Sept 17: Turpan

We had another full day in Turpan to explore the remaining interesting sites around the suburbs of the town.

Our first destination was the ruins of the ancient city of Gaochang. Gaochang lies about 45 km southeast of Turpan and to the south of the Flaming Mountains.

It was a walled city first built in the first century BC. It was an important political, economic and cultural centre of the western territory of ancient times and a key point on the old Silk Road. The city expanded and prospered for nearly 2000 years until it was burnt down in the early Ming Dynasty (14th Century).

As expected, the baked-mud and dung-brick buildings such as temples and stupas, palaces, quarters and walls had been badly eroded and the remains were reduced to mere rubble. The area was vast but barren, just monotonous ruins as far as the eye could see.

The majestic Flaming Mountains. The 2 dots in the distance are two tourists!

We left the ancient city of Gaochang after wandering inside for a while and proceeded to take a look at the famous Flaming Mountains of Turpan. Flaming Mountains is a range of the Tianshan Mountains, 98 km long. It lies in the middle of the Turpan Depression and runs from east to west. As the name implies, the barren mountains with exposed red sandstone, eroded gullies and ravines seem to glow under the hot blazing sun, making the mountains appear to be on fire. Travelling along the foot of the Flaming Mountains we had a clear view of the barren mountains.

The road along the Flaming Mountains also led us to the Bezerlik Buddha Caves. Just before we arrived at the grottoes we came to a site (forgotten the name now) with a guardhouse by the roadside. We stopped to enquire and were told to pay entrance fees for the visitors as well as for the vehicles. Thinking that they were meant for Bezerlik Caves, I paid all the fees. However, the receipts given showed otherwise. The driver and I returned to the guardhouse and demanded a refund, as we were not interested to visit this site. The fee-collector was adamant and said that we had to pay even if we did not intend to visit the site. When we pointed out that many vehicles passed through this place without stopping, the lady contented that they possessed season passes. We knew she was lying and I lost my temper. After a shouting match, she finally relented and gave me the refund!

The Bezerlik Caves

We followed the road which wound its way along the Flaming Mountains' meandering Murtuk River. Soon we reached the Bezerlik Caves, located high on a ledge above the Murtuk River. The caves were built between 300 and 1300 A D by Buddhists who fitted them with statues. They used these caves as shrines until the end of the 14th Century when they were abandoned and forgotten.

It was reported that there were 77 grottoes and about 40 of them still had murals on them. However, when we were there, only a few were open for public viewing and there was hardly anything left in all of them except some defaced Buddha images and paintings on the walls and roofs of the caves.

It was reported that in the 1900s some archaeologists from Europe discovered these caves. They sliced and peeled off murals and carted away tons of antiquities such as statues, sutras and paintings.

We left the Bezerlik Caves and headed for our last destination in Turpan - Aydingkol (Moonlight) Lake.

Aydingkol Lake is located about 40 km southwest of Turpan and it is at the lowest point of the Turpan Depression. At an elevation of 154.33 m below sea level, it is the second lowest inland point in the world next only to the Dead Sea -391 m. The present size of the lake is 40 km in length and 8 km in width.

The Moonlight Lake

The lake was once deep and expansive and was many times bigger than what it is today. Because of little annual rainfall (16mm) and high evaporation (3000 mm), the lake had shrunk and is now only about a meter deep, consisting of a layer of white salt crust, which simmers under the hot sun. For this reason, the local Uygur people call it the "Moonlight Lake".

There was no proper access to the lake. We had to traverse through rough and barren terrain and it took us about two hours to finally locate the lake. The area was almost totally deserted except the remains of two abandoned and dilapidated salt factories and their quarters. We met not a single tourist along the way and when we reached the destination we saw only a Japanese tourist with her guide about to leave.

Beside the lake there was a monument indicating that the lake was the lowest point on earth. Beyond this monument and as far as the eyes could see there was only a wide expanse of silvery white salt layer.

The lowest point on earth

Our return journey was equally bad and by the time we reached our hotel (Turpan Oasis Hotel, not far from the Turpan Hotel and along the same street) all of us were dead beat.

Sept 18: Turpan to Urumqi

We returned to Urumqi for a rest before we continued with our journey to Jimsar, north of Urumqi and along the old northern Silk Road.

Before we left Urumqi on 10 Sept. I wrote an email to Janet Tang of www.sinotel.com to book our overnight accommodation at Hong Fu Hotel. But when we reached the hotel we were told that there wasn't a reservation made for us. Fortunately there was a vacancy in Plaza World Hotel.

Sept 19 : Urumqi to Jimsar & back to Fukang

So far our sojourn in Xinjiang was mainly concentrated around the central region, south of Urumqi. As Ming would be returning home in a couple of days, we decided to sample a little bit of the northern region not too far from Urumqi.

We decided to go to Jimsar along the northern route to visit the ruins of Beiting City and thereafter go northwards into the desert in the southern edge of Junggah Basin. However we had time to visit either the Ghost City or the Wucaiwan (Multi-colored Bay). Since Mr. Wu was more familiar with the location of Wucaiwan as his son was working in the oil field in the same area, we settled for the latter.

The initial part of the route to Jimsar uses the same highway to Tianchi. From this highway, instead of turning towards Tianchi, it proceeds to Fukang and on to Jimsar, a distance of about 200 km from Urumqi.

Buddhist Temple at Jimsar

The ancient city of Beiting is located about 12 km north of Jimsar. It was built during the Tang Dynasty (650 AD). It was an important city of several dynasties in succession until its decline during the Ming Dynasty and was destroyed by wars in the 15th Century.

When we arrived at the site of the ancient city, we could not quite make out that it was the actual location of the city as the place was now cultivated with crops and only some remains of the city walls could be seen here and there. However, not far away from the ancient city was an ancient Buddhist Temple, which remained relatively intact. A few grottoes were still existing with walls and ceilings painted with images of Buddha.

Outside the compound of this Temple, there was an open enclosure where a fossilised tree trunk, cut into a number of pieces, was on display. It still remarkably retained the original shape and texture of a tree, though it sounded like iron when tapped and felt like stone when touched. Many fossilised trees are found in Jiangjun Gobi Desert near Qitai, not far from Jimsar. These fossilised trees are reported to be the biggest and best preserved in the world.

Posing in front of a fossilised tree trunk

It was also reported that in the Ghost City also in Jiangjun Gobi Desert, the Academy of Science of China dug out the fossilised remains of a dinosaur and was now displayed in the museum of Jimsar. However, we could not locate this museum but was told that it was kept in a community hall in town. We found this hall but unfortunately the door to the room where the fossilised remains were kept was locked and the person who had the key was on leave! Disappointed, we left Jimsar and headed towards our next destination, Wucaiwan.

The road to Wucaiwan traversed through the southern edge of the Gurbantunggut Desert. This road was supposedly constructed and maintained by the Oil Company, which was managing the oil field in the desert and so it was in a relatively good condition. Along the way one could see, beside sand and some dwarf vegetation, numerous oilrigs sprouted all over the desert and as far as the eyes could see. But out of nowhere, suddenly appeared a small range of red mountains called Huoshao-shan (fire-burnt mountain). It is said that millions of years ago, the mountain was covered with a layer of coal which became exposed due to erosion by wind and rain. This layer of coal was set on fire by the heat of the blazing sun and when the fire was burnt out, there remained today's colourful ranges of hills and knolls.

Huoshao-shan (Fire-burnt Mountain)

After Huoshao-shan we soon reached a small settlement, which was built by the Oil Company for its workers. We headed for the rest house as it was already near three in the afternoon. We were hungry and we needed a rest and accommodation for the night. We approached the reception and were told that rooms were available but the restaurant was already closed and would only be opened in the evening. However, when we tried to check in we were told that foreigners were not allowed to stay! But the receptionists were sympathetic seeing that we were hungry. They gave us some hot water for our Instant Mee and allowed us to use their living quarters to have our meals.

We left the rest house after our meals and Mr. Wu suggested that we look up his son who worked at the Oil Company's office nearby. He also needed the correct directions to Wucaiwan because there was no properly paved road to reach the site. We met his son and he showed us the way to Wucaiwan. We followed some tracks in the desert and soon we reached our destination.

Wucaiwan was a sight to behold; the exotic colours of the mountains and the shape of the terrain were unique and beyond comparison. Surprisingly, when we arrived we saw another vehicle on its way out and beside that there was not a single soul around. What a waste!

Wucaiwan - exotic, spectacular and quite unique

We reluctantly left Wucaiwan after taking some photos. As it was already late into the evening and the vehicle was getting low on fuel, we had to get on to the highway before nightfall. We came to another paved road, which was also built and maintained by the Oil Company and before long we were out on the main highway that ran along the southern rim of the Junggar Basin. After refueling, we headed east towards Urumqi. As we had not planned to return to Urumqi that same day, we did not make any hotel reservation there. Also, we were all tired after a long day and therefore we decided to put up a night in Fukang, a town about an hour's drive from Urumqi. By the time we checked into the hotel it was already past 9 pm.

Sept 20: Fukang to Urumqi

We spent a night in Fukang

We took a leisurely drive back to Urumqi this morning. We checked into Jinxin Hotel booked by Jim. Mr. Wu had therefore completed his assignment. I gave him a tip and we bade farewell.

We took a stroll in Urumqi in the afternoon and returned to the hotel to pack. We gave Ming all our dirty clothing to take home to reduce our luggage for the last part of our journey.

Mark Chong came to see us in our hotel and gave us our train tickets to Kashi and the tour itinerary in and around Kashi. I paid him for the complete package and he told me that John Hu of John's Café in Kashi would take care of us for this part of our tour in Xinjiang.

.We had planned to stay in Western Xinjiang for a few days and returned to Urumqi also by train on the night of 26 Sept. We would arrive at Urumqi on the morning of 28 Sept. in time to catch our flight to Beijing in the afternoon.

The Last Leg Of Our Sojourn In Xinjiang

Sept. 21 & 22: Urumqi to Kashi by Train

We all went to the airport by taxi in the morning to send Ming off.

Later, in the early afternoon, Lucy and I took a taxi to the train station to catch our train to Kashi which would depart at 1510 hours. We arrived at the station well before 2.30pm and found the station was already crowded with people. We found our way to the departure hall on the first floor of the station. It was not a very big hall and by the time we went in it was already crowded with passengers and their luggage. Soon, as more passengers arrived, the hall became jam-packed and many were pushing and jostling trying to get nearer to the exit to the platform. It was near mayhem!

When the gate was opened just before 3pm many passengers were pushing and running to get into the train as if it would move away without them. By the time we got into our coach, the luggage compartment was completely full and many bags were strewn along passageway and on bunks. We finally managed to find our sleepers and I was not too happy about them.

I had asked Mark to get us two soft sleepers, but he said they were all full and so we ended up with two hard sleepers. Soft sleepers were located only in one coach and they were contained in eight compartments each with four bunk beds. However, there were about 15 coaches for hard sleepers with each coach having 10 open compartments. In each compartment there were six bunk beds arranged in two rows, one with three bunks one on top of each other. Our tickets showed that we were assigned to bunks No. 7(a) and 8(c), 7(a) being the lowest bunk of one compartment and 8(c) the topmost bunk on the next compartment. By hook or by crook, I was determined to swap 8(c) with 6(a) so that both our sleepers would be on lowest level and in the same compartment.

When the train departed from the station at scheduled time, 6(a) was unoccupied and so I conveniently put my luggage on this sleeper and occupied it. About an hour or so later, it was announced that those who wished to upgrade their seats could do so in an office located in one of the coaches. However, by the time I reached this office it was already jam-packed with passengers and so I gave up.

About four hours into our journey, the train stopped at Turpan. Some passengers alighted but more came on board. Soon, a middle-aged man came into our compartment and showed his ticket to me and said that I was occupying his bunk. I told him to swap ours, and also told him that I could not get into mine because it was too high for an old man like me to climb. I said to him that if he did not exchange with me I would be sitting on my wife's sleeper facing his and I would be watching him the whole night so that it would be difficult for him to go to sleep. In spite of that he was still reluctant to swap with me. Finally I took out my wallet and pulled out two ten-yuan notes and offered him the notes, telling him that the difference in prices between mine and his sleeper was only ten yuan. He finally accepted my offer and quietly moved to my assigned bunk. So I was delighted to get what I wanted for paying only a small price. Actually I would have paid him more if he had insisted.

Though the compartments were all open, it was rather stuffy inside the coach as all the windows had to be tightly shut to prevent fine sand from being blown inside. Luckily the few smokers in our coach knew where to go to have their puffs at the end of the coach. Most of the time, it was noisy inside the coach with passengers talking incessantly and walking aimlessly along the corridor. They would not hesitate to sit on your bed without your permission to gossip with people they happened to meet along the corridor.

In our compartment there were two young businessmen from Guanzhou and two army personnel returning to their base in Shache, a town near Kashi. The four of them were friendly but were curious about us, particularly when I spoke to them in Mandarin and read all articles written only in English and conversed with Lucy also in English and Hokkien. The two from Canton spoke Mandarin with a typical Hongki accent but were able to converse with Lucy in Cantonese. One of the army personnel, Mr Sia, a major I presumed, was particularly interested in me. He told me he took tuition in English but found it difficult to progress. So, for the whole of the next day in the train I became his English teacher. He had some English comprehension exercises with him, which he could not understand and asked for my assistance. I went through with him all the passages and had difficulty in understanding some of the sentences myself! No wonder he found it difficult to learn English. I spent many hours with him on the trip and at least I did not feel bored having nothing to do.

We finally arrived at Kashi on the evening of 22 Sept., after nearly 30 hours in the train. We were met by two persons from John's Café and were transferred to Seman Hotel, across the road from John's Café.

We met John Hu and made arrangements for all our visits in and around Kashi during our stay here. We also had a light dinner in the café.

Sept. 23: In Kashi

Kashi or Kashgar is an important western terminus of the main road of Xinjiang Province. It is also the meeting point of the ancient central and southern silk roads and was the assembling point of oriental and occidental cultures. It was then a centre of caravan trade with India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. The infusing of cultures from India and Persia had enriched the local oasis culture, forming a multi-ethnic and multi-religious culture and making Kashi a unique place of interest for all travelers.

For our stay in western Xinjiang, we were provided with a saloon car and a driver, Mr. Kadir, a local Uygur who spoke Mandarin with a local accent.

Our first destination in Kashi was the Apakhoja Mausoleum, located 5km east of Kashi. The mausoleum was built in 1640 as a tomb for the descendants of an Islamic sage. The legend has it that 72 persons in all of five generation of the Hoja family were buried in this mausoleum. The legend also has it that Xiangfei, one of the concubines of Emperor Qianlong of Qing Dynasty was also buried here. For this reason, the mausoleum was also known as "The Tomb of Xiangfei". However, according to historical research, Xiangfei was actually buried in the East Tomb in Zunhua County, Hebei Province.

The Tomb of Xiangfei

The mausoleum consists of a big and small mosque, the beautiful and magnificent tomb hall, which is a high dome structure where all the tombs are located.

We went next to visit the Id Kah Mosque, located in the centre of Kashi. It is the biggest mosque in the whole of Xinjiang and covers an area of over 16,000 sq. m. It consists of the main prayer hall which can hold 4,000 worshippers, the lecture hall and the gallery. The arched gateway is quite impressive, it is 12 meters high with two 18-meter tall minarets by its side. It was built in mid 15th century but completed only in mid 18th century.

Next to the Id Kah Mosque, there was a long alley where many local products, handicrafts, clothing and colourful fabrics were displaced for sale. From one of the stalls I bought a knife for 50 yuan.

The Id Kah Mosque

On the way back to our hotel, we stopped at the city garden where a big and magnificent statue of Chairman Mao was prominently erected. We took a walk in the garden before returning to our hotel.

As we had sometime to spare today, I planned to sort out our return journey to Urumqi and make a hotel reservation when we returned to Urumqi.

We decided not to travel by train if we could not get soft-sleeper tickets. So I went to the travel-desk in the hotel to enquire. The receptionist told me that it would be almost impossible to get one because they were reserved only for government servants, and even for hard sleepers, one had to join the long queue at the station early in the morning. With this information I went across the road to John's Café to get John's assistance. He confirmed that it would be difficult to get soft-sleeper tickets if one had no "connection". He also said that the tickets would be at black-market rate and he required photostat copies of our international passports. Nevertheless I asked him to try. But at the same time, I told him that if it posed too much of a problem I would prefer to travel by air though the airfare would cost at least 4 times that of the train ticket (and we were were short of cash!). John agreed to make a tentative booking for our flight to Urumqi on the night of 26 Sept. after our return from the Taklimakan Desert tour.

As John's Café also provided Internet services, I wrote an email to Janet Tang of www.chinahotel.com asking her to book us a room for two nights in Hong Fu Hotel, Urumqi when we were expected to return at midnight on 26 Sept. I also asked her to book us a room in a 3-star hotel in Beijing on 28 Sept. where we would transit for a night before returning home.