Silk Road Tour- Urumqi, Turpan, Goachang, Dunhuang, and Xi'an

Urumqi was a major hub on the silk road during China's Tang's Dynasty. The city has a population of around 2.5 million and is in the Tian Shan mountains. Urumqi is quite famous for its claim that it is the most inland major city in the world, that being the farthest from any ocean.  I believe it's even mentioned in the Guinness Book of World Records. There are two major ethnic groups, the traditional Han (1.5 million) and Uyghur (0.25 million).  Other ethnic groups in Urumqi include Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Mongols and Hui Muslims. We saw blue sky while we were there even though it is supposed to be one of the most polluted cities in the world.  The history of the Uyghur and Han people was very interesting as we enjoyed this huge city in China.

This is the huge city the taxi driver dropped us into. 

Lots of Chinese exercise in the main square

Some of our friends on the tour bus

Turpan is located about 93 miles southeast of Urumqi in a mountain basin. The heat and dryness of the summer combined with the area's ancient system of irrigation, allows the countryside around Turpan to produce great quantities of high-quality fruit. We bought bags of delicious raisins, figs, and dried apricots to eat.  The sweet farmers and families were selling the fruit at small stands outside the village doors along the clay paths.  It was an interesting step back into time as we visited the home of the Urgur family and watched their primitive lifestyle.  The children were adorable. The mosques were simple and beautiful making it a peaceful place for this community of Muslims to worship. A stop at the Karez irrigation site revealed the ingenious irrigation system that is still working after many centuries of it's original implementation.  The system taps into natural underground water sources by using a network of tunnels that channel water to the fields. 




The outside of Tuyugou Valley Village home

Overlooking the city

The inside of the home. The table is used for sleeping, cooking, eating, and many other things



A stable

Dried fruit for sale

The children were adorable

Pachikli Grottos on the cliff

Fresco's inside the cave

This gentleman entertained us with his unique instrument

Donkey cart ride on the way to Gaochang ancient town

eight of us fit side by side on the cart- great fun!

inside one of the few remaining rooms in the cave

Gaochang ancient town



listening to our tour guide - it was sunny - I wore sunglasses for the first time since I've been in China



touring the underground irrigation system built many centuries ago and still working



drying grapes



beautiful handwork by the people

 

We experienced our first sleeper train as we traveled all night from Turpan to Dunhuang.  The rooms were small with four little bunk beds that were dirty.  I didn't sleep well at all. 

Dunhuang  is situated in an oasis in the Gansu-Xinjiang desert region.  The city is the site of the renowned Mogao Caves, which were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. The Mogao Caves or the caves of the Buddahs were created between the 4th and 11th Centuries A.D. It was amazing to see the art and realize that it had been preserved for many, many years.  The first caves were dug out as places of Buddhist meditation and worship. The Mogao Caves are the best known and are one of the three famous ancient Buddhist sculptural sites of China. It was fascinating to see the huge Buddha carved from stone and the Fresco art on the ceilings of the caves which had been preserved by nature.  From the outside the caves looked very similar to the Indian dwellings found at Mesa Verde.  We were thrilled to see this sacred area and enjoy the beauty. 

Mogao Grottos listed on UNESCO World Heritage Site

beautiful art work that was preserved for centuries inside the grottos

The big buddah inside one of the grottos

another grotto

Liuyian and the Sound Sand Mountain where we took a camel ride

waiting to hop aboard the camel

We're headed up the Sound Sand Mountain.  The views were amazing on the top.

getting on was easier than getting off

Our small hike to Crescent Moon Lake after the camel ride

Sorry, I couldn't figure out how to rotate the picture.  We're at the pagoda on Crescent Lake

X'ian is the home of the Terracotta soldiers.  The Terra-Cotta Army was discovered in 1974 by peasants digging a well. Since that time archeologists have uncovered three pits of over 7,000 soldiers, archers, and horses. The life-size pottery figures were made to guard the tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi over 2,000 years ago.  I was in complete surprise at the immensity of this amazing find.  This emperor must have been a very self-centered leader.  I'm so glad I was able to experience the Terricotta Soldiers. 

City of X'ian

Performance of singing and dancing at the Tang Dynasty

Museum of soldiers

Tomb of Qin Shi Huang, the emperor who had all the soldiers made in 221 BC

Many Terra-Cotta Warriors

We had fun together

horses

We were among many touring that day

Muslim Market in Xian

The Muslim market is in X'ian.  We went from the magnificent historical site of the soldiers to madness at the vendors at the Muslim market. 

The silk road tour was incredible.  Our tour guide was delightful and we learned so much about the people in the North West part of China. 

Shuimo Ancient Town

A big earthquake hit Sichuan province in 2008.  Eighty-thousand people were found dead or missing after this terrible event. 

The epicenter was in Wenchuan, about 10 kilometers from Shuimo.  The 2008 quake killed 92 people and seriously damaged buildings and much of the public infrastructure in Shuimo, which had earlier been home to 63 companies that were known for high pollution and excessive energy consumption. Two years after the quake, all 63 of the companies had been shut down. Shuimo was rebuilt and has now become an environmentally-friendly tourist attraction showcasing authentic Qiang culture.

We visited this cute rebuilt historical town that is nestled in the wooded mountains.  In Shuimo Township, we saw exquisite tile-roofed wooden buildings featuring a typical style of the local Qiang people as well as stores selling all kinds of Qiang-style handicrafts arrayed along winding stone alleys in the small town.  It was all very charming.  Of course, we purchased some of the handcrafted items and felt we were helping the economy of these delightful and friendly people. 

Our tour guide was a Chinese member of the Church who attends our branch.  She drove and told us all the history behind the ancient town, called Shuimo.  Our group included six people; Linsy and her son, Reagan, Crystal, Trevor, Helen and Carolyn (both Chinese friends of our tour guide), and Pete and I. 

Enjoy the pictures from this great trip! 

The first picture is of the huge Global Convention Center.  Pete was so happy to see this building.  He had read about it in America.  It was located at the metro where we met the rest of the tour group.  We didn't have time to look inside but we saw it's massiveness!


Reagan was in our car.  He kept Pete busy playing games like tic-tac-toe and hangman.  He's a fun little boy and kept our drive to Shuimo interesting

 

 

 

 

 

Here we are left to right: me, Crystal, Helen, Carolyn, Trevor, Lynsy.  Pete was taking the picture.

It was raining on our drive up the mountain, but you can get an idea of the beauty we saw.

The hills are spotted with little homes and villages.

We saw many waterfalls along the road as we traveled up the mountain.  It was beautiful!

 

 

 



This was the view outside our window in the hotel.

 

This is the picture of the inside of our beautiful hotel we checked into.  The view from our room window looked out into a beautiful terraced river with lights along the water. The little village was nestled inside the mountains surrounding the water. 

 

 

 

Take a look at those tasty treats!  Yes, it's pig snout!  Crystal challenged Trevor to eat a pig snout.  He did it just to 'save face.'

 

 

 

 

We had a good laugh watching him eat.  He told us it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. 

 

We enjoyed all the beautiful buildings as we strolled along the street in the rain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a good lunch at a local restaurant

 

 

The second day of our trip we stopped at another village nearby.  This town was inhabited by Tibetan people.  The village homes were ornately decorated with paintings and flags.  Down the street a ways we stumbled upon a park that had a panda.  He was very playful and cute.  He turned around by almost doing a summersault.  It was fun to watch him tuck his head under his backside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pete made friends with the authentically dressed Tibetan women 

We saw a group of people trying to get organized for a photo.  Pete stepped in motioning for them to line-up.  They laughed and got right into place.  Then, they all gave him their cameras to take a picture.  Great Fun!

 

We were invited to a college in Shuimo to visit with a professor of art that Lysy knew.  Outside the building the students practiced their military march.

 

She insisted we join her at her table for a snack of fruit, moon cakes, and herbal tea.  Very nice!

A good view of the beautiful campus

Can you find the artist and her family?

Her husband is also an artist.  This was a great piece of art.

The sweet artist invited us to dinner to eat with her family at a local restaurant.  They were so kind to pay for this meal.  They asked me how old I was and when I told them 60, they all gasped and said I didn't look that old.  Funny!

Our two-day vacation passed really quickly.  It was fun to travel with ward members and get to know them better.  Shuimo is a very unique area and only a three hour drive by car.