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.