Silk Road

S   i   l   k      R   o   a   d Our Silk Road tour actually began while we were digging up pottery shards and bones in Kazakhstan. The Kazakhstan archaeological program gave us a very good hands-on lesson of what to see (and "imagine") when we visited many ruins in the Xinjiang region of China. We entered Xinjiang (Yining) via a bus from Almaty, and travelled from there westward till we reached Xi'an. When we first mentioned our intention to visit Xinjiang by ourselves, we were often discouraged by many, even our chinese friends, that the place is unsafe for lone backpackers like us. Yet, when we were there, we found many friendly people (including a friend we met on the train to Kashgar), wonderful food in the bazaar, and endless number of mosques, ruins and "old walls". The only disappointment is that towns along the Silk Road are now gradually populated with modern malls and well-paved roads, along with big banners from the Party proclaiming that the "Big Western Development" (西部大开发 "Xi Bu Da Kai Fa") is on its way.

map of silk routes	Xinjiang, China	hand pull ramen	Kucha, Xinjiang
mosque in Kucha	infiltration of communist ideals...	Jungar Basin	meeting our friend on the train
Chairman Mao at Kashgar, Xinjiang	dumpling stall	Xinjiang barber shop	lamb trader
steamed lamb head	Kashgar sunday market	hand pulling...	...noodles
creative use of US flag	Kashgar market	meeting our friend at Kashgar	modern Uighur home
Tomb of Xiangfei (or Abokh Hoja)	sauce seller	visiting the country-side	our friend's grandparents house
grandparents and nephew of our friend	mosque in Xinjiang	colors of Xinjiang mosque	decorated tiles
along karakorum highway	karakorum highway	arriving at tashkorgan	karakorum highway towards Pakistan
karakorum highway	Kashgar kids with traditional caps	old city in Kashgar	clamouring for a photo
hanging out infront of the TV	Shache, Xinjiang	Shache	mosque in Shache, Xinjiang
cemetery of Yarkant kings in Shache	two young prayers	tarp for prayers	old walls in Hotan, Xinjiang
carpet factory, Hotan	Malikawat ruins	Hotan, Xinjiang	Hotan market
traversing the Taklamakan desert	Heaven's Lake near Urumqi	Tian-chi (Heaven's Lake)	Tianchi
corssing icy bridge, Tianchi	our yurt in Tianchi	breakfast in Tianchi	Urumqi square
Gaochang ruins in Turfan	a buddhist temple	Gaochang ruins	Turfan grapes
Jiaohe ruins, Turfan	Dunhuang sand dunes	our camel ride, Dunhuang	camel trekking
riding the camels in Dunhuang	sand dunes of Dunhuang	ruins along the Silk Road	view from western-most watchtower of Great Wall
Jiayuguan, Xinjiang	Jiayuguan, Xinjiang	Jiayuguan, Xinjiang	drawing on door panel
temple in Zhangye	city center, Zhangye	reminder of Jiang Zemin, Zhangye	buddha images in Matisi, Zhangye
Matisi temple, Zhangye	bread stall, Lanzhou	selling tealeaf eggs, Lanzhou	train ride
atop Maijishan Grottoes	Maijishan Grottoes	terra cotta warriors, Xi'an	more terra cotta warriors
Xi'an, China	main gate of Xi'an	script on a muslim temple	muslim temple, Xian
old city wall, Xi'an