Xian, Shaanxi (album 1 of 8)
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The capital, is unfortunately like any other Chinese city..So we did not stay very long...Only long enough to catch a bus or a plane. From the capital, Urumqi we headed South West to Tarufan (Tarim Basin). It in one of the HOTTEST places in China. When we were there, the temperatures were nearly 40degC .
It was once the old capital city, during the Tang Dynasty when the camel caravans travelled overland carrying their goods to trade to head East towards Xian , ShaanXi Province.It has one of the best preserved ruins on the Silk Road. Having had enough of desert weather and ruins, we headed North to Tian Shan. This is like being in mini-Switzerland with the Alpine trees and mountains. The lake is at 1940m above sea level and formed by glacial activity.
We only spent one night by the lake in yurts, and trekked up a small mountain in the morning. It was so beautiful that we wished we could have stayed longer.Our longest stop was at Kashgar...the end of the road on China's side before heading to the Stan region.Kashgar is rich with history, culture and you don't have to go to a museum to see all this. We spend 3 hours in People's Park (there is a park like this in EVERY city in China) and we saw people who Turk looking, Eastern European, Han Chinese, non- Han Chinese....it was wonderful.The streets are so full of sights, sounds and smells.
This is one place in China where the street food is actually safe to eat. Right before your eyes, there are breads, meat pies & dumplings, dried fruit,,,and lots of weird looking stuff. The meat pies are taste really yummy with a cold can of coke.While in Kashgar, we took a desert trip on a camel trek to the Talakman Desert. My bum suffered a little. But sleeping under the stars in our tent, seemed to relief some of the sore.
We also headed way west towards Karakul Lake on the Karakorum Highway (the road to Pakistan) and did a day hike toward Muztagh Shan (around 4600m). It is summer , and the morning we left there were already fresh snow on the Karakorum Mountains!It is really amazing to be in China, and not meet a single Chinese person for days!! And some of them do not even speak Mandarin. The local dialect (Uighur) is still widely spoken among the local.
Only the younger generation know Mandarin. Our last stop was to see Eric Shipton's discovery of the world's biggest natural formed arch. Getting there was a bumpy ride in a 4WD. And walking up to the site was on a series of handmade wooden ladders. Having arrived at the top, the arch is really a magnificent structure.Included in these albums are some shots taken from a short trip to the extreme east of the Silk Road, Xian in ShaanXi Province.
This was the old capital , so the modern day Xian is now built around the ancient walls. With the Bell & Drum towers within walking distance of each other. A tiny taste of what the great Forbidden City is all about. Xian , is also the home of the Terracota Armies. Located about 90km from the city, these life size army were built and buried so as to protect the Emperor in his after life.Well we had a wonderful time exploring the land and its people, and now I am back in Shanghai to begin my second contract with the Fortune Kindergarten Int Sch.We hope you enjoy looking at the photos! Do take care and stay in touch.
Wati & Simon
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