Mosque in China. 2^nd largest Mao statue in the country. (in)Famous Sunday Bazaar. The Old City. 

Just a few of the things that make Kashgar, Xinjiang a magnificent city. We spent several days exploring and wandering the city. There is so much history contained in one little area of the world. Seeing the largest mosque and second largest statue of Mao is not something that I would say is exactly enjoyable. It is a part of the people’s lives, but a part that to me is sad. I couldn’t help but think of the blindness that surrounded me. Spiritual and political blindness.  Only the One who is the Way, the Truth and the Life can open their eyes. Praise Him for the opportunities we had to spread His Word. 

largest mosque in china

My favorite part of Kashgar was wandering the streets of a part of the Old City. It was almost if I had walked back into the past. The streets and walls were all made of brick and mud – narrow, winding streets with ancient, wooden doors opening into a Uyghur home, where one would sit to munch on nuts, dates, fruit, nan and drink tea.

an old street - wonder whats around the corner?

Or a doorway would lead to a part of the house where a man was sitting in the floor maneuvering a pottery wheel, carving out simple, yet beautiful pots. And they used the simplest tools, such as a piece of wire and a broken off piece of wood to carve the designs. Amazing. These men were doing the same work their great-great-great grandfather had done years before. 

potter at work

trying on atlas -
once described as "material a rainbow threw up on"

A charming part of the city, yet many old sections are being torn down to make room for newer developments. Progress and future – is the Chinese way. No matter that one’s family has lived in that house for perhaps 200 years or more. 

I did enjoy a few of the more modern, developed attractions. The ferris wheel in the center of town was fun (and cheap). Also, after the ride above the city, we decided to have a little fun. Heehee Bumper Cars! I’ve always wanted to do it, but was never at a place where they had them. So, for less than $2, we had quite the time! Sorry, no pictures.

in the ferris wheel - overlooking the city

Kashgar was lots of fun…. Yes, even the Sunday Bazaar – which uh, was quite interesting. ;) But we had fun shopping. We bought many scarves, the brighter the color the better (or so they think) and matching skirts. In Uyghur culture, if you are good friends with someone then you wear the same outfits to show the world. Haha, completely different than back in America. 

mosque above the bazaar

Sleeper Buses

One of my most memorable, interesting times in Xinjiang most certainly would have to be riding a Sleeper Bus. Our 10 day trip around the desert and through the mountains included 3 different sleeper buses. Our first experience was the first night of the trip, when we set out from the province capital of Urumqi headed for Korla. We arrived at the bus station after dark – the ride was supposed to be an all-nighter. My first thought when I got thru the door of the bus and looked at the aisle of beds was “dirty.” 

first sleeper bus 

All the beds had sheets and a blanket on them just for your personal use. How nice and considerate of them! But I think they would have done well to wash them every once in a while. But honestly that first bus wasn’t too bad. I had a top bunk, which is a little difficult to get in and out of, especially when you have your backpack with you on an 18inch wide bed. But I managed and got situated. Just as I did, the driver came back and motioned for me to move up a bed. Ugh. So, down I went to move my stuff and do it all over again. Once the ride started, it wasn’t too bad. It sure is nice to lay down for a 10 hour bus ride instead of sitting up the entire time. I know my tailbone was thankful. So, after that first one, we thought “hey, this isn’t too bad, we can do that again.”

not so VIP inside

Then the next sleeper bus…… was a different story. This time was from Akisu to Kashgar, another 9 hour or so ride. This time we all had bottom beds. We all got onboard and started getting comfortable in our beds. Sheets and blankets were about the same…. But the difference was this slightly overwhelming odor. Mmmm…. At first Tim and I made jokes about the BO on the bus. Whew. But after a little bit, we realized it was actually feet smell. 

Do you know what’s worse than someone’s BO? 

10 people’s BO!

Do you know what’s worse than 10 people’s BO? 

The 20 feet that go with it! 

Yep, so the entire ride there was this insufferable stench to fill our nostrils. It wasn’t one of those smells that you get used to after a while and don’t realize. Nope, even with the AC blowing directly in my face for half the ride, the stink was constant. We were extremely grateful to arrive in Kashgar – even if it was at 2am. The walk from the station to the hotel was nice after that stinky bus. We laughed about it, but sure hope I don’t have to do another one of those! 

The 3^rd sleeper bus was a little nicer, which is why they made us pay more. But we all agreed that a little more cost was ok, if it insured that there would be no stinky feet smell. Walked on the bus and ah, no bad scent. So, we settled in for our….. 18 hour ride. That was our longest one. I slept for most of it, cause I was tired and what else do you do while on moving bus, while laying down and its dark outside? But the last couple hours were slightly (uh, very) uncomfortable. We hadn’t had a bathroom break in quite a few hours….. yep, uncomfortable. Actually, we did stop at one point that morning, but I was asleep and one of my wonderful traveling companions didn’t think to wake me! I told them “next time, wake me up!”

So, if any of you are thinking that your life is boring and nothing exciting ever happens to you. I suggest a Sleeper Bus! You never know who you might be sleeping next to or below. And all kinds of things could happen. Everyone should try it at some point in their life. I think it will make you a much more completed person. haha

Random lessons from Xinjiang

split pants are no accident

going out with wet hair gives the wrong impression

kissing another woman is just a greeting in some cultures

don't take pictures of the military

headscarves can be cute

always travel with your own supply of tp

5 persons on a motorcycle is very doable

sleeping on plywood isn't much different than a Chinese hotel bed

sheep fat is a forgotten element of the food pyramid

Asian music videos are worse than American ones

sleeper buses give a new definition to feet odor

tea eggs are actually tasty

the wilderness is cleaner than many marked "WC"s

one can hang from an electric line like its a normal afternoon activity and live to tell the tale

telling time is much more complicated than in other places
you can get high on peppers

bazaar crowds can be very invasive of personal space

it is possible to eat cereal with chopsticks

sleeper buses are like slumber parties

naan is awesome fresh, ok next day, eatable days old and a karate-choppable weeks old

mummies are still being discovered in the remote Pamir mountains ;)

tea cleans everything

3wheelers come in truck and mini van model