And we even rode camels in the Gobi...

 Mosques.  Forts.  Monasteries.  We saw them all!  In traveling with a tour group, there are times when you think, "I'm tired!  I'm just going to sit on the bus and pass this one by (and maybe read a book)."  But then that little voice inside starts saying "but this might be REALLY cool, and you'll miss the only opportunity to see it."  So, we saw everything.  And were exhausted by the time we returned home at the end of the week.

One delightful place I almost missed was the underground water museum that showed how ancient people began digging series of wells connected by tunnels to bring water to small areas of the desert to grow crops and live on.  Part of it reminded me strongly of the San Antonio river walk--except here the water is a small brook instead of a river.

 As we drove through a small village, I could not believe the low standard of living.  I'm sure there is no plumbing in these huts.  And since it rains so seldom many of the roofs were just twigs and branches laced together.  Rainstorms are categorized by the number of drops counted on the ground, i.e, "that was a 15-drop rain".  Occasionally, we saw TV satellites on these huts!

 I think a highlight of our trip was riding camels.  We thought it would just be one of those "photo op" experiences, where you sit on a camel and have your picture taken.  Nope!  This was the real deal--an hour ride through dunes to a hidden oasis.  With 53 of us in the group, we went in groups of 5,

but some groups are faster, or slower, than others and soon a long line was caravaning along.  It was a beautiful day, about 72 degrees with a light, playful breeze.  

Our jackets still felt good.  I can say I would not have wanted to experience the area in the 100+ temperatures of summer, nor with a real wind blowing.  The sand was very fine and would definitely have been unpleasant if it were filling the air.  (On the next picture, notice all the trees of the cultivated area in the background.  The government has been planting trees for the past 30-40 years, in an effort to keep the dunes out of the city of Dunhuang. You walk through sand and then cross into cool trees!  It's almost weird.)  

 The ride was actually quite comfortable.  The saddle fit in-between the twin humps of the Bactrian camel, with a metal rod to hold onto when the camel was getting up or kneeling down (for mounting or dismounting).  That part was a bit crazy as the camel lurches to his feet!  Otherwise, the ride was a bit more rocking than a horse, but fun.  The camels were tied to one another, so there was no individual control.  However, a pair of women in one group TWICE experienced a run-away.  Somehow, one camel became detached from the one in front and off he went, searching for some growing scrub brush to snack on--and he led the camel behind him off on his adventure.  The two women were a little anxious at first, but then laughing as their experience turned from scary to gastronomic.  

 The end of the ride was at an oasis, Hidden Crescent Moon (as the little lake looks like a crescent).  There's a nice pagoda there (and souvenirs, of course).  And Alice fell in love with camels.  (Now that's a surprise!)  The rest of the trip she agonized over buying a stuffed camel to take home.  Fortunately, most were not really stuffed (and cuddly), they were styrofoam covered with hair.  Definitely NOT cuddly.  And most had weird-looking faces.  Not something you'd want staring at you in the twilight of your bedroom.  

 But then we found the ONE!  Cute face.  Cuddly.  At the airport, of all places!  And it was a reasonable price.  So we took a picture, made a memory, and left it there.  After all, who wants to carry that around the rest of the week?

 We flew from Dunhuang to Xi'an (where the terra cotta warriors are), which is the eastern end of the silk road--where the kings lived who sent silk westward to buy better horses to try to keep the Mongols out.  It seems that their horses were bigger and faster than the Chinese ponies, so the emperor sent for some Arabians and others, trading silk and spices for them.

   I enjoyed watching the desert from the air.  First the dunes, then barren, rugged mountains.  I was SO surprised to begin to see snow on the mountain tops, and then GLACIERS!  Ones that were actually moving down the mountain and joining with others flows.  But what happens to the water that melts in the spring?  There was NO vegetation nearby.  Apparently the water flows away, or sinks into the ground, or evaporates.  

 Who would have thought we'd be able to visit Xi'an a second time this year?  We saw trees with leaves turning color that were just beginning to leaf out when we were there in April.  And we had a good time.

 We did get to spend some time on the inner-city wall.  It is wide enough for cars to drive on, but as they don't do stairs very well, there is plenty of room for walking, or if we'd had more time, renting bikes and riding.  The air was extremely hazy, which was a surprise for this area is usually quite clean.  

It was all explained as we drove out to visit the terra cotta site, and farmers were harvesting their corn fields and burning the corn stalks.  Plumes of thick, gray smoke rose from plot after plot.  And made it so visibility was less than a mile.

 What a great week it was, spending time with my sister, seeing things I never suspected were part of China.  But after 6 days on the road, we were ready to go home to our comfortable beds and familiar surroundings.  Some of the hotels had beds so hard, the carpet on the floor would have been softer but as it was sketchy looking and not clean, that wasn't really an option.  We'd had 3 flights, 3 different buses, taxis, a train, donkey cart and camel ride.  Yup, it was time to return to normal life.

Further Adventures on the Silk Road...

    In city parks all around China, groups of people gather in the early morning to exercise.  Some elderly groups do gentle movements with their canes.  Some younger ones do a much more energetic aerobic routine.  Since we've moved here, I've wanted to join in a group doing Tai Chi.  But I'd either have to get up earlier (not happening!), or skip breakfast (and that's not happening either!)

   In Urumqi, our hotel room looked down onto the city plaza, and due to the time difference (Beijing time vs local time), it was EARLY.  So I got to join in a group of somewhat elderly folks as they methodically went through the tai chi moves.  One more check mark off my bucket list!

 China has just one time zone.  If you look on a map, it's obvious that there should be 2 or even 3 time zones.  I'd always been curious--do the people out west just get up according to the sun, or does business follow the official time?  The official time is "Beijing Time", but the locals' clocks are set two hours later.  So when I was ready at 9 a.m. it was really only 7 a.m. local time--and that's why I got to do tai chi!

 From Urumqi, we took a bus through a desolate arid area to Turpan (sometimes it's called Turfan),

a small city built at an oasis.  The Muslim influence was reflected in the architecture. Since this area is hot in summer, they've built vine-covered walkways, and now tempting grapes hang down.  

One place we visited was Jiao He, where centuries ago, this adobe city housed a significant Buddhist community.  Now it boasts cool formations and a beautiful sky.

It was so fun being with my sister.  I think it helped Alice as well, having her aunt to hang out with.

This also provided another example of the stark contrast when water was available. It was so lush-looking and productive!  With so many square miles of useless land around, what would this world be like if the rainfall was equalized and sufficient in every land?  No more dry Mexico, Arizona, or Nevada.  No more Sahara desert.  A great part of this earth is not suitable for habitation right now! 

 With our great bargaining skills, we did NOT get the hat for Kevin--seems he didn't really want it after all!  But we did get the cotton top for Alice.  Since our family has a year's experience in dealing with shopping here, we were in demand in asking about cost and negotiating a decent price for the scarves, shawls, dried fruit or trinkets that were purchased by the teachers.

    One night, our family decided we were tired of going with the tour group to another big dinner.  So we walked to the Muslim market to find something for supper.  A woman was making jiao zi (dumplings) and the filling looked good.  She agreed to cook some up for us, and we watched as she fired up a coal-burner.  So that's what the smell was in the air (a little like burning rubber.)   Then she brought out a won ton soup--which we didn't ask for, but it was really good--the woman said Kevin needed to add some meat to his bones.  Funny, she didn't say that to me!  Another vendor offered kebabs, probably mutton.  Delicious food!  Total price, less than $7.50 for the entire meal, with far more food than we could possible eat.  Little children walked up to us and shyly said, "hello!"  (their one English word).  And as we went on our way, they called us "peng you" or friends.  It was fun to get some of the real local flavor of the area.  

  From Turpan, we took a sleeper train. The travel system in China is VERY interesting.  We exited the train at a tiny hamlet in the middle of nowhere, and a bus transported us to Dunhuang.  Later, as we explored the city, we noticed a large train station.  Huh??? Why did we need to ride a bus for 2 hours if there is a train station here?  Ah!  Because the trains go out from here but cannot come in.  At least that's what we were told!  

We visited a Buddhist holy area, the Caves of 1000 Buddhas, at Dunhuang.  The first few were amazing--one was 70 meters (about 210 feet) tall, carved into the cliff, then painted and decorated. Others were much smaller, but all were impressive, some almost 2000 years old.  As we went into cave opening after opening, we found that each Buddha was different--various races, male or female, and the guide would say that certain groups of people would pray to a particular Buddha that they liked best.  The ceilings and background were extensively painted.  Not being an artist, it is hard for me to truly appreciated, but Kevin wanted to stay and study things out.

Often, after a quick peek Alice and I would sit outside, enjoying the cool desert air. 

These caves are famous for the religious manuscripts that were found there--thousands of them, which are now found in museums in London, Paris and Moscow.  It seems that explorers came in the 1800's and promised monetary help for the monks who lived here and were burdened with keeping all these caves.  So the explorers were allowed to take the manuscripts, as well as many other artifacts.  It's unclear whether the aid ever came.  Although it is sad that those things are lost to the monks, in a way it was a good thing.  During the Cultural Revolution, anything religious was destroyed by the Red Guard.  In fact, it's amazing that these caves are still there.  The monks formed a human chain to keep the Red Guard out, and succeeded in defending their monastery.  Of course now China is very proud of their antiquities and readily admit that the Cultural Revolution was a mistake.  I'm glad these things escaped.

The Silk Road of China

What a week!  From the humid, lush, green of the Chinese east coast, we flew 4 hours west and entered a different world.

Vast mountain ranges.  Sand, gravel, rocks, and not much else.

From pictures I've seen of Afghanistan, this area must be very similar.

 At times we wondered if we were on the "Star Wars" world of Tatooine.

 It certainly is a different place--head scarves, mutton carcasses for sale on the street corner, and lots and lots of poverty.

 We traveled with the BYU Kennedy Center teachers who are donating a year of their life teaching English to Chinese university students.  Great people with diverse experiences and backgrounds.  We were the young ones of the group, and Alice was REALLY the young one. (And the only youth.)

 One of our modes of travel, besides plane, taxi, and bus was this donkey cart.  Five people could sit on the rug and the donkey clipped right along.  We were glad it was October instead of July, for a part of the area we visited is below sea level and can reach 120 degrees F.  We enjoyed days in the 70's and cool evenings in the 30's.  And we loved the bright blue skies!

 Since it can get so hot, many beds were on rooftops or at least outside the square-shaped adobe homes.  This little old lady was just sitting on hers, watching the traffic go by.  

 This is a rendition of a Uygher home (the Chinese minority originally from the Middle-east).  There is a main corridor after the main door that comes in from the street.  Animals, cars, bikes, etc. can be in this area.  Often it leads to an interior courtyard.

The living areas open off from it.

 This was an interesting sign, especially since the Chinese are some of the most environmentally unconscious people that I've ever seen. If someone is eating watermelon, the rind is dropped wherever they finish--even if a trash can is nearby. Trash is thrown from cars.  Piles of trash lie everywhere.  In a nation of a billion+, you can imagine what this can be like.  So it's nice that a beginning is being made.

 The Uygher people are Muslim, and are the majority in this province, and so mosques abound. 

 This small silk rug (about 1 X 2 feet) was for sale for 118,000 yuan.  At 6 yuan per U.S. dollar, that's an amazing sum!  ($19,600).  What makes it so valuable?  The number of knots per square inch.  There were also ones for sale for about $300 dollars. They were still beautiful, but I think I'd hang them on the wall rather than let anyone walk on them! 

 Even in remote Urumqi, KFC and Carrefour!  But we ate local food.  I picked up a piece of chicken with my chopsticks and was about to pop it in my mouth when I recognized what it was.

 We took a few fun pictures with it, but it stayed on the plate after that.  I can now eat much spicier food (and still enjoy it), but I draw the line at heads, feet, and entrails.  Not if I can help it!