Dear Mom, I'm still alive! Today was my first day of classes, which means that I've started to learn Chinese! It's going to be difficult, but I'm excited to start. Anyway, back to the Silk Road...
LANZHOU
After coming down from the mountains of Xia'he, we made a brief overnight stop in the city of Lanzhou. In both the past and the present, Lanzhou has been an important stop on the Silk Road because it is the point where the Road crosses the Yellow River.
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| Actually, the river is more of a light brown color. |
DUNHUANG
From Lanzhou, we took a bullet train (top speed: roughly 130 miles per hour) to the desert oasis city of Dunhuang. Those of you who follow my Facebook page might know this as the place where I got to ride the camel. But that's not all I got to do. I also got to see a lot of sand!
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| Sand! |
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| Sand! |
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Sand with plants!
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Sand with water!
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At one point, they even let me go play in the sand and climb the sand dunes; however, I didn't take any photos because I was busy getting pistol-whipped in the face by an oncoming sandstorm. I also didn't get any pictures of the famous Mogao caves, aka the Cave of A Thousand Bhuddas, built and painted over hundreds of years from 366 A.D. to the 13th century. Unfortunately, visitors are not allowed to take photos for the purposes of preservation; however, I've used my artistic skills to draw a picture that will give you an idea of what the caves are like:
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| Apologies to any Buddhists who may be offended by this depiction. |
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| They did let us take pictures of outside the cave. |
Initially, we had planned to spend the night in the desert in Dunhuang. However, due to the aforementioned sandstorm, we had to readjust our plans. Unfortunately, as a result, we had to spend the night in a hotel in the middle of the city - so it's a good thing that the city happens to be beautiful at night.
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Dunhuang City at night.
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Our next stop was Turpan. A quick note: Turpan is in the Xinjiang province, which is currently a very politically tense region, to say the very least. I can’t speak about these tensions too much while I’m in the country, but I strongly recommend that you investigate them on your own if you haven’t already. What I can say is that the Uyghur people native to this region are an incredibly lively, friendly people with a rich history, delicious food, and beautiful art.
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| Turpan is known for its grapes. |
Turpan is also home to the Jiaohe Ruins, the remains of a town situated at the junction between two ancient rivers long since dried up.
Last but certainly not least, the final stop on our trip was Kashgar. Situated in far western China near the border of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afganistan, and Pakistan, Kashgar is a beautiful blend of several different cultures, particularly the Uyghur people.
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Afaq Khoya Mausoleum, Kashgar
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| Old Town Kashgar |
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| Took this photo of me climbing a rickety wooden ladder because I knew it would make you nervous, Mom. Love you! |
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"Taste the rice farmers."
(I'm in no position to tease people for not understanding another language, but it amused me nevertheless.) |
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| At Kashgar’s infamous bazaar, you can buy Very Authentic Name-Brand Products for bargain prices. |
After two days in Kashgar, we boarded a plane and flew back to Beijing to start school. Overall, my experience on the trip road was incredible. A huge thanks to everyone who made the trip possible, including everyone at The Beijing Center, all the hotel workers, tour guides, cooks, servers, and shopkeepers, and everyone else who helped me along the way.
I love you, Mom,
Jackson
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