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The Bingling Temple Caves were about a 1-1/2 to 2 hour drive from Lanzhou, up through the mountains, on the edge of a lake created by the Liujiaxia Reservoir. This reservoir spared the caves from destruction during the Cultural Revolution. The Sunshine Hotel sent us on our way with a boxed lunch. When reaching the pier, we took a chartered ferry to the temple, about another 50 minutes.
There are a total of 183 caves, carved into the cliffs of a 180-foot high gorge considered second to Mogao Caves in respect of artistic value. The cliffs, composed of eroded and porous rock with many natural caves, were quite unbelievable. The concept of Michelangelo on his back painting ceilings was a minor feat compared to all these people, hanging from ropes, painting frescoes, and carving sculptures, into the face of these cliffs!
boats to Bingling
Continue reading "Bingling Temple Caves (Bingling Thousand Buddha Caves)" »
A night-time arrival by plane in Lanzhou, capital of Gansu Province (population of almost 3,000,000 people), at an altitude of over 5,000' above sea level. It's one of the largest cities in the northwest and crammed into a narrow valley surrounded by mountains that creates haze and pollution. The drive from the airport into Lanzhou took about 1-1/2 hours because of these mountains. This location had the closest flat area the safe runways could be built. Checked in to the Sunshine Hotel, a ***** hotel, but less than impressive.
Lanzhou was once called the "Gold City," due to the precious metal that was found here. Gold made Lanzhou the most significant fortress of the Hexi Corridor on the Silk Road.
Lanzhou, on the Yellow River, with the Yellow River Iron Bridge
Continue reading "Lanzhou in Gansu Province" »
Two hours by road to Yang Guan Pass and along the way we saw some Great Wall remains out there in the desert. We've stood on The Great Wall outside of Beijing and now, almost 4,000 miles away, there was the other end of it...totally amazing! This portion was made of clay and bullrushes in the Han Dynasty.
A Military Museum had been replicated out there in the desert. In ancient times, food and wine would have been stored here along with its armies.
Military Museum
Continue reading "Yang Guan Pass, Ancient Pass and Military Museum, and West Thousand Buddha Caves" »
The Mogao Caves were 25km from Dunhuang and even though we had our own excellent guide, you still had to tour with a licensed Mogao guide within the fenced-off area. Photography was strictly forbidden everywhere within that area, and each cave had keys to open and protect all of the caves we visited. There are 30 caves open to the public and "special caves" to visit if you pay additional fees. These spectacular cliff caves are filled with Buddhist artwork and painted statues dating from 386 AD to the 13th century. The Mogao Caves/Grottoes are another World Heritage Site.
In the morning, we shared the Mogao guide for the ordinary caves with two Germans and one English person...that was the entire extent of all the Westerners visiting the caves that day. Our guide explained how the walls and ceilings were painted with layers of cement and clay and then painted with watercolors. Most caves have been retouched but it was amazing what wonderful condition the "special caves" still were in and the vibrancy of the colors.
stupas scattered around the grounds
Continue reading "Mogao Caves/Grottoes, Dunhuang" »
Dunhuang was the major stopping-off point for both incoming and outgoing trading caravans. This area had some of the tallest sand dunes in the world, and the wonderful Buddhist art at the Mogao Caves/Grottos There was no plane to Dunhuang on this day so we took an overnight train. The closest train station to Dunhuang was Liuyuan on the Lanzhou-Urumqi railway line and it would be a two hour automobile ride to Dunhuang once the train arrived.
To the Turpan Train Station for the overnight train that was supposed to leave at 11:15pm, and arrive in Dunhuang (Gansu Province) at 9:24am. There was a very nice waiting room at the train station in Turpan and we hung out with our guide, waiting for the train to pull in. Once on the train, we really lucked out and had all four berths in the compartment to ourselves. This guide gave strict instructions to the conductor where we were supposed to get off. Would have hated to sleep our way to Lanzhou and, at least, he didn't abandon us!
Turpan waiting room for the privileged (all foreigners are privileged)
Continue reading "Train to Dunhuang" »
Astana Tombs are where the aristocrats and commoners of Gaochang were burried. Only three tombs are open to tourists and you walked down a flight of steps in a flat area that led to the burial chamber below. Since everything had to accompany the dead for use in another world, there were paintings, artifacts dating back from 3-5th centuries AD, musical instruments, pen, ink and paper (considered special). One tomb held a well-preserved corpse and even food, also perfectly preserved due to the dry climate. A fact about Gaochang that I liked was that it once sacked by Genghis Khan. That is a familiar name and if you are going to be sacked, looted and raped, it might as well be by the most famous.
One of our most interesting encounters with locals took place at Gaochang. A young lady heard us speaking English (we were the only ones) and approached us. Would we mind if she practiced her English on us? Not at all and we started a long, enjoyable conversation. Her English was perfect, all learned from cassettes and, she was in medical school, studying to be a doctor. From a strict Muslim family that spoke no English, here was this determined little lady trying to make something of herself....goes to show if you want something badly enough...there's always a way...and also kudos to her family for giving her that opportunity...
our future little doctor wearing a baseball hat and shades
Continue reading "Gaochang, Bezeklik Thousand Caves and Grape Valley" »
It was a three-hour drive from Urumqi to Turpan. Turpan itself is split by two Tien Shan mountain ranges, the north and south, and is set in a basin below sea level. Turpan is also the hottest spot in China and temperatures go as high as 121 degrees (shades of the Sahara Desert and Mali). It is also the lowest spot in China with low humidity. (Now this sounds just like Las Vegas - extreme heat but "low humidity.")
We were heading to Turpan for several reasons:
- To visit the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves;
- Astana Graves;
- Gaochang and Jiaohe Ruins; and
- Grape Valley
Jiaohe Sign
Continue reading "Some Turpan Sightseeing - Gaochang and Jiaohe" »
Urumqi is the capital of Xinjiang. The population is over 2,000,000 people and the city had a "Wild West" feel to it. Urumqi means "beautiful pasture" in Mongol. It is considered the farthest city in the world from the ocean with a vast Salt Lake in the East, pine covered hills in the South and sand dunes in the Northwest. The climate is extremely arid, has very little precipitation but is still an oasis. Not only was clean but also had the fantastic Hoi Tak Hotel run by a Hong Kong group. Absolutely ***** service and food. The entire area had some of the tastiest melons ever and visiting one market, the melon vendor insisted we take one for free. Very hospitable, friendly people.
From Urumqi you can fly to Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan and Russia, if you are interested. (Priceline.com Airfare - save up to 40% )...But we were going to train to Turpan in the evening. Before that, a museum visit was scheduled and a local concert.
luscious melons
Continue reading "A Little Information About Urumqi" »
The plane finally landed in Urumqi at 10:00am and new guide took us to the Hoi Tak Hotel for breakfast and leave suitcases. This hotel was gorgeous and we hated to leave after spending a night on the floor of the airport but there were places to go...
Today was a full day excursion to Tianchi Lake - a beautiful lake surrounded by the Tian Shan mountains. From Kashgar on, we possibly saw only two or three other Westerners beside us. The only people traveling the Silk Road were huge Chinese National tour groups, primarily from Southern China, who spent their time photographing us when not photographing the sites.
After a boat ride on the lake, we were supposed to overnight in a Kazakh yurt...the Russian name for this tent (referred to as a "Ger" in Mongolia), an entire yurt for just us.
our Kazakh yurt
Continue reading "Tianchi (Heaven Lake/Heaven Pool), Yurts and Back to Urumqi" »
All die-hard bazaar shoppers have heard of the famous Kashgar Sunday Bazaar. Over 50,000 people come in from the countryside to this Sunday Market primarily to buy and sell livestock. And, since shopping and eating are two of my favorite pastimes when traveling, it was a must see. I was primed for spectacular, spectacular and almost vibrating with visions of Chinese money flying out of my hands. A major, major disappointment on the shopping end. Clothes, food, and animals - sheep, goats, horses and camels, but no handicrafts or antiques. There was one upstairs place selling rugs and after much time, found one "used-and-abused" 3x5 for our hallway.
You had to go to the "fixed-price" shops which were anything but cheap but at least everything we bought was unique and I still have never seen others like them. Even though the stores advertise "fixed-price", you can haggle, and haggle we did. (ex-Marine sells Industrial Chemicals and is THE Master Haggler.) We had asked our tour operator whether or not to bring lots of $$ or use the Chinese Yuan - their reply - Yuan....WRONG! They love the U.S. $$, and we went through what little we had brought quickly.
Kashgar market sign
Continue reading "Kashgar Sunday Bazaar and A Night in the Airport" »
The Qiniwak Hotel *** ("Qiniwak" means beautiful garden) was the best available and nice. It occupies a building that was once the British Consulate and only provided traditional Chinese and local food, no American breakfast. We weren't trying to be difficult, Chinese food is a favorite of ours but it gets monotonous eating that three times a day. Not a problem. The Caravan Cafe, a coffee shop outside the hotel owned by an American couple, did provide a typical Western breakfast. The Caravan had wonderful coffee and their traditional Yoghurt and scrumptious Cinnamon Rolls were some of the best I've ever had.
The Qiniwak is also popular with Pakistani traders, but again, we Americans had no problem.
A good breakfast, rejuvenated and ready for sightseeing...
Abakh Hoga Tomb
Continue reading "The Qiniwak Hotel and Touring Kashgar/Kashi" »
Plane travel is never easy and downright brutal flying to Asia. Arrival in Beijing, a fast transfer to the Sino-Swiss Hotel and bed. The next day, our first flight from Beijing to Urumqi left early. FYI: In some countries, China in particular, as soon as all the passengers are loaded, the plane takes off...never mind the scheduled time...they just leave like this one did. That was too easy, of course. The next flight left three hours late. We spent the afternoon in the Urumqi Airport sprawled out across seats trying to get some more sleep.
It was very late when we finally arrived in Kashgar but our guide was there to pick us up. The Qiniwak Hotel*** was the best available and just fine...it had beds, a bathroom and at this point that's all we cared about
Continue reading "Beijing to Urumqi to Kashgar/Kashi" »
The final itinerary consisted of 11 actual days in Xinjiang Province, with two full days in Shanghai and three days in Beijing. And then, you always have to add the 2-3 days spent actually getting to China and at least two days returning home! The tour itself would focus on the Silk Road with its many different sites, visit small museums, learn a little about Uyghur culture, travel by plane and train, use local guides and drivers; and stay at "best available" hotels. There are many group tours that go to this area but we prefer individual travel whenever possible with the flexibility of changing anything we don't like on the spot. That is why we've used Cindy to plan China trips for us If you prefer a group, check out: Mountain Travel Sobek; Wilderness Travel; Sherpa Expeditions, Explore Worldwide; Geographic Expeditions; just to name a few.
Air? The best route and schedule for us was United non-stop Chicago-Beijing, overnight by the Beijing Airport (The Sino-Swiss Hotel has a bus every 30 minutes between the Airport and Hotel - very close by) and then China Air the following day on two different flights: Beijing-Urumqi, five hours between flights and Urumqi-Kashgar.
Continue reading "Planning The China Silk Road Trip" »
Reading about the famous Silk Road always sounded glamorous and adventurous. Just the thought of traveling the same route as Marco Polo gave me chills. What I didn't know is there are many, many Silk Road routes. Into and across the following areas...Asia, the various "Stans" (Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan), India, Yemen, Syria...an entire network of caravans traveling between China and Europe carrying spices, gold and textiles for trading, over 2,000 years. You may have even been on one of the ancient Silk Roads without even realizing it. But to me, China, particularly the Xinjiang region, and Marco Polo embodied the Silk Road.
The earliest, most direct, and heavily used route developed around 100 BC and was known as the Silk Road, for the precious Chinese silk cloth traded on it. Changing political and environmental conditions over the years determined the popularity of the various routes and after a sea route from Europe to Asia was discovered in the late 15th century, the land routes were gradually abandoned.
general silk road map
Continue reading "The China Silk Road" »
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