Xiahe to Lanzhou, Gansu province, China

On Thursday night we covered another 1,200 km East on overnight train N858 from Dunhuang. We arrived at 9am in Lanzhou, a city of 3 million people and the capital of Gansu province. Lanzhou is sometimes stated to be the most polluted city on Earth. True, when we arrived the air was hazy but it is very hard to believe that there are not many places on Earth with much worse pollution than this. Any air pollution notwithstanding, Lanzhou is a pleasant city with many attractive, modern buildings. It is hemmed in by mountains to both the north and south, and the Yellow River bisects the city.

On Saturday morning we caught a taxi to the riverside and after a short stroll along the promenade we had lunch at a cafe that looked out over the fast-moving silty water. Then we moved on to the bus station hoping to get tickets to Xiahe in southern Gansu. This is a very beautiful mountainous area with a large Tibetan population and the largest Tibetan monastery outside of Lhasa. From there we hoped to continue south to Langmusi on the border with Sichuan, and on to Songpan in Sichuan province. Songpan is close to Jiuzhaigou Alpine Nature Reserve, considered by many to be China's No. 1 natural feature. Unfortunately the roads south of Jiuzhaigou were badly damaged by the recent earthquake and the only way currently to enter from the south is by air from Sichuan's capital city, Chengdu. The Nature Reserve itself has been shut since the earthquake but, we believe, is due to re-open on 8 July.

As we were already in Gansu province, only a few hundred kilometres north of Jiuzhaigou, we thought that travelling south through Xiahe would provide a very scenic and expeditious way to get to Jiuzhaigou at about the time it reopened. The only complication was that Xiahe has recently been off limits to foreigners for other reasons so we were not sure if our intended route would be viable, but we intended to find out. At the Lanzhou bus station we were told that foreigners could not travel on the bus to Xiahe but that we could buy a ticket to the nearby town of Linxia, home to a large population of Chinese Hui Muslims. So we did. When we arrived in Linxia we attempted to buy tickets on a bus to Xiahe but were told that foreigners could not travel on this bus. We spoke with a taxi driver on the street who told us that Xiahe had recently been re-opened to tourists and that he could take us there in his taxi. So we went with him. It was a beautiful two hour drive through steep-sided green mountain valleys intensively planted with crops of vegetables and irridescent canola. Passing through a long mountain tunnel marked the transition from predominantly Chinese Hui Muslim countryside dotted with attractive mosques to predominantly Tibetan countryside.

On our arrival in Xiahe at around 8pm we walked down the main street to find a hotel. Several appeared to be shut. We found an open one and went in - the manager seemed very surprised to see us and told us that Xiahe had still not been reopened to foreigners. This was unsettling and not what we wanted to hear, so we decided not to tarry in Xiahe. The following morning we visited the Sangke Grasslands just out of town where Tibetan herders graze their animals in summer, and the large Labrang Tibetan monastery in the town, home to about 1,400 monks. At the latter, in addition to many very photogenic buildings, we saw a group of hundreds of monks throat chanting, and a display of decorative flowers and other objects carved from dyed yak butter. Then we moved on to the bus station and bought tickets to Hezuo, about two hours further south. There was no problem buying the tickets, and with Xiahe behind us, we thought that any issues regarding our presence in the area would be resolved. But as we entered Hezuo the bus was stopped at a military-police roadblock, and police came on board to do some checking. On spotting a western face, they politely asked us to get off the bus and we and the bus driver were taken across the road for questioning regarding our recent and intended future travel plans. The driver was admonished for bringing foreigners on the bus in this area, and it was decided that we would now go to the police station for further discussions. While these events unfolded, the bus remained parked and the other passengers stared intently at the proceedings across the road. The bus luggage compartments were opened up and our baggage was removed. The driver was then free to go and the bus took off, with 35 sets of eyes trained on the two foreigners standing forlornly in the retreating distance.

We were then taken in a police van to the town's police station where it was explained to us that this area, including Xiahe, was still currently off-limits to foreign tourists, and that we should not be in the area, and that this requirement was for our own welfare. The soldier and police officers who accompanied us to the station were polite and friendly. They insisted on carrying our backpacks, offered us a cigarette, and gave us a peach drink while we awaited the arrival of the station leader who had been called in from his Sunday afternoon off to deal with our case. We pleaded our case to be allowed to continue our journey southward, but we were advised that there was only one option for our next travel movement. North - Back to Lanzhou. The case decided, we returned to the van and were driven back to the highway roadblock to await the next bus north to Lanzhou. When it approached it was stopped and the driver was told to take us to Lanzhou. Again, under the watchful gaze of the bus passengers, we emerged from the police van and boarded the bus while our baggage was being stowed underneath. Although retracing our steps of the previous 48 hours was not what we had in mind, the return journey through such beautiful countryside was still pleasant, and we arrived back in Lanzhou at about 8pm on Sunday night. We checked into a hotel next to the train station as we intended to stay in Lanzhou for only as long as it took to develop a Plan B. We will probably now travel by train to Chengdu.

We had come tantalizingly close to reaching Jiuzhaigou from the north - only about 350 km to go from Hezuo. Now, returned to Lanzhou, we face a circuitous route of nearly 2,000 km to get there. And at considerably more expense too, might I add. Still, we tried, and in any case we had got to see beautiful Xiahe and surrounds and the picturesque Labrang monastery, so it was a very interesting trip despite the sudden termination of that particular travel segment.

While in the lobby of our hotel next to the Lanzhou train station we met a Frenchman just come in from the deserts of Inner Mongolia. Lee Tuan struck up a conversation with him and today the three of us had lunch together at a nearby cafe. He leads a very interesting life - he's an engineer and crew member on Gitana 13, a multi-hulled carbon-fibre ocean racing yacht. The vessel, sponsored by the Rothschild Corporation, speeds around the world racing the clock. It's currently in dry dock in Hong Kong after sailing from New York to San Francisco (via Cape Horn!), then to China. Its next leg beginning in August is back to Europe. While the boat is in dry dock the crew is on R&R, and our new acquaintance headed off to see the Inner Mongolian desert before flying home to France later this week. The story of the Gitana 13 and its sister vessels is told at the following website:

http://www.gitana-team.com/en/gitana/gitana_team/puissance.asp

Dunhuang, Gansu province, China

Dunhuang on the ancient Silk Route in remote Gansu province is a small city where the Gobi Desert meets oasis. We came here on an overnight train from Urumqi, a journey east of about 1,000 km. We could have caught the train near Turpan but to be sure of getting soft sleeper berths we took a bus to Urumqi where this train originates. We needn't have bothered; for the first time we found ourselves on a train that wasn't full, in fact it was nearly empty. Apparently the direct Urumqi to Dunhuang service is new and this was the first run of the season. We had not just a whole 4-berth compartment to ourselves, we had a whole carriage! It was the best train we've travelled on. The air-conditioning was perfect, the linen was crisp and bright white, and the floor carpet was so clean you could have eaten your duck off it. And there was even a volume control for the normally blaring ceiling speaker. Luxury.

We arrived in Dunhuang just before 11am on Sunday morning after an enjoyable journey that was a fitting end to our great five weeks in Xinjiang Province. After checking into the Jia Ri Hotel on Mingshan Lu we went for a stroll around the city centre. I was expecting a dusty forlorn place but Dunhuang is the opposite – it's green, clean, attractive, modern and friendly. And there is a large amount of redevelopment going on. In the early evening we caught a minibus to the southern outskirts of the city to see the monster Mingsha sand dunes that lap at Dunhuang's feet at this point. This range of Gobi Desert dunes drifts and blows over nearly 1,000 square kilometres and the highest dune reaches almost 6,000 feet. That's a lot of loose sand. It was a long, hard, sweaty climb to the top of the dune here (fortunately a lot less than 6,000 feet), and the shadows came out to play for a few moments before the sun dipped below the ridge.

Dunhuang has many hotels and cafes to cater for the tens of thousands of Chinese and western tourists who come here each year. But it's not the mildly interesting Mingsha Dunes that are the attraction. The real tourist magnet in these parts is the fabulous UNESCO-listed Mogao Grottoes (also known as the Thousand Buddha Caves) located at the eastern foothills of the Mingsha Mountains 25km southeast of Dunhuang. These grottoes, totally unassuming from the outside, are one of the world's greatest repositories of Buddhist paintings, sculptures and manuscripts. The first cave was carved into the cliff in 366 AD, and over the following 1,000 years many hundreds more were added along a 1.7km stretch of the canyon wall. Initially they were private shrines constructed by the local well-to-do, and later also became places of Buddhist learning and artistic expression financed by wealthy Silk Road traders. Merchant caravans plying the Silk Route would often detour to call into the grottoes to pray and worship.

At their peak the grottoes housed 18 monasteries, 1,500 or so monks and nuns and many artists, translators and calligraphers. The 500 caves surviving today contain 45,000 square metres of painted murals and 2,400 painted sculptures. Red, green and blue feature strongly in the murals; these colours were derived from precious natural minerals – red from cinnabar, green from malachite and blue from Afghani lapis lazuli. The geology, dry weather, darkness and geographical remoteness have all conspired to protect the grottoes over the eons, with many of the murals remaining amazingly, and genuinely, fresh and bright. In its heyday the grotto system featured ornate timber exteriors and connecting walkways but these have all been claimed by the ravages of time. The section of the cliff wall that houses the caves open for inspection now has been grouted, and concrete walkways have been installed to allow easy access. Not surprisingly, padlocked steel doors have also recently been fitted to the entrance to each cave for security. The result is a strange-looking, utilitarian exterior that belies the treasure trove within.

Around 1,000 AD the area came under siege and the locals gathered up over 50,000 priceless manuscripts and paintings of Buddhist, Uighur, Chinese, Tibetan, Mongolian and other origins, dating back as far as 400 AD, and deposited them in a small cave that was then sealed and the entrance hidden. They obviously did a good job, for the cave (now known as Cave No. 17, the “Library Cave”), remained hidden and forgotten for the next 900 hundred years! It was rediscovered in 1900 and soon attracted the hungry eye of roving western archeologists who hauled away more than 20,000 of the items to Europe and elsewhere. This is understandably a sore point with the Chinese today although the Guide makes only polite reference to it during the grottoes tour. We saw ten of the caves today during our tour, so that leaves 490 to go. Even to a non Buddhist and someone only mildly interested in history, this place is amazing in concept and scale, and is a must-see if you are ever in the region. Just don't mention Cave 17 when out walking in downtown Dunhuang!

One of the caves we saw today during our tour contained a towering, painted 85 feet high sculptured Buddha. Contained within a semi-dark cave only a little higher than the Buddha itself, it was an impressive sight. After the group had stared up at it for a few minutes, the Guide suggested that we now move on to another cave to see the Big Buddha! She wasn't joking. We sauntered down to No. 96 and went in. Inside was a 120 feet high sculptured Buddha, believed to represent Empress Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty period who is said to have used Buddhism to consolidate her power.

Unfortunately for tourists, photography is strictly forbidden in the caves and we even had to hand in our camera before beginning the tour, so I can't attach any photos to illustrate what a great place this is. But you can see some images and read more about the grottoes if you wish by clicking on the following links：

http://www.getty.edu/conservation/publications/newsletters/14_2/feature1.html

http://images.google.com/images?imgsz=small%7Cmedium%7Clarge%7Cxlarge&gbv=2&hl=en&newwindow=1&q=dunhuang+grottoes+&btnG=Search+Images

According to our travel guidebook, Dunhuang has a very lively night market just a block away from our hotel. Local specialties include a whole chicken cut up and stir fried with onion and peppers and served in a pool of Vesuvian chilli sauce. Another one is noodles served with donkey meat. We haven't got there yet but it's on our agenda for tomorrow night. We'll probably go for the chicken.

Jiaohe Ruins near Turpan, Xinjiang province, China

About 8km west of Turpan, on a small plateau surrounded by high cliffs, sit the ruins of the ancient city of Jiaohe. Originally constructed in 200 BC, the slowly crumbling remains have endured more than 2,000 baking summers since then. Certainly, when we were there today we could easily have baked a duck on the searing cobblestone path that snakes through the ruins and has been installed in more recent times to keep visitors off the precious UNESCO-listed ancient structures. The city's buildings and streets that occupy an area of about 40 hectares were largely carved from the earth and supplemented with adobe. The remains of many of the streets, houses, administrative buildings, temples and monasteries are still clearly visible and distinguishable.

From 100 BC to 450 AD, Jiaohe was the capital city of the region, and from 640 AD to the beginning of the ninth century AD it was the Jiaohe County of the Tang Dynasty. This is a fabulous place and we were eager to see as much of it as possible despite the searing heat. By the time we returned to the taxi we had been reduced to two reddened sweat balls and we asked Mahmud who was sheltering in a melon and drinks shop to take us straight back to our hotel, and not to spare the donkeys. We'd had a great day but it was time for some air conditioning that thankfully was the Turpan Hotel's strong suit.

Tuyoq Village near Turpan, Xinjiang province, China

We came to Tuyoq Village through Tuyoq Canyon that cuts colourfully through the Flaming Mountains. Tuyoq is a tiny Uighur village whose livelihood depends heavily on grape growing. Unlike the larger Uighur towns, Tuyoq has largely retained its traditional character with winding dirt streets and adobe walls still holding sway over bitumen and fired brick. After a brief melon stop to cool down we strolled for an hour through the photogenic alley ways, then walked further up the valley to see the Buddhist caves carved into the cliff sides 1,700 years ago. The interiors of some of these were originally adorned with paintings but these were vandalized long ago and only a few defaced examples survive.

On the hillside directly above Tuyoq sits a mazar, a symbolic tomb of the first Uighur Muslim. According to our guide book, this has been an important Muslim pilgrimage site for centuries, with seven trips here equivalent to one trip to Mecca. Even for a non-Muslim, seven visits to this beautiful village would not be too many.

Turpan, Xinjiang province, China

We arrived in Turpan on Wednesday afternoon and checked into the strange-looking, imaginatively-named Turpan Hotel. Unlike other parts of Xinjiang there were a considerable number of westerners here – Turpan is definitely on the tourist trail and it didn't take long to find out why. This oasis town of 60,000 people in the Turpan Basin, and once an important stopover on the Silk Route, is an atmospheric place with several fascinating and different sights to see. It is also the hottest place in China with summer temperatures in the high forties and the second-lowest place in the world after the Dead Sea.

Tour touts descended on us even before the bus from Urumqi stopped at the Turpan station. One of our fellow passengers was an under cover tout and he began to harangue us aggressively as we approached the outskirts of town. We refused to deal with him but within minutes of arriving we had stitched up a deal with a more mild-mannered operator to take us on a tour tomorrow in the desert countryside surrounding Turpan. We walked through the buzzing local bazaar loaded with the melons and grape products that Turpan is famous for, then adjourned to a crowded Uighur restaurant for dinner.

This morning our driver Mahmud picked us up and we headed out of town to see some sights. It was interesting countryside with parched desert scenery on one side of the road, grapevines and cotton fields on the other. The landscape was dotted with rectangular mud brick structures used to dry and transform harvested grapes into sultanas, raisins and currants. We stopped to look at the Afghan-style Emin Minaret constructed by a Turpan ruler in the late 1700s and we had lunch at Grape Valley. Here there was a huge expanse of vine covered trellis subdivided into separate cafes, each decorated colourfully with curtains, rugs and carpets. We ordered Uighur noodles that were prepared fresh from a bag of flour. While the noodle maker expertly swung and twirled the dough, Mahmud took a nap on a bed sitting in a babbling brook that ran along the edge of our cafe. It was certainly a cool, pleasant sanctuary from the scorching heat outside.

But the highlights of the day were our visits to Tuyoq Village and to the ruins of the ancient city of Jiaohe. Each is described in later separate blog posts.

Yining to Turpan, Xinjiang province, China

We returned to Urumqi from Yining on Tuesday on a daytime sit-up bus, thinking it would be faster and more comfortable. The bus was big, air-conditioned and spacious and the ticket seller said the journey would take nine hours. We left Yining at 1pm and the road took us past some interesting sights. About 70 km out of the city the road winds through a spectacular mountain pass. Equally spectacular is the road building project going on here, involving tunnels through mountains, tall bridges over floodplains and soaring overpasses spanning high ridges. We eventually came to sweeping plain country with the snow-covered Tian Shan mountain range an ever-present backdrop, and we stopped at a tiny Uighur settlement for lunch at around 3pm.

The journey would have been very pleasant were it not for the unrelenting awful movies played at full volume on the bus video system. The first one began a few minutes after we left Yining and there was no more silence until 11pm when the driver mercifully pulled the plug. Over these 10 hours we were subjected to continual films but there was little variety of concept – they all involved violence, fighting, screaming, guns firing incessantly and car chases with insanely dangerous driving, all delivered at ear-splitting volume. One of them was the full-length version of King Kong dubbed in Chinese! It was ghastly beyond description and it seemed never to end. By 11pm I was at my wits end and ready to scream too. You can only wonder at the sensitivity of the person who chose these movies for screening to a diverse audience on a public bus.

There was another puzzling aspect to this journey. After the mountain pass there is a four-lane freeway all the way to Urumqi. Why then did we spend so much time bouncing around on rough winding gravel roads with the freeway tantalizingly in sight but not often enough under our wheels? Was the driver avoiding freeway tolls, or was he trawling for additional passengers? This never really became clear. What did become clear was that we were still making our way to Urumqi at 1am!! Even the normally polite, long-suffering Chinese passengers began to grumble and make mildly disparaging remarks about the bus, wickedly drawing unfavourable comparisons with donkey carts. We finally arrived at Urumqi at 2am, 13 hours after leaving Yining and four hours late! Even the bus station was closed and locked up, so the driver simply stopped on the edge of the road and unloaded the luggage into the traffic on the edge of a large deep puddle. We hailed a taxi and had the driver take us to the Xinjin Hotel where we had stayed before leaving for Yining. But earlier that day the Olympic torch had come through Urumqi and many visitors were still in town and the hotel was booked out. So we had to haul our packs up onto our backs again and walk down Renmin Road until we found a hotel that had a spare room. This was at the Xinjiang Rong Du Hotel and they had just one room left. But that was all we needed and we grabbed it and slipped thankfully between the sheets just after 3am.

The following day we were back at the bus station boarding a bus to Turpan, 2.5 hours to the East. We had to endure again the loud movies involving kick boxing, swords, pikes and pole axes, but this journey was much shorter so our tolerance level was up to the task. Though I still would have liked my own pole axe to give the bus video system a right good tweaking.