Trip Report - 28 Days in China April 2011
 

This report is based on largely unedited emails I sent home during my trip to China. The first weeks I travelled alone then met up with a friend in Lanzhou.


Day 1& 2 Getting there and then …Urumqi
Not a bad start as I travelled to Central then took the airport train to KSA. Checked in early then had dinner and scotch having been satisfied that I would get aisle seats.
Silly me. Can't believe that the woman on the check in desk would lie, only kind response is that she misheard aisle for window as I ended up in a window from Guanhgzhou to Urumqi as well as on the first leg.
China Southern is nothing to write home about, very basic and planes seem to be those Singapore AL used years ago, quite serviceable but it is easy to get used to personal entertainment units, anyway forewarned is forearmed and I had a book, Nancy Mitford's "Love in a Cold Climate" which is quirky and English and very funny in the understated British way. I asked for an aisle seat if one was available and there was, so moved to sit next a little old lady who was lovely and opposite some babies who apart from the odd squark were fine and good on them poor little things, nightmare at such a young age.

Read and dozed to arrive in Gunhgzhou at 4.15am ... massive airport and no one around much at that hour. Eventually found where I had to go after an hour in the place, found a coffee and could start to behave in a vaguely civil way. My lighter had been confiscated when I checked into the domestic flight to Urumqi so wasn't best pleased when I found that you couldn't buy them. However there was a smoking room so I headed there to find some sympathetic person. The Chinese however have sorted it, no one has a lighter or matches but they have this thing in the middle of the room a bit like the old gas stove lighter which you put your fag in and press a button which ignites a small flame and there you go! Brilliant.

Eventually onto the next flight which was a smaller plane and chokablock. Window seat again and down sat two Uzbeki men, the larger of the two took the armrest and didn't relinquish it for the next five hours. By leaning almost out of the window I could avoid having his elbow in my hip however that became somewhat uncomfortable.
Anyway finally get to Urumqi where I headed for the loo as those on the plane had become appalling and I had to disturb the 2 gents to go. Got luggage and was met by my guide until Turpan (except Kashgar). Both she and the driver are Uygher and we had a great chat on the way into the city. I think it's going to be great spending time with her. Delightful and she has a friend who moved to Sydney 4 years ago.

Hotel is the Orient Dynasty and is 4 star. Nothing works properly, nice room quite comfortable but limited power, shower goes everywhere and the phone won't work. Eventually the staff took me to another room where I used a phone to call home.
I'm a bit overwhelmed at the instant foreignness. Almost no English and I have no Mandarin or Uygher so stalemate and bad temper on my behalf, put it down to tiredness please.. I guess places like this are not the usual tourist places and ironically that’s why I come but get frustrated as I can't find my way around. There you have it!

That night I left the hotel to find something to eat. Not all that successfully as I ended up in another hotel having no one to speak English so had this awful soup which looked like chicken and corn but was sweet with strands of something that could have been egg white. Then kebabs which is a specialty round here but took five people to tell me they were 'sheep' when I asked what meat, served with a dish of broccoli. Sheep contained large amounts of fat (not unlike in Mongolia). Headed back to hotel in the cold and got lost. What joy. I was so damned annoyed with myself when I left I didn't really take note of my surroundings, so after 30 mins asked a guy as I had the hotel card on me. Now enjoying a Scotch.

I seriously miscalculated the weather, still snow on the ground. Clear sky and warmish when I arrived but not all the pleasant later. Clothes will have to be seriously re-used. I suspect I read the temperatures as Celsius when they were probably Fahrenheit. Hopefully will get warmer as I go south...
Anyway am trusting I will sleep off my filthy temper and spend some quality time tomorrow with my guide who can explain stuff to me, like why the hell the hotel doesn't have internet and how can I tell a place serves food when I can’t read the signs!.

Day 3
Have at least woken up in a more positive frame of mind. Though it's cold outside and too hot inside with the air con. Yesterday did have some positives as well it's just I forgot what they were!
When I was in the plane with the Uzbek man with the giant elbows, I was at one point dozing and got a sharp jab in the ribs when he moved and it 'woke' me up, I looked out the window over magnificent ranges of mountains with high peaks covered in snow. It reminded me that flying across the middle of China i wasn't too far from Tibet and the Himalayas. I'll need to check a map to identify which range but it was to use an overworked phrase, quite awe inspiring. I tried some photos but nothing will reflect the stunning feeling of waking up and looking out and seeing the mountains. Later on we crossed a desert which I think was probably the Taklamakan Desert - it divided the north and south Silk Road. From Kashgar, people would choose to go north or south to avoid going through the desert. It does provide some perspective that I whinged and moaned about travelling from Sydney for about 20 hours in total; in the days of the Silk Road travellers would take years. Goes to show that I would not have made an intrepid traveller, I suspect.

After I arrived at the hotel and settled in, I went downstairs and a nice man on the desk pointed out the supermarket which I visited to buy the mandatory bottled water. They have lockers at the entrance which you hit a button, one opens automatically and issues a receipt. You leave any bags, other shopping in them. When you're finished you wave the docket, with a bar code on it, over a reader and the locker opens automatically. Supermarket was interesting trying to guess what was what but of course I have now discovered that "Snickers" chocolate bar translates into into language. Joy of joys I was able to identify a bottle of soda water so was able to indulge in scotch (duty free Jamiesons) and soda - it really is the small things in life which make it worthwhile.

The TV has 50 channels, none in English so am forced onto my own resources. The city is dull and gray, like a soviet city. Flying in we came over blocks and blocks of massive flats and lots of oil and minerals factories billowing smoke. Apparently this was small place until the above discoveries. Walking around yesterday, I saw no other western faces, lots of Chinese, and I'm told now about 30% of the population is Uygher. They are a Turkic people who use an Arabic based written language. Many people looking Central Asian, Kazaks as well as Uzbeks, and several others which I hope to find out about today at the Regional Museum before we drive to the Heavenly Lake.
As I say the day got better and will update shortly.

Well as indicated a much better day as I settle in and realise that the point of travel is to move out of the proverbial comfort zone. An improved temper assists enormously, need I say more?
Breakfast was in the hotel dining room for westerners, so called. Almost all non western food but certainly a selection of western food, so fried egg and fried rice. I despair of my cholesterol reading but needs must. Coffee and a banana so all's well with the world.
My guide and driver, picked me up at 10 and we headed to the Heavenly Lake. I'd been a bit sceptical about this however it's on the list of tourist must do's for Urumqi, and off we went. Driving for about 90 minutes with a stop for the loo we drove past the flat, and I have to say uninspiring landscape, around the city. Oil, coal and other minerals have hit bigtime with an explosion in the population and in factories.
Until you hit the mountains. Unbelievable, for me who hasn't really seen terrain like it. Mountains covered in snow, slowly melting as the spring hits, clear air and chilly winds whistling through the mountain passes. I’ve established that this is the Tien Shen (Chinese not Uygher name) and quite famous. I'd read in some of the early (19th and 20th Century) journeys along the Silk Road that this was some of the most feared and certainly not to be attempted in Winter. Mountain after mountain, gorge and ravine after ravine, terrifyingly steep and forbidding but absolutely magnificent to look at (from the convenience of a 21st century mini bus).

Heavenly Lake thank goodness was reasonably quiet being still chilly, in summer it must be phenomenal, with all the Chinese, let alone foreign tourists. Its 2000 metres up. We drove to a station about 4 kms from the Lake then a local bus took us the rest of the way with a 10 minute uphill walk at the end. Lake is stunning, frozen at the moment with dozens of people slipping and sliding all over the place as they try the ice. There are Kazak people everywhere. There are a number of resorts which operate in the summer and consist of yurts (Mongolian gers) though I’m told most Kazak people head to the City in winter. There were even a couple of ice sculptures, now headless and melting, which were wonderful. Paul Theroux described the ice sculpture in Harbin in the north of China in temperatures at 30 degrees below, I suspect that realistically this is the closest I'll get!
Stunning scenery which my words can't describe but peaceful, quiet, clean, etc etc....
An hour or so there and we headed back down the mountains, stopping on the way to observe a Uygher tourist encampment with Kebabs (dead sheep hanging nearby) and pilau and nan bread.
Lunch was at a Uygher restaurant, as I'd asked for something along those lines. Pilau and yoghurt and lots and lots of tea.

I'd told my guide that I wanted to visit the Xinjiang Regional Museum as it has information and exhibits on the many minority groups here; I'd intended to go tomorrow when Ii have a free day. She offered to take me and I very much enjoyed the time there though am intending to visit again tomorrow. The exhibit we spent time at was of mummies found in the Taklamakan area. Not usually my cup of tea but absolutely fascinating. Clothing patterns and colours almost new yet were in some cases over 3,000 years old. Interesting is that a number have quite European features. I'm advised that the archaeologists are still trying to figure that out. These mummies still have hair and fingernails and their features are quite discernable and absolutely remarkable. Unlike Egyptian mummies the internal organs remain and are simply shrunk to nothing in the desert heat. The state of the remains is incredible. The archaeologists found a cemetery in the desert where a pole marked the graves of females and a paddle shaped pole marked the graves of the males. The saddest exhibit is of a small wooden coffin with a wooden carving of a child, they surmise that the family didn’t have a body to bury for some reason so had the child carved to place in a grave.
Certainly the Museum itself is superb and I will go back tomorrow to spend some time there.
I had mentioned to my guide that the one souvenir I wanted to buy was local handmade rugs. I'd thought Kashgar would be the best bet but she told me of a government run store (next to the Parliament) which has work from the entire region. I figured that was my best bet as it was local (rather than Beijing or wherever) and the prices would be okay. Bargaining is not my strong point. Suffice it to say that 6 weeks salary has been put on the credit card and souvenir buying from here on in will be cheap and nasty. Four rugs will be delivered home in a month or so. [Note: the rugs arrived safely as promised and I am sitting here admiring them.] The quality is beyond belief and I am thrilled with what I've bought.

(Brief stop for dinner ... quite full after late lunch so off to the supermarket to decipher instant noodles and had some which were fine finished off with a banana, couldn't be bothered going out)
Tomorrow on my own and probably a bit of a challenge but now have everything written in Chinese characters so hopefully will survive.
So a good day and settling into the travel pattern, Now have internet connection, found the one power point that will let me charge netbook and phone, have touched base with home and had a brief chat with a friend on the story so far. Have established where to eat so all's well with the world at the moment. A guide book on the Museum and Nancy Mitford await .. what more could one want?

Day 4.
After a late breakfast of the usual fried rice, egg and banana, I ventured forth to tackle the front desk of the hotel, an experience in any language let alone English. We established, through the courtesy of a phone call to the tourist agency I'm using that yes I was booked in tonight (hotel card said different) and no they had paid so nothing should be owing. Excellent news given my recent state of poverty caused by carpet purchase.
They organise a taxi (thank goodness the wonderful guide had written out where I was going). Anyway enough whinging about the hotel, my extensive experience in Urumqi would indicate that the hotel is the exception rather than the rule.

Lady taxi driver very stiff and formal, very official, until I explained in hand gesture that I only have 2 words of Mandarin (Nie Ha = hello & Shi Shi = thank you) she broke down into giggles and we got on like a house on fire. Especially as I explained how clever I am to have both a boy and a girl AND a grandaughter (though I suspect a grandson would have been more impressive) .

Arrived at the Uygher regional museum about 11am. I wanted to see all the exhibits I'd missed yesterday. School party arrived as I did so nowhere to put backpak, let through security with said backpak minus a bottle of water and cig lighter - I did manage to convey however that I wanted the lighter back - I had no intention of being stranded in the middle of Urumqi with no light. Security officer and I understood each other as a few hours later i emerged for a brief break and he handed me the lighter.
On my way round the first exhibit, focusing on relics 2-3000 years old found in desert regions around here, I was 'picked up' by a young woman - we spent the best part of the rest of the day together. I'm still not entirely sure who she was I gather either worked or volunteered so she could practise her English, which was fantastic. Another very proud Uygher who has a degree in Economics but is waiting to get a job and would like to work with a company where she can speak English. To be honest, having read about scams in the major cities, I thought here we go (it happened to me when I was in Beijing in the past and I was caught hook line and sinker) but no - I was totally convinced when she tracked me down about 2 and suggested lunch. I offered to pay to thank her and she wouldn't wear it. She genuinely just wanted to practise English.

I noticed both yesterday and again today that as I was guided around with an English speaking guide, other people would linger and listen in, I figured that they were also learning English so to assist, I would say 'Hello, how are you" and they would respond 'Very well thank you" and then the kids mostly would dissolve into giggles. I became a little alarmed as one of the security guides started to follow us around (at this point to my knowledge I've done nothing wrong).Turned out he was another Economics graduate working in the museum to get his English up to scratch. So he, Dana and I had a lovely conversation for 45 minutes. I gather that English speakers are rare in April, too cold, start to come in May so I was the proverbial breath of English. I really only saw a few westerners, a group of 4 French young men in the museum and an American woman at breakfast yesterday - they were off to Kashgar today so may catch up with them tomorrow.

The museum is outstanding by any world standard. I spent a lot of time going through the various galleries of the 12 ethnic minorities in Xinjiang today. Won't say much more but suffice it to say they are viewed as 'colourful' and good for tourists. Nonetheless the exhibits of Uygher, Mongol, Kazak, Uzbek, Kyrgyz, Tartar, Manchu, Hui and the other groups was amazing. Each had examples of clothing, living style, household and other implements relating to the group. Three had full size gers/yurts to demonstrate the living style. Dana wandered off on several occasions and each time I was accosted by a security guard to engage in English language conversation - loved every minute of it. And for those of limited English my performance of a kangaroo was instantly understood by all. ‘Sydney’, I found was more easily understood than ‘Australia’.
What I can't get over is the vivid colour, still, of clothing and fabric found with bodies over 2000 years old. The dryness of the desert preserves them brilliantly.
We headed back to the museum and we went through a number of other exhibits, I truly enjoyed myself and finally left about 5. Quite a long day in one place but so worthwhile. Flagged down a taxi showing the hotel card and back to hotel. Taxis almost embarrassingly cheap. Journey of 15 minutes across town about 15 Yuan, just over $2 and they won't take a tip.
Back to hotel for a quiet night and I suspect instant noodles again. Not really hungry and no energy to go out after 6 hours at the museum. Early start tomorrow as I am being picked up at 7am for transfer to airport and flight to Kashgar. While Urumqi is administrative capital of Xinjiang and economic hub, Kashgar seems to be the heart, certainly of the Silk Road journey.
Urumqi is a grey city and most of the people I've met have given it some colour and depth. It is about the same population as Sydney, about 3 million, and probably the downtown is a bit bigger. The only places I can think of that remind me of it are some Russian towns and perhaps Ulanbaator in Mongolia. I guess the more you travel the more you learn about how little you know. On the surface this is cold, grey and uninviting, the tiny bit I've managed to encounter of the people who live here give it some depth and heart. The people are gracious and generous and friendly.
More observations from Kashgar from the proverbial innocent abroad, tomorrow.

Day 5 (Urumqi to Kashgar
An early start (still getting confused by Beijing verses local time) but I was at the airport at 7.30am (Beijing Time), bleak and smoggy. My guide, true to form, told me on the way out to the airport that she had worried about me getting around on my own. She rang the hotel to make sure I was okay but was told I was out, so continued to worry until she rang the museum and found out that indeed I had been there and all was well. She said that she didn't want to ring me last night in case I was sleeping, but as she was assured by the lady at the museum I was all right, she didn't worry. See what I mean about an extraordinary guide.
Flight to Kashgar usual bunfight with locals, I need to get used to the fact that the concept of personal space is a non event round here.
My theory is that by starting in the less populous region I will have adjusted by the time I hit the big cities to lack of personal space and people crowding pushing etc.
Anyway did make it in one piece to be met by my next guide, and driver.

I hadn't really booked a tour as such today however he made sure I checked in okay and as it was only early we agreed to meet at 12. I came down a bit early to drop in laundry and deposit stuff in the safety deposit box. Thank goodness he was there, though I did manage to prevent the 4 ladies helping me from dropping my laundry on the floor of the Lobby in this very stylish hotel, I conveyed that I would prefer the count to be done more privately!
I said that as I hadn't paid for a tour today, we'd sort it out, he was happy, so away we went. First was a meal as I was starving and hadn't eaten breakfast or much on the plane. We went to a Uygher restaurant (figure I'll get fed up with Chinese later in the trip so will eat Uygher while I'm here) which was quite upmarket. Finally had proper Lamb kebabs without too much fat! Apparently, the tradition is the Uygher like the fat as a traditional farming community; they work hard and get rid of the fat. I on the other hand, don't. They were served with raw onion which I’m told that is good for people with high blood pressure, so went for the onion too. Also an eggplant and tomato dish with red pepper and garlic, great food. The kebabs were served on very long skewers and the locals eat straight from the skewer so in I went. Fantastic. Also served with yoghurt which I ate as it hasn't seemed to provided any difficulties so far ... hopefully not famous last words. All served with Uygher tea which has a taste of Earl Grey. Beautiful building, 4 stories and I saw a blue stone for warding off the evil eye - what was remarkable to me was the only other place I've seen it is in Turkey. Goes to show that the Uygher are definitely from the area and it's remarkable the influence of the Silk Road in creating the culture here.

Anyway out into the countryside to a village called Bashkeram where the Saturday market was happening. Unbelievable! I knew about the famous Sunday market in Kashgar and we will be going there tomorrow, but this experience is almost too much for words. I gather it's obviously smaller than Kashgar but because it is small only the locals are there. Hundreds of men (and a very few women) selling primarily livestock. All dressed in traditional clothing with the distinctive Uygher hats (tall, black, fur lined and upturned brim for winter; green type of skull cap for summer) black, grey and not much else. Can I say I stood out - bright red jacket, female and westerner, I was the only one in the place. We threaded our way through the sheep and cattle while we watched the bargaining take place, voices, smells of mutton soup and kebabs being carved from dead hanging sheep, smoke everywhere, arguments, old friends meeting - a wonderful experience to have and to observe. After a while it seemed to me pointless to take photos, apart from anything else, I kept bumping into the livestock ... I stopped and just enjoyed..then back onto the main street past the food markets and clothing and everything else ... but the livestock will stay in my memory for ever. I truly can't begin to describe it and because it was small we were in amongst it all the time.

From there we bumped along the road past traditional Uygher homes built from mud bricks lining the road. Again the best comparison I can make is of the Middle East, square one storey homes, behind a wooden door (something like ones I've seen in Mongolia). Apparently the traditional style is the door opens onto a courtyard with 2-3 large guest rooms (one for men and one for women for celebratory occasions) then a suite of another 4-5 rooms for the family. In summer the cooking is done out of doors and in winter a stove is lit which also warms the house. At the back is another courtyard where fruit and vegetables are grown. For the farmers, they may have some land but usually it's nearby, not necessarily part of the house.

From there we headed to a Buddhist Stupa, 1-3 century, no one is sure. There's not a lot left but is located out in the boonies on a massive plain with not a lot else except the railway opened in the 1990's. Apparently Buddhism arrived in China fairly early, then Christianity and finally Islam.

The hotel I'm staying in here, the Kashi Tianyuan International is located on the main square so I have a perfect view of one of 4 remaining statues of Mao. There's a park nearby and the square in front is large. I intend to spend some there before I leave on Monday. It is a wonderful contrast to my previous abode in Xinjiang. Staff fall over to be helpful; I had a problem connecting to the internet (suspecting a user error) but the computer manager and an English speaking supervisor were here in 10 minutes; said it was their problem and insisted I change rooms. Dinner in hotel (all the fresh air today very tiring!) staff all warm and welcoming. As a change from Uygher food, I had plate of sashimi.
Downside to the location is that there is a celebration going on down below which seems to involve heavy use of local drum instruments. Not keen but we'll see how it goes, am in a much better frame of mind as the days get increasingly better and I acclimatise.
Tomorrow the old town, the mosque and whatever else is on the itinerary. Loving Kashgar.
Day 6
Culture Shock and perhaps a sign I'm getting used to Xinjiang....I headed down to breakfast to find one section of the restaurant filled with western faces … momentary confusion. About 15, American I guess, people. Very confusing.
Obviously the guides take similar routes especially on Sunday as I then kept running into the American group. Never really had time to chat... though we exchanged 'hello's' and occasional smiles.
Day started with a visit to the Apark Koja Mazar which is a mausoleum not far from the centre of town. Built in 1670 by a son to commemorate his father, the place became known by the son's name, subsequent generations of the family were buried there. It is an impressive site with a large and a smaller mosque near by. Again what struck me was the similarity to mosque designs in Turkey, in terms of tiles etc. I’m advised that the Uyghers claim that they were here in the first place and that people who moved west became what is now Turkey. One suspects that the Turks would see it differently. The mausoleum itself is a large domed room with about 58 catafalques raped in materials which actually make the place quite cheerful; I'm advised that the bodies are below.
What was interesting was the Muslim cemetery next door, totally plain with cement coloured structures over the top, no names, no dates, as the families know, even after 100's of years where their relatives are.
After that off to the famous Kashgar Sunday Market; I'm so pleased that I'd been to the one yesterday to prepare me for the noise, the dust, the commotion, the smells - this was about 5 times bigger than yesterdays and totally overwhelming. We headed firstly to the livestock area divided by type of animal, donkeys, horses, cattle, sheep, goats and I was very happy to wonder around the edges, watch the bargaining and the faces of the men as they said, in very loose translation, 'Come on mate you can't be serious about that price, that wouldn't buy you the donkeys tail'. I've read that it's the faces that make this place and now I understand why, Uygher, Kazak, all nationalities fighting for the best price, wizened faces, sharp faces, young faces, resigned, tired, angry, happy - you name it, I tried to capture some but suspect that my attempts will fall short of the reality.
From there headed over to the fruit and vegie section, the takeaway food (mutton, lamb, nang bread with the meat hanging nearby) then onto the plants and garden department. Hardware, shoe repairers, etc etc.
There is a separate market for everything else on the other side of town where I was advised that the 'ladies' spend the profits from the morning, we went over late this afternoon. It seemed to me to perhaps be like the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul - before they tidied it up. Colour, movement, argument, friends meeting, ladies shopping in scarves, burqua and some just with their faces completely covered ... kids everywhere. The Sunday markets are obviously a time for the families to go out and enjoy. The place sold everything from fabrics to shoes, hats. rugs, clothing household goods, knives etc etc ... corridors of merchandise both retail and wholesale. I doubt that there was nothing that couldn’t be traded here. I was told that Kashgar has been the centre of business and trading for thousands of years and it continues today. Again the crowds were overwhelming. as this was at the end of an 8 hour day I was somewhat tired and suggested a break - we ended up at a 'rest place' where I could use the loo, have a cig and be given cups of tea,
Prior to that we'd had lunch at another Uygher restaurant which again I enjoyed. The major afternoon event was the visit to the Idkah Mosque which is the largest in China. I'd bought a scarf to cover my head at another market. It was quiet and peaceful and there is a marvellous rug hanging down one side which Iranian Imams had brought to Kashgar on a visit. From there we emerged onto the Square and then started to walk through the old city. The first section was very much in the traditional bazaar style though of recent origin. I stopped to admire some wonderful large wooden carved boxes and there were also carved wooden cradles for babies. Not like in the West. These are quite low to the ground about 3 ft long with a very thick mattress with a hole in it. The babies are wrapped into it very firmly with blankets for warmth. The reason for the hole in the mattress was made apparent later on when we stopped at a shop selling wooden items. As far as I can gather, a wooden tube, about 8 inches long with the appropriate openings for male/female is attached to the child who can go to the toilet during the night into a potty directly underneath the hole. I'm told that the wood is smoothed so the baby doesn't feel any discomfort.
From the market area we headed into the back streets where I saw a few of the remaining mud brick traditional homes and lots of building work to replace them, together with some of the recently built replacements.

Overall the proverbial feast of sights sounds and smells in a traditional market. We did stop the traffic at one point when having viewed currency notes from many countries at a shop in the bazaar; I pulled out some Australian coins to show my guide. Within half a minute there was a crowd of 10 people around pointing, discussing, asking where it had come from. I gather the most interesting thing was the fact that the $2 coin was smaller than the $1 which was smaller than the 50c.
Tomorrow some time out as I'm not leaving Kashgar until about 5pm to fly back to Urumqi to be met to drive to Turpan, apparently 3-4 hours. I intend to spend the morning walking around outside in the park and square and NOT set the alarm.

Day 7 Kashgar (not Turpan!)
Well here I am still in Kashgar, by now supposed to be in Urumqi and on my way to Turpan...
The day started with my usual breakfast of fried eggs yoghurt and coffee (coffee pot acquired by young Frenchmen so had to go to their table to get some). Then back to the room for a little rest and quiet. The wind had come up during the night and was quite chilly. After rest, packing and some relaxation, I went for a walk around the square with the Mao statue and a large park behind with a kid's amusement park it's still quite cold here and the park is grey and dismal but somehow the kids enjoying themselves brightens it all up. Given I was the only Anglo in the place most of the adolescents felt the need to say "Hello" to which I, of course, responded ... one said Hello, where you from, I said Australia, he said thank you very much, good bye. Short and sharp conversation. Kept wandering around until the wind chill factor got the better of me and headed for lunch and warmth. Tragically the only place I could vaguely recognise as offering food, was "Happy Food", a Chinese version of MacDonald’s. Still made the day for the person who served me as she was able to practise her very excellent English. A chicken burger, fries and coke later, I headed back outdoors to face wind which almost blew me backwards and bloody freezing. (I later found out that it has been snowing in Urumqi today and is expected hereabouts soon.) So back to hotel for a coffee, warmth and a bit of respite from the wind. Picked up at 3.30 as agreed and off to the airport where we discussed the parlous state of the weather, with my commenting that it seemed unlikely in the dust (virtually NO visibility) and the wind that it was unlikely the aircraft would take off. I was later told that as we pulled into the airport car park, a plane was taking off, albeit a bit wobbly.

So checked in and upstairs to the departure lounge. Still a fair bit of wind and dust starting to accumulate on the floor. Again wandered around as the wind and dust outside worsened. A photo op with a plant in a corridor leading outside bent horizontally and the dust on the ground looking like a covering of snow.
An announcement in Chinese, Uygher and finally in English that the flight was delayed and to stay in the departure area. Same message repeated several times over the next hour or so. Interesting development as the wind howled and sounds of something hitting the roof, then weird sounds. More and more dust hitting the floor and visibility almost zero. I'd heard about Kashgar dust storms but was quite surprised to experience one. At this point power went off and no lights, just the 'natural' light coming through the ceiling and windows.).
Still the same announcement ..
Weird sounds finally became something significant as the roof appeared to be moving in one section, so kept walking around to the other side of the departure lounge. Finally loud cracking noise and everyone in the place looked up to see a large section of the roof peeling away and the 'sky' becoming visible. The internal lining, then the insulation and finally the roof itself were removed in that section. Unlike most of my fellow travellers I put my camera away at this point, survival seeming to take priority.
It took a few minutes for an official to start yelling at everyone (at this point any pretence of translation was lost and only languages were Chinese and Uygher, certainly no English. I rather gathered from the movement of the crowd that the official was clearing everyone from that section of the departure lounge. It took another 10 minutes before another official starting yelling instructions and people started to move toward to stairs down. My rapidly improving Mandarin/Uygher indicated to me that they wanted people to get off this floor and back to the arrivals area downstairs. So I did - moving around people taking photos with their mobile phones.
So downstairs where I met a young Mum (Becky, with a small child asleep) originally from Scotland now living in Urumqi , and her parents who were visiting. It was good to be able to chat about events. We sat down and tried to order a hot drink but of course power off, no such luck so iced tea - it's what you do. We chatted and yet another announcement. This time Becky who speaks Uygher translated that they were closing the airport. Much confusion. We headed out toward the front. Just prior to meeting them, I'd contacted my guide in Urumqi to say flight delayed and would get back to her.. As the Scots family were heading out I called her again and she said she'd contact the Kashgar guide ... the family were most concerned but they wanted to get a taxi and head back to their hotel. I said I’d be fine and they were to go. Becky insisted on giving me her mobile number in case I got stuck, the kindness of strangers!

Found out that my long suffering Kashgar guide was on his way. . I asked several officials whether they spoke English until one finally pointed to a female official. Another Uygher lady who was so fantastic. Told me that the airport was closing until tomorrow morning and that people who had checked in would be taken to accommodation. I really wanted my luggage back and she charged off and got it for me. So kind.

Anyway stood waiting patiently in airport when another official charged through the place, using terminology that I know understood to mean that they were evacuating the airport terminal. One look outside showed why - bits of roof floating across the car park..
My Kashgar guide arrived in a white mini van rather than a white charger but the impact was roughly the same, and he also spoke to the lady I'd spoken to and verified what I'd been told.
Get a room and call in the morning. Back in the minivan (he couldn't get in the passenger seat as the wind held the door open) I said that I'd prefer to come back to this hotel, as frankly, I didn't trust Southern China Airlines even if they were providing accommodation. Obviously I would pay any costs, later it transpired that the local Travel Company said they'd pay. I am conscious of the cost of his time, the driver's time and the cost of the transfer as well as accommodation. He insisted that it was all okay, but I really want to sort it out in the morning, the Company shouldn't out of pocket because I chose to come here and not the one provided by the airline.
Driving through the city, stuff flying everywhere and locals taking it all in their stride. As we approached the hotel, I noticed a building with flames just down the road. Electrical fault?
What is strange to me that with the wind still howling, the internet is still working.
So here I am still in Kashgar victim to the famous local sandstorm. A call home to touch base with reality and a scotch or two later and feeling somewhat better. Though several calls to reception have not produced someone to look at the air con and I'm freezing. Finally went downstairs and found the nice woman who speaks English who told be it's out across the building. No problem as long as I know and can use the doona from the other bed.
All in all quite an eventful day. Rang Urumqi guide and introduced her to the phrase, "we'll play it all by ear". Perhaps I'll get to see more of Kashgar and none of Turpan ... we'll see how it plays out. Need to go with the flow on this one I think.

Day 8 Kashgar Urumqi Turpan
The appalling wind seemed to die down in the night though a suspicious whistling began again about 7am. Not sure if there will be any flights.
Called Hasan to find he'd been on the phone for an hour trying to sort out a flight. Agreed to meet at 9.30, shower dress and quick re-pack. Final glance around the room revealed the Scotch sitting in solitary splendour not going anywhere without it, so another re-pack. Downstairs to find that China Southern had organised an additional flight for 9.50PM ... however Hasan seemed to think an earlier one might be possible. Struck up conversation with another local guide, Mohammed. It turns out he is the local manager of the tour company.
Airline negotiations continued with Hasan and Mohammed both on the case. So I had breakfast, got some cash and waited patiently. ATM lets you have 2000 Yuan only but if you want more you simply go through the procedure again. We needed to go out to the airport to finalise a ticket, so off we went: Hasan, Mohammed, the driver and a mysterious Chinese man whose name I never learned but seemed to have some transport/freight role with the tour company.
Arrive at airport 30 mins later to wait and wait and .... wait. OK for me as it was warming up, wonderful views of the Karakorum Range of mountains to gaze at while Hasan and Mohammed inside did all the hard work. Over an hour later they emerged to say we needed to come back at 3 so we'd go into town for lunch. In the meantime the lovely Scots family was also there and we gave them a lift back into town.
Lunch was at a Uygher restaurant just behind the main Mosque. Because there were five for lunch were able to have a variety of food including my new favourite, chicken and peanuts in a chilli style sauce.
And so, back to the airport to wait. Hasan and Mohammed go in to re-start negotiations. After 20 mins or so Hasan raced out to grab my luggage ... we have an almost definite booking on the 5.20pm - same flight as I was to take yesterday.
Finally boarding pass issued and luggage booked. Mohammed wanted to take me back into town for more sight seeing but as they had already wasted almost a day sorting out my problem, I said no thanks go home to your wives and families. Perhaps they were so helpful as they wanted to see the back of me?
I stood on the airport steps and waved a fond farewell. By this stage the Scots family had also acquired the magic boarding passes so we waited together. A wonderful warm and happy family, very much enjoyed talking to them
Finally on the flight back to Urumqi. With my guide at the airport waiting patiently, outside to meet up with our driver again and - off to Turpan. A 3 hour drive arriving about 11.30pm. A long and unusual day strangely full of laughter and warmth....also am very happy to describe to anyone interested the high points along the road between Kashgar and its airport.

Days 9 and 10 Turpan to Dunhuang
A decent night's sleep off to the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves about 40 minutes out. It's still early spring so I have to take everyone's word about the grapes in this brown desolate windy place. It's in a 'Depression' so there is wind all the time. Like being in the outback only not so red. Massive grape growing area, as well as cotton of all things. It's the underground water system that I'll see later. Too early for the grapes to be out but vines everywhere including across residential streets, in schools, in the main street - must be incredible in summer.
The caves contain the remains of 2000 year old Buddhist paintings on the walls. Remains being the operative word. A German archeologist, and an English archeologist over a period in the 1920's cut the best off the walls and they are now located in the British Museum and some are left in Berlin after being bombed in WWII. Quite phenomenal to see what is left and the holes in the wall where they had been. A full Buddhist community thrived there for many years.
Drove back to Turpan and spent some time at the Turpan Museum which is very new and starting to build a collection of objects primarily found at burial sites in the desert. Because Turpan only gets less than 10mm of rain a year - virtually none, remains dry out with the wind and retain their shape and colour. A lot of the objects are now actually in the Urumqi Regional Museum. Off to another Uygher restaurant for a lovely lunch with my new favourite on the menu together with kebabs and the usual yoghurt.
A slightly warmer day around 20 degrees but still cold at night and in the morning. Then we go to see Jiayhe Ancient City - a mud city with extensive remains (again because of no rain and wind). Quite dramatic with two mountain streams converging to flow around a piece of land then converging at the other end, making almost a boat shape piece of land on which the City was built. A military area with shops etc. forms the entrance, then a government area and residential area and finally a religious area with a monastery, temple and pagodas. Not a lot remains but you can see the patterns and walk down the streets. City was fired by the Mongols and fell into disrepair. It's a miracle anything is there at all.
Finally off to the Karez which is the famous underground water system. There are a series of downshafts which men would climb down for up to 8 metres the dig canals along to meet up with the next downshaft and so on. Water flows along the underground channels and eventually ends up in a reservoir which waters the city. 2000 years old and still being used. Built out of a sense of community spirit rather than paid or slave labour to benefit the community. Someone suggested that its achievement is greater than the Great Wall (built 400 years ago by slave labour and never really kept anyone out) and I must say I'm inclined to agree with him. The final part of the tour takes you down to see the water flowing naturally, crystal clear and beautiful, more dramatic because of the desert above.
Then off to the train, by this stage it's freezing and I'm in cotton clothes. We waited a while, thank goodness my guide was there, there are security checks all over the place. Train arrives, I take a deep breath and board. I should mention that a staff member from the tour company travels from the starting point at Urumqi on the ticket to make sure that the seat is not re-sold! So he held my place in the 4 bed soft class sleeper with another 3 gentlemen. When I arrived they looked momentarily confused but basically got about their business as did I. Had a banana for dinner (and a quick scotch) and everyone settled to sleep about 10pm. I used the dreaded toilet, to find to my delight that it was western. Train was air conditioned so lovely and warm under the doona and did actually sleep as bit. The train attendants are worded to make sure foreigners are woken in time for their stops, I'd woken anyway about 3.30am so just stayed awake as the train was due in at 4.30am.
So experience was not anywhere near as bad as I thought it might be. Got off at Liuyuan which is the nearest station to Dunhuang. The guide and driver were there to meet me so they must have left Dunhuang before 2am as it's a 2 hour drive. I was cold and tired ... straight to hotel along a horrible road for 2 hours arriving 6.30am.
Breakfast was a Chinese style (fried cabbage, cucumber etc etc) with a concessional fried egg with a bit of bacon! and lots of black coffee...
The usual mucking about with things in plastic bags and trying to find the warmest clothes. Having dispatched jeans and other clothing to hotel laundry (there is nothing like having your underwear et al counted publicly) I ended up in an unwashed warm top and silk pants, not a good choice. Went downstairs to wait for my guide who turned up with two pairs of what are effectively long underwear (tops and bottoms). Upstairs to try them on. A very conservative dark green pair (which I put on as my trousers were green silk - lovely match) and a brilliant pink set that I'll try later, perhaps on the next train. All up 195 Yuan, not bad and I am warm. Tomorrow with bright pink underwear, jeans and a recycled dirty top, I think I’ll be fine. Can't complain though; she had to go to 3 shops to find a large enough size -western women not overly catered for in Dunhuang.
So onto Dunhuang, another Silk Road Oasis, dry as the proverbial bone in the Gobi Desert. We started out at Crescent Moon Stream/Lake and the fabulous sand dunes where an option is to ride camels. No way! Nasty bad tempered spitting animals and I can get spat at by Australian camels. So walked around admiring sand dunes and Crescent Lake which about the size of a large pond. I imagine in the high season the place is frantic with tourists but not this bunny... interesting but.........
F advises that Dunhuang is a tourist town which explains the style of shops and streets, very western in a bizarre way. At least here I would be able to find somewhere with English signs telling me I can buy food there.
Talking of which next operation was lunch ..tiny tiny Chinese restaurant specialising in noodles. Cooked as you want we had chives and egg with some greens in tomatoes - delicious .. and cooked fresh in about 7 minutes. (As a result am eating local takeaway for dinner courtesy of my guide. A fried thick bread thing, and a fried sweet bread thing with yoghurt and some fruit.
Now for the main event - the famous Mogao Buddhist Caves. I can only say that it was worth every penny and every moment in the air with China Southern (well almost) to see them. Over 400 caves from 150BC with fabulous Buddhist art - almost totally intact. Apparently the locals knew about them and have protected them against all invaders. Stunning, no other word. You only get to see 5-6 on any one day as they want to keep access to a minimum - people breathing out affects the temperature so limited visits. They've built brick frontages to each which are ugly but protect the caves which you enter only with a guide who unlocks the entrance and takes you in to explain the art via a torch. There are caves with art that describe the 'rules' for monks, some with famous Buddha stories illustrated and those I saw are 'thousand Buddha' ceilings, apparently there isn't an actual count but the ceilings have in excess of 1000 Buddha's. A massive Buddha sculpture 35 metres high and a reclining Buddha in another cave 18 metres long. The colours are almost as they were painted in many cases and provide details of everyday life over 1000-2000 years ago. Each Chinese dynasty from Tang onwards contributed.
This place I suspect will be a highlight.
Soooooooooo back to city (110,000 people city so relatively quiet for China), My guide suggested we go and see the local food markets, hence takeway. Back to hotel about 6 to grapple with the latest incarnation of internet access. This time computer in room but all access in Chinese, tricky.
Have said yes to every dialogue box and seem to have arrived at my hotmail page - in English. Another long day tomorrow with another night on a train ending in Lanzhou on Saturday then I think, then a whole day with no tours until I meet up with my travelling companion the day after that.
Day 11 Jiauguan
The itinerary simply says "Drive to Jiayuguan" . What I failed to realise is that 'drive' is five hours across the Gobi Desert, unbelievable. Fortunately I wasn't doing it on the back of a camel but in a comfortable air conditioned car which certainly kept out the cold if not all the wretched dust. About 350kms across nothing with some industrial complexes in the background and trucks hurtling along the tollway. Occasional service centre stops. Just tussocks and dust ... closer to Jiayuguan hills start to appear then mountains in the background.

For some unfathomable reason the guide had muttered something (will never come out with anything straight) about having a large breakfast. I did my best. Though the staff in the dining room were wonderful., I arrived, my place was set with knife and fork, glass and the usual paraphernalia, but a fried egg (eaten) with tinned meat fried (not eaten) and the lovely lady come to my table with the instant coffee, asked how much, placed it in a glass and topped it with hot water, then kept topping it. Really so kind.... I think there was fried cabbage again - but a large breakfast, no. Four of the staff came out the front to wave goodbye, just lovely people, as we headed into the Gobi.
I have to say that Dunhuang being a tourist town is well set up to make westerners at least feel comfortable. Signage, clean markets, lovely little streets to walk along, in reality a modern oasis built on the ancient.

We left at 9am with an ETA of 2pm. the driver was careful, o so careful. He was a grump but no matter, his job is to drive I guess. Then I’m informed we will go straight into the Fort at 2 when we arrive. I had a box of cracker biscuits so said okay. But why? No problem with opening hours as I checked later. Guide is very confusing, she spent the first day telling me about her private life, asking about mine, then in the car in the Gobi asked me, effectively what I thought her chances are in marrying a foreigner ... when I said it was none of my business, and she was confused. So I explained that westerners, especially me, don't really comment on people's private lives. All too weird and that was the tone of most of conversations with her. Overall not fussed as you'll read later.
So arrived at Jiayu Fortress in Jiayuguan. Ming Dynasty fortress never actually used to fortify against anyone I gather. It really is an excellent example of a fortress of the time with a rather wonderful stage about 400 years old, still with original paintings and carvings. I'm advised that the stage is very high as people would sit on camels to watch the plays etc...There were some boys practising ancient movements with some ancient implement of destruction but it was rather fun to watch. Apparently brings in the tourists - well it got me, i enjoyed it. I received minimal commentary at this stage. Could well have been the freezing wind on the battlements, but it was very very cold. And to see something that you've taken 5 hours to get to is a must do - despite the wind, sore ears, aching sinuses etc etc.

After that we drove across town to another highlight for me which is the western end of the Great Wall.
This is the point at which during the period of the Silk Road, the Chinese said civilisation stopped as they headed out into the desert. At the Fort there were 2 gates the one facing east with characters effectively saying this way lies civilisation and the Western gate effectively saying the opposite. I now have the mandatory photo of me with the Great Wall snaking away in the background. And no I didn't climb it, too tired sick and wind swept and with bad knees etc etc .. You get the idea of pathetic old lady I fell back on. Also by about 5 starting to feel weak with hunger.
So into town for dinner we drive around in the general direction of the railway station for 20 minutes looking to meet the guide’s exacting standards. During the day I had been quizzing her about the train - what time does it leave, what time arrive, please tell attendant to make sure I'm awake and know which station to get off etc etc. My questions were generally dismissed.
So after we order what seems to be a myriad of dishes (which in the end cost me about 45 yuan) - I start again. They say the train is sometime after 8 and it's too soon to go to the Station so we'll go to a four star hotel (apparently Grumpy Driver is staying there overnight before returning, F is getting a train back same night).
Off to the hotel where I get coffee and we chat a bit. But we are all sick of each other at this point I think and F making pointed comments about me travelling and money and you get the gist.
Believe it or not by this stage, I actually want to get on the train! Eventually I say I’d rather leave now (about 7.30) so we go and I need to buy water and something for my throat which is not in a good way after the wind.
So to the station with the usual carry on fuss about lollies for my throat (I lost count after 5 shops not selling any and said don't worry but she persisted).
Over to the station where I wait with GD while F sorts everything out including her ticket back to Dunhuang (She later pointed out the difference in ticket prices, me on soft class sleeper at 286 Yuan and her standing for 3 hours for 44Y). I did give the driver a tip as he was a good driver just grumpy).
So F and I to the public waiting room with her insisting on lugging my bag up the stairs ... i just gave up at this point. Finally the reason for F's concern not to be too early. .. waiting room is full of, wait for it, Labourers! Heaven forbid a western tourist should see how the other half live. More staring at the old western woman than usual but I am getting used to it and it should become less of an issue in the bigger towns. It’s what people do, no problem. Also F is hanging onto the ticket for dear life, wouldn't trust me with it..
Sooooooo eventually onto the train. Where she says I'm not sure which is your bed, have a good life and takes off. At this point I had elicited the information that the train number was different to my itinerary, it left at 8.36pm and would arrive about 9am in Lanzhou and it was an express so I didn't have to worry.
I worked out my seat/bed in a comfortable train (with western toilet!) and no one else in the cabin. Hallelujah I think. Wrong!. imagine my surprise when the so called express stopped 20 mins after take off, still no one but certainly not an express, then woken at about 11 by people coming into the cabin to take up the remaining beds. I was at least under the doona in my brillant pink long johns and top but there was a lot of scrambling around early in the morning (still dark) when I re-clothed myself in jeans and top. Fortunately they were all asleep.
Overall not a happy camper, sinuses painful, nose a mess, and breathing badly. Though I was warm... anyway roughly midnight on Day 11...
PS Now getting this train thing sorter, had prepared scotch in water bottle...trust me it helped.
Day 12 Lanzhou
So sleeping amongst strangers who were polite and kept to themselves. Me sick fed up tired and grumpier than the driver.
Poor sleep and so called express kept stopping.
Door flung open at 6am by attendant saying something none of which seemed to include the word Lanzhou. I pointed to my ticket and the word Lanzhou then my watch - it seems the train was arriving at Lanzhou at about 6.45am. (Not 9am as previously advised)

Quick reorganisation and staring out the window, I'd worked out that on this line names are printed in English which helped. Train stopped and the other guys leap off, I pull my bag out and make to follow them but a whole stack of others sitting in the corridor not moving. To another attendant I say "Lanzhou" and he indicated, no, further on. So I stand and wait, bags in hand checking stations. Finally we seemed to stop and everyone got off the train. I confirmed again Lanzhou (no signs on this one!) A nice man saw me waiting for everyone to get off, grabbed my big bag and put it on the platform.
So having been assured by F that the guide would meet me on the platform, I waited and waited and waited. Platform now empty. So perhaps I got it wrong... so down the stairs to the Exit, where, you get the picture, I waited and waited. So called the 'emergency number' nice woman, but informed me that she only looked after the first part of the tour in Xinjiang, not this section in Gansu. I did my best impression of Lady of the British Raj - not happy. She said she'd find someone, and rang back 5 minutes later. Still trying. After 30 or so minutes a man approached me asking if I was waiting for a driver.(in English). Yes but words from me to the effect of who the hell was he? He made a call and put someone on who said he was my guide and that this chap would take me to the hotel. I say ok and that seems to settle it. I'm okay and he's okay so off to the car where he hands me a bottle of water so I now know that this is the right person. Mr D asks me to wait a moment and a few minutes later, W, the guide, races over, full of apologies. He is distraught, miserable, upset, shattered ... I feel a heel and keep saying no problem, all sorted. Poor man really was upset; he kept saying this is a bad mistake, all my fault. I'm saying calm down, it's all okay. We sort out the arrangements - I arrive by train this morning, my mate arrives by plane tomorrow morning when we all go to meet her.
Anyway finally get to a very nice hotel, ensure internet and breakfast. In the meantime I feel dreadful. Headache, sinus the whole thing. At home wouldn't worry too much, here with the hectic pace and another plane journey in 3 days I worry.

I ask W how hard it would be to organise to go a pharmacy. Turns out the young man is a stickler for not self medicating (probably right under the circumstances) and that I should see a doctor. So we arrange to meet at 1pm so I can rest a bit. There is no sight seeing organised or guide for today, I was planning a quiet day. However W is willing to come back and accompany me. . So at 1pm we meet, take a taxi to hospital attached to the medical faculty of the university. Closed until 2.30. A lunch of Lanzhou noodles - hot, very hot, but delicious.
Back to hospital, I guess it’s the emergency department. Line up and for 7Y get to see a doctor. Upstairs and the doctor is in a room with a computer, one takes a chair and people pop in all the time with bits of paper and listening to the consultation. W translates and Doctor wants to do a blood test to check if there is an infection. 10 minutes later, test done, 20 mins later, results are available, back to doctor.
Lots of conversation of which I am a minimal part. Certainly providing interesting dinner conversation for the 6 people listening in. Eventually I hear the word penicillin and am asked if I am allergic. Much discussion follows. The doctor agrees a course of anti biotics is the go.

I now have a medical card entitling me to treatment at the hospital in Lanzhou. Blood test cost 33Y and the antibiotics about 50Y. I read the magic word Amoxyllin on the packet so now know what I am dealing with. Provided by hospital pharmacy. All in all a professional and excellent experience. I really needed to clear this congestion before getting on another plane and I know Amoxyllin should do the trick.
Back to hotel for a quiet late afternoon and evening. Room service is called for and I hope I haven't made a mistake with cream of mushroom soup. Ham and cheese sandwich completes the necessary comfort food and I intend turning in shortly, after yet another pack. All things being equal to meet my mate in the morning and off to Xiahe.

Day 13 Lanzhou to Xiahe
Picked up Marg at the airport, which is 70 kms from the city. Lanzhou is locked in by mountains so 70 kms out is the first place that they could find a flat space. Apparently it's the furtherest airport from a city in China (everyplace here I think has some claim to fame along those lines).
From the airport we drove toward Xiahe (pronounced Sharher). Highway closed due to a massive accident in a tunnel. We took the scenic route, several hours longer but loved most of it. Not being someone who likes mountain driving, parts were terrifying combined the Chinese lack of road rules (overtaking on a bend on a mountain road is the least of it, let alone overtaking up the middle of a road into oncoming traffic).That part I decided to ignore and look at the superb scenery. We passed through a number of villages and a small town, the inhabitants are Dong Xiang minority group. From what I recall from our excellent guide, the inhabitants are Muslim, left behind to guard this part of China after Genghis Khan left. Alone on top of the mountains they were forgotten and they in turn forget about anything outside the mountain. Have really only had contact with the outside world for the past 40-50 years. We had a wonderful time checking it all out, and the particular dress of the people. Marg and I both felt that we could have been in a middle eastern country with the men in white skull caps, donkeys in the street, etc etc and the landscape being very much like Jordan, although not so red.
Despite my absolute terror on the road, it was an unexpected bonus to drive through this area. We actually came back the same way as highway still closed and W having worked out our propensity to take photos of children, suggested we stop for a while for photos. Marg and I wandered along the main street for a few hundred metres asking about every second person whether we could take their photo. Wonderful faces, again Central Asian with a touch of Turkey.
Anyway arrived at Xiahe finally, a quiet town which seems to be on the edge of a population explosion with new buildings everywhere. Hotel was the Wangfu which means King's Palace. OK, but overheated. Dining room remarkable, we were the only people there, waiting waiting for food .. finally arrived, freshly cooked small delicious pastries and a plate of pancake type things ... both of which were massive and we managed to eat about a quarter, we ended up getting a doggy bag and taking it to W and the driver, Mr D.
Hotel itself is fascinating ... décor is what I remember as Mongolian but am told is Tibetan, but seems to be a mixture. The community is referred to as Tibetan and most of the locals dress that way, with a mixture of Chinese.

Day 14 Xiahe to Lanzhou
So we are now in the region the Chinese call 'Little Tibet". As it's the closest I'm likely to come to Tibet, it's a great experience. On the way here we passed through a place called Lin Xia which is the Muslim capital of China we are told - "Little Mecca". Mosques everywhere mostly in a Chinese architectural style. in an hour we passed from there into the Buddhist area, Tibetan Buddhism. Also Tao/Dao temples everywhere ... what can I say.

Hotel breakfast was a 'western' version, with fried eggs and spam ... fortunately we brought coffee with us as it really is a non starter in China. Then off to the Labrang Monastery which is one of the major Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in the world. Amazingly on our way here we saw road signs to Lhasa, so we're not too far away. I gather in the past this region was part of Tibet, hundreds of years ago.
Massive complex with temples, dormitories, shops believe it or not selling to the monks, mostly medallions and soft drinks. We saw a couple of junior monks, probably 5 or 6 years old, eating ice creams, so I guess they are sold there as well.

At 10.15 promptly we meet up with an English speaking monk (after his prayers are finished) for a tour. He spoke very quickly almost a prepared script and when we asked him to slow down (both voice and pace) he told William that he would but didn't. He told us to hurry up. Went into several temples and heard the history, some dating back to early 1700's. Also many photos of the various Lama's, Dalai and Panchan and another one I can't remember, keep getting my Lama's mixed up. Overwhelming essence of yak butter everywhere ...let me say the smell has stayed on my clothes. Finally at 2000 metres elevation I couldn't keep up as I was a bit breathless so Marg and W soldiered on with the monk and I wandered back to the main square and sat. It was just before when I think the main prayers of the day are and a couple of hundred monks floating around in red robes, chatting, laughing and clearly enjoying the break from devotion and/or studies. From what I gather, it is effectively a university style set up with levels of qualification as monks complete studies. For example there are medical and philosophical schools. There are 5 schools, and the highest qualification is to complete each of the schools, virtually a PhD.
While I was waiting a couple of monks approached me to practice their English I think. I rather enjoyed engaging with them. One or two had quite definite opinions about various subjects ... say no more. In fact I think the experience was one of the highlights for me.
The size of the place is incredible and the monks are as interested in us as we are in them.

After the monastery we went to meet a Tibetan family and see a typical Tibetan home. The whole place is walled in mud brick and you enter through a door into a courtyard with storerooms on either side, we also noticed a couple of sheds with hay for the yaks in winter. The family we met consisted of mum, grandfather and two girls 8 and 14 who were home from school for lunch. There'd been a mix up with the times so Mum entertained us and the girls had instant noodles for lunch, which Mum later told us they actually preferred. we had yak milk yoghurt with sugar for sweetness, some bread and Mum showed us how a typical sweet type dish is made with (you guessed it, yak butter), flour, some spice and it's kneaded and you eat it, a sort of thick brown sugar colour pastry almost - nice) yoghurt was great (am sticking to the rule about yoghurt everyday and so far have escaped any stomach upsets.

Behind the courtyard was a glassed in area where Grandfather and Miss 8 sat as he supervised her homework. A wonderful patient face. There was another room behind that with a tiny kitchen (main kitchen is a separate room, this seems to be for snacks and last minute preparation) a stove in the middle and beds on a platform either side of the stove. It would be freezing in winter at the base of a hill which still had a little snow on it. There are other rooms off the side of the courtyard, really warm and wonderful. Marg and I both taken with Mum who was lovely to look at and very outgoing, warm and friendly and so hospitable. Outside we were shown the newest additions to the family, 3 baby yaks. The family has 6 yaks in total which seem to provide all basic necessities. There was fridge and freezer, TV and a few other mod cons. A very gracious hostess and a look at another world.

We headed back to Lanzhou taking the scenic route again. Just happy to sit in the back of the car and look at the wonderful landscape ... though brown at the moment, the early spring sowing has started on the terraces.
At this point you will be sad to know I had run out of Scotch ... not pleasant (medicinal purposes only). So we asked W to show us where to buy Johnny Walker. We had to go to a supermarket anyway to buy stuff for the next day and he promised there would be JW... Well let me say good thing he's a nice kid ... no JW but liquor shops all over. At this point (8.30pm) we braved the supermarket and then tried 6 different liquor shops, not happy Jan. eventually Marg spied a place, in we went, joy of joys bottles in English including a single malt. Off we headed back to hotel, on opening found Chinese copy. We had joked about the Chinese copying everything earlier in the day). Still drinkable - just - with a lot of water. W in deep trouble tomorrow.
A wonderful day meeting new and different people and just watching China go by.

Day 15 Lanzhou
We continue to enjoy this place. A modern city which W tells us is small at 3 million, but we think seems large, there's a lot of high rise as the place is very long and narrow with mountains on all sides. I do take the opportunity to have a severe go at him over the Johnny Walker and he promises he knows a place we can get some on the way home. We head off in another direction, possibly south, but don't quote me. In primary school Marg did an assignment on the Yellow River and is very much enjoying actually seeing it 50 years later - Lanzhou is on the Yellow River so we have YR spottings. Big day today as the destination takes us across the Lioujiaxia Lake a reservoir of the YR. About 2 hours drive where we board a small speed boat (very small, we assure driver that we can swim if necessary, hopefully not, but not sure he saw the joke). Beautiful day, not so cold anymore.
Arrive at a (I was going to say wharf but not as such) and debark along the front of the boat. To be met by the first of what I am sure will be many salesladies with baskets of goodies, all the same and grabbing our arms and pushing bracelets and sacred rocks and other things in our faces. They tell us to come back later. We head to the ladies (one Yuan) to avoid them and then make a quick dash for the safety of W who seems vaguely bemused by it all and our discomfort. Onto the security behind the ticket turnstile and we approach the Bingling Caves, another example of old Buddhist art. The whole area has been done up recently and we follow a lovely (and well paced) walkway beside the water with trees just coming into bloom in the water. We’re told that the reservoir has never been this high and what we think is a natural stream is actually, usually, a dried up bed of dirt.

The caves are the remains of a temple, the front of which was destroyed be fire, we think 5 times. Some of the caves date back to the Tang dynasty. Again because they were protected by the facade of the temple, much still remains. There are frescoes and statues with a massive Buddha at the end. When Ii say caves, I should explain that the front is boarded up with a door and opened for visitors, the actual depth is only a metre or two. Stunning. As they are so difficult to get to not so many visitors but its location has protected it from damage during various revolutions.
We amble along only interrupted by a few other tourists; we're certainly the only Europeans in the place. Eventually head around another bend to have our so called picnic. Given our rush last night we made some poor choices, runny plastic cheese, butter, rice crackers which turn out to be sweet and plain crackers that turn out to be too salty. We had also appropriated some bread from the hotel. Marg had purchased some Yellow River King (pictures of Lions on front) beer to celebrate her arrival at the Yellow River. I had lemonade which attracted a VERY large bee and fortunately Marg had vegemite, Interesting dining selection finished with bananas.
We stayed there a while enjoying the sun and the view of the caves in front of us, before heading back to the boat to be greeted by the ladies running toward us saying you come back you come back. Let me tell you we had no choice or we wouldn't have. What is depressing is that this is only the start and I'm not looking forward to Beijing in that context. And YES, we both ended up buying stuff we neither needed nor wanted... tragics the both of us.
A man had accompanied us on the boat, guessing we were Australians and told me that I was 'healthy', I later recollected that this is a compliment meaning you are fat...also guessed me at 60 and Marg about 55.... So not a popular person. We were told the boat was ours but there is an obligation to take officials over to the cave. No problem. What seemed strange was the number of photos he was taking. He also came back with us even though we were quite late.
It was quite beautiful on the water and we located Mr D and he drove us back to the City to arrive about 7pm. True to his word lovely W had identified a very upmarket department store come supermarket which had Johnny Walker. Much Happiness, though we worry about the difficulty of obtaining it later, no doubt we will set the Beijing guide the same task. A bottle of black was 278Y (about $45) but no box and we needed one to put in our luggage. We spied a presentation box with a large bottle, a miniature and two whisky glasses - at 300Y - no choice. Prepared to ditch clothing, books anything to fit into suitcase and ensure still under 20Kg.
Do you doubt what happened?.
Back to hotel after another wonderful day not looking forward to the 4.30am wake up call to get to the airport 70kms away for a 7.50am flight in the morning. Packing, redistributing etc and a room service sandwich (bread is white but sweet) and prepared as we can be for the wretched call.

Day 16 Lanzhou to Xian
We wake kicking and screaming with the 4.30am wake up call and race down to met W and Mr D in the lobby at 5.40am. Usual carry on with check out then onto the highway arriving in time for flight.
China Eastern doesn't seem too bad and we don't have to eat our breakfast bag of goodies from the hotel. (We do later - lunch).
Arrive in Xian at 9.10 and wait and wait ... 9.30 with a lack of options I ring the Sydney travel company as we have no local details. ten minutes later they ring back, car broken down, on the way and could we go get a coffee and please not get a taxi to hotel as this will, apparently, cause big trouble. We oblige (not a difficult call at this hour) we have the coffees and wait and wait, call from local office they'll be about 30mins. We wait and wait and wait - how far can one expensive cup of coffee last? We finally have another cup and work out that 4 cups of coffee have cost us roughly the same as the same as a bottle of JW Red back in Sydney, though we feel obliged to say that the coffee was 'Supreme Blue Mountains" .

Finally our new guide, S turned up about 11.15am ... not happy Jan, we said not happy Jan or words that effect and the guy dropped his head and we thought tears on the way, so we said okay okay, it's all worked out (A theme developing here) he has a taxi waiting and keeps apologising, company will pay for dinner tomorrow night at the Tang Dynasty Show (had completely forgotten the show), we end up comforting him. S we have decided is going to be exhausting and is without a sense of humour. So into cab and brief history of Xian follows, we have determined that each city/town in China is the MOST important depending on which city/town you are in at any one time. We are tired but arrive at hotel and no thanks don't want to do anything this afternoon (particularly as we suspect shopping in factories, this is a rest day).
We arrive at the hotel, rather nice 4 star with all mod cons, So lunch (Breakfast bag) and we sit and chat (really haven't had a chance to catch up) and do not a lot, though Scotch appears strangely .. not afternoon tea...
About 5.30 we head out to eat, find a small restaurant and eat from a Chinese menu what is fish soup and a beef dish. Okay not fabulous.
Anyway back to hotel for us to catch up and watch a movie. not an exciting day but totally necessary if we are to continue to pace ourselves.

Day 17 Xian
S and the no name driver arrive and we head over to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Xian seems a huge place, 8 million people; the city goes on and on. A large industrial city (which in China isn't) but of course with the wonderful ancient history, 2200 years of it. just driving under the City Wall is a spine chilling experience.

Wild Goose Pagoda is a Ming building with a series of small temples and it must be said tourist trap stores, around it. In one temple there is modern panel on the wall which describes the story of the Buddha. When travelling in China and South East Asia, familiarity with the key aspects of Buddhism is necessary and tragically my knowledge falls short. Also some information about Taoism, another panel provides some information. Inevitably we end up at a 'demonstration' of calligraphy. Not being too quick we agree and have a 10 min demo which is fascinating, I’d never seen it close up before. But of course the demo is surrounded by artwork for sale and then we notice a shop is attached. Marg and I have a look and buy a few bits and pieces (after all we do need to buy souvenirs and gifts and there are some beautiful pieces and this is a government business.)

This becomes the pattern of a day which has highlights and a number of lowlights. Sales techniques in China being what they are. What did annoy me was being hurried through the Pagoda only to have as much time as we needed in the shop.
Nonetheless the Pagoda is wonderful and the temples are beautiful.
As we leave, S asks whether we want to go to various other shopping opportunities and we agree to only one, a Jade factory/showroom. We knock back several others. A brief demo at the jade place then the heavy sales technique. Marg gets the short straw in salesmen, he literally followed her around the showroom almost hanging onto her, not a happy Marg. he would not let her go and then, as she later said, he wasn't giving her any information, whereas mine was. Mine was older, he'd talk about the product, move off, come back, etc. I did buy a few bits and pieces then sat down for a fag and a cuppa (always available in these places.) He came over sat and chatted then went to the shelf to get a beautiful bowl I’d admired (major mistake stopping and looking at anything!). He held it up to the light, it's translucent, we discussed etc etc . Bottom line is I did buy it, a wonderful piece I am very happy with. Marg was still being pursued around the room. The play continues according to script though they are shocked when she finally says No, I am not buying it.
By this point we agree that lunch is in order as we have to drive an hour out of the city to the Terracotta warriors. Wonderful little noodle place run by a family who are from the Hui minority group, so Muslim.
So then into the horrible city traffic to head out to the Warriors.
Boy are we lucky!!! In the souvenir shop at the entrance is Mr Yang, the farmer who discovered the Warriors is signing books. Quelle coincidence! So buy the book and get it signed. No real problem as I wanted one. Anyway we start the long trek to the actual site. Queue after queue after queue with people pushing shoving, crowding - horrible. We show our tickets at least 4 times. Much hotter weather too, this place would be a nightmare in July/August. Warriors better be worth it ... Average of 30,000 people per day and 11 million a year, of which about 1 million are foreign tourists. I swear most of them are here today.
Fortunately for the future of China/Australian relations, the warriors ARE worth it. You finally arrive in Pit 1, the largest. Thousands of people at the front getting the famous photo with the warriors lined up behind them then to see the massive pit with rows of soldiers standing is a sight never forgotten. We walk around the edge of the Pit absolutely open mouthed. It is easy to spend a lot time here. Eventually we get over to the other two pits and the afternoon is gone. What sticks in my mind is the fact that the faces of the warriors are actually those of 8,000 soldiers who were later buried alive so they wouldn't talk about the tomb. Gets worse. There were 70,000 artisan slaves who made the tomb; they also were later buried alive. Makes the Egyptian Pharaohs look benign. Their remains have been found in Pits to the south of the main tomb. The tomb of the Emperor is not opened, they say it is full of mercury so don't want to risk anything until they have the techniques to do it properly. The feeling is that once they can it will contain some massive treasures.
It really is one of the wonders of the modern world and despite the crowds it is worth it. We head back to the shop where a mild dispute eventuates as Marg negotiates over some small thing to buy.
Back into the City for the long promised Dumpling Dinner, unfortunately the drive takes too long and we have about 25 minutes to eat it before the Tang Dynasty Show. Wonderful dumplings though.
S blots his copy book again by disappearing and asking us to met him a few minutes before 8 in the foyer. We arrive no S, we search, Marg goes to check upstairs. Nothing. Finally taken in by a theatre attendant where we block everybody's view as there people in our seats. We leave too embarrassing. Attendant comes out and we wait until a break in the show before re-entering, still no S.
Show is nice, lovely costumes and some excellent musicians. On exiting an hour later S is there asking if we liked the show, we both say Yes, but where were you? We receive various explanations, none of which actually rings true. We've decided he is a bit of a Rain Man. There is some problem.
Not happy but only another half day with him. I've read about bad guides but this is my first experience.
Anyway am determined he won't ruin what has been a wonderful day. To see the Terracotta Warriors has been a remarkable experience and well worth everything to see them.


Days 18 and 19 Xian to Beijing
Another quiet morning perhaps as we face the dreaded packing. Fortunately we are travelling by train tonight so weight isn't an issue. We've already decided that a visit to China Post while we are in Beijing will be a must. I seem to have acquired several kilos of books and several rather heavy bits and pieces.
When we finally emerge at 2pm to check out, S isn't there but is replaced by A who obviously did her training in the Young China League and barks orders while treating us as 5 year olds. Different driver too. All most confusing especially as we have already spent a considerable amount of time calculating just the right tip, damn and blast we have to re-calculate. If I hear the 'Government has done ...’ one more time I'll drop her over the edge of the wretched City Wall, talk about party line...

However we do get to the City Wall which is fantastic. The wall is over 13 kms long and goes around the entire old city, only two left in China, the other is at Nanking. The actual wall itself is about 10 metres wide so easy to move around and avoid the ever increasing crowds. You can bicycle around it, not surprising that we opted for a gentle stroll. Golf buggie was an alternative but for some reason known only to A they will only take a full load (8 people) at 50Y each. We think strange, perhaps 2 at 50Y is better than 0 at nothing but there you go, then told they were having a break. Whatever, we didn't get the buggy ride. But the views are spectacular and the sense of the old city surrounded by the moat was atmospheric.

So onwards towards the Old Mosque and Old Muslim Quarter. Quite frankly am becoming very tired of the tokenist celebration of the 'colourful' ethnic minorities, mostly they sing and dance nicely I gather. (Advised today that there are 57 ethnic groups in China of which 56 are ethnic minorities ) The Mosque was remarkable, old, some parts from 1700's, very quiet and dignified ... built in a Chinese style but easily recognisable as Muslim. Particularly impressive gardens, even at this time of year when spring is just springing and some green and some blossom are emerging.
Stroll through the old Muslim quarter, so called, which is a covered market where you walk along past stall after stall of the same tat. Quite picturesque though and it does in reality provide a bit of a sense of what it would have been like in the past.
We both very much enjoy the City Wall and the Old Mosque.
We need to have something to eat prior to getting on the train, try to explain to A my stomach is not good today and just want a bowl of rice, Marg is fine, can she sort something out? Three times I explained, told that in this area, noodles are the go - fine noodles it is. But short conversation with local reveals a rice establishment nearby. Fine. Sit down with 15 minute conversation to determine spring rolls for Marg, and, you guessed it rice for me. By this time, S has rejoined us, we now have 2 guides.
So off to the train. Drive, walk (in fairness A and S wheel our big bags) for ages hit the crowd around the station entrance. Chinese not shy about shoving pushing etc etc ... bit a strain all round. Finally through security check to soft class sleeper waiting room where we make friends with a nice child and wait for the Beijing Z train..Still trying to cope with crowds. We calculate that the combined population of Beijing and Xian alone is that of all Australia.
By this stage just want to be on train and lose the 2 guides. Finally.. to the platform, nice train and then onto the 2 berth cabin. damn good, highly impressed and much better than the 2 previous I experienced (which in all fairness weren't bad).
Two bunks, private bathroom, lounge chair, storage cupboards - bliss! A really nice train with lovely views and we are sorry that we are only on it for one night. We have an hour or so of daylight to view the countryside.
On waking about 6.30 next morning, after a relatively decent night's sleep, we make a coffee, perform ablutions and sit very happily watching out the window (don't mention that I accidentally pulled the curtain off the window...) for the next 2 hours till we arrive in Beijing. Can highly recommend the train on this route.
Arrive at Beijing West station, everyone emerges, we follow, Westerners are so slow... And wait and wait and wait (theme emerging here) no guide. We took photos of the train for a while happily content in the knowledge that we had the phone number and name of the Beijing Guide (prepared this time and insisted on getting it before leaving Xian). By this stage platform virtually empty so down the ramp to the main exit where we emerge preparing to make the phone call. A tall man called, Li is anxiously waiting for us. Long story involving queuing for platform ticket, last minute change as to where these are sold .. etc etc. hence not on platform. What the heck it all works out again.
Anyway he seems very nice, we find the car and head into downtown Beijing not far from Tiananmen Square. Very nice Novotel and all mod cons.
Breakfast at 10 and we feast on waffles, delicious and a wonderful change from eggs for breakfast, Shower, change and a sense of feeling human again emerges.
Meet Li and off to Summer Palace, about an hour away. Ming Dynasty with lots of improvements from Ching Dynasty (we've seen 'The Last Emperor' and know all about the Empress Cu Xi and her nephew.
This is out of this world, massive grounds, man made lake, dragon boats and huge long covered walk way, hand painted, 730 metres long and the longest in the world. Buildings scattered around the grounds, cool breezes and can easily imagine the Emperor's court and 3000 concubines heading there to escape the 45 degree Beijing heat. Nothing like a summer holiday with all the family, beats camping.
Never enough time and back towards the city with a brief stop at an overbridge to view the Olympic Site; Birds Nest, Water Cube and buildings in the overall shape of a dragon which was administrative and residential.
Arrive at Hutongs for tour (took 5 mins) but end up in home of a hutong family. Since I was last here Hutongs are virtually unrecognisable, they've been cleaned up, widened, and generally made acceptable for foreigners, Family however are wonderful, met Mum, and son about 12. We are served tea and somehow or other chat. Mum does tapestries and the work is incredibly fine. A highlight.
Leave there to be 'invited' to learn about tea ceremony. Off we go, spend 15 minutes learning about tea and 30 mins being sold too...
Drive back to hotel along one side of Forbidden City and dinner in one of the several hotel restaurants.
We've decided we like Beijing, I'm finding it quite different to 2005, more open feeling certainly more touristy, but a good feeling. So far it's winning over Xian.
We decide to lay down a few rules in the morning re shopping visits, trouble is that you're in the middle of them before you realise they’re happening.
Anyway, another day another fight in the crowds and another day learning about this ancient culture.
Day 20 Beijing
Well the delightful weather we've experienced came to an abrupt end today, I'm convinced that the wind and dust I experienced in Kashgar is following me across the country. Back into the jeans, warm tops and jacket. Not the best day to experience some of the outdoor highlights but we cope, mostly with numerous coffee/tea stops and/or shop visits.
I meant to tell you that I am rapidly aging, from being older than Margaret, yesterday the delightful child we met in the Hutong told me very kindly that I reminded him of his grandmother. I expressed my thanks through Li and then asked how old his grandmother is ... 70. Great.
Today Li made a joke early on at the Temple of Heaven that with the wind, given he was so thin, he might blow away. He compounded the joke by hiding behind me every time there was a strong wind gust, establishing that the word he was looking for was 'anchor'. So very nicely, I am both old and fat. Though Li kindly told me later that at times I look quite young, mostly when I laugh, like girl he said. Now very confused...Assuming all this is positive feedback and certainly no doubt meant kindly.

Anyway day started at 9 with a drive to the Temple of Heaven, a brilliant park complex with every family in Beijing out for a good time. We walked around a little to observe the older people (perhaps this is my short term destiny) playing cards, knitting, playing chess and backgammon. We're told that as they are all retired this is what they do all day. Some do Tai Chi and gentle exercise, or dance. There was a loud group singing and playing instruments. The music had a familiar martial air about it and when I asked, yes, these were the songs the older people remembered from their youth, mostly from the Chairman Mao years. There were song books for sale and many people were joining in, fabulous and atmospheric. I believe that Marg and I should start an Australian chapter in Hyde Park singing the 'Red Flag' and the 'Internationale'.
We then moved onto the actual Temple of Heaven which is a large complex that the Emperor came to once a year to pray for good harvests. There are several walkways and for once the Emperor didn't take the middle one, that was for God - Marg and I did though, very godlike. It is a beautiful place and would be very peaceful if not for the tourists. What is striking here is that the tourists are 90% Chinese, most local, some overseas Chinese, they are visiting we are told, often in workgroups, to enjoy their heritage. Perhaps this is something we could encourage in our workgroups.
There is also an Echo type temple thingie - not sure of the name - where you can stand on one spot and speak in a normal level which can be heard at two points each at 45 degrees to that point and about 15 metres away where the voice can be heard.
From there onto a Pearl Factory (least said the better, will discuss no further) and then to Tiananmen Square. A lot has changed since Ii was last here, not least of which is a security entry point with bag check and soldiers everywhere. Two huge screens have been erected in the middle to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the New China - today they were showing a video on colourful ethnic minorities - "Xinjiang is a nice place"... what can I say. Lots of singing and dancing by colourful ethnic minorities. Also last time I remember families flying kites etc etc, apparently these days it is forbidden. It is a wonderful public space which allows for 1 million people, a remarkable space to experience, despite the soldiers marching everywhere. I'd really like to visit the Peoples Congress Building on our free day, we'll see what that brings.
Down the stairs through the road underpass to the main entrance of the Forbidden City, now the Palace Museum. We walk through 2 massive gates, both at least 10 metres thick which shows unexpected visitors didn't often get in, especially with a moat... Eventually end up in a courtyard which is the main entrance. Li purchases our tickets and gives us our last minute instructions. We are to be left alone!!!

We cope.

Onwards and upwards mostly into the gale force wind, cold and gusty. We go through the first three buildings to find a cafe for lunch and coffee. By this stage 2pm and with wind battering, we need sustenance. Found in a cafe that was formerly the headquarters for imperial officials as well as a 4 Star toilet, truly, we have the photos of the official sign. We also spend time in the Museum Shop and for once M is not the only purchaser, wonderful quality at good prices. Essentially with map in hand we wander up the middle of the City, the other two sides are full of palaces and temples and spaces that we don't have time to see this visit but promise to invest a few days here next visit! The place is a bit 'samey' but unique and massive. Having seen the "Last Emperor" we feel quite at home. The thousands of other visitors, mostly Chinese, enjoy the spectacle as well. While we are overawed by the vast size, given many people entered and never left the place, it may well have become a little cramped. The reality is that one can understand why a revolution occurred.
We end up in the Imperial Garden which is wonderful, even in the horrendous wind. A last glance around and we arrive at the North Gate to exit the building dead on closing at 5pm.
Walk along the road to find a taxi which stops eventually, don't know if we are overcharged but don't care, warm taxi, quick drive home and a scotch awaits...
We anticipate another quiet night... but want to be ready for the Great Wall tomorrow.
We are really enjoying Beijing ...it is a wonderful city and so much to see and do, five days will not be enough prompting discussion of a return visit...

Day 21 Beijing
Another fine day, we are getting to like Beijing a lot. I'm finding it much more enjoyable as a city than on my previous visit. There is no doubt that the Olympics have made a huge difference. People seem more open and willing to try and communicate, street signage is in English and generally the place feels more accessible.
Tonight we drove back through the city along one of the main roads lined with office buildings, the modern architecture is outstanding. The lights were on, special lights obviously for nights and the atmosphere was wonderful. Would like to spend more time here just checking out the old as well as the new. really much more taken with Beijing overall as a city than Xian, despite it's size.

We started today by driving about one and half hours out of the city towards the Great Wall at Mutianyu, different to Simitai which I did before, This section is more accessible though very steep. The whole section has been restored and the views are magic with the Wall winding back into the distance over the mountain ridges. We copped out and took the cable car up, given my fear of heights, suffice it to say my eyes were closed most of the way. Once up there we walked along for a while taking photos and just generally admiring ourselves for being there. Naturally I stuck to the centre of the walkway which is about 4-5 metres wide (just in case after 2000 years, the Great Wall decided to collapse). While chewing on a Snickers bar, Marg lost a filling on the GW ... so have just now found out she can head over to the Hospital first thing in the morning where people speak English . She's found the Concierge extremely helpful.

We descended, again by Cable car 90 minutes later to be met by Li waiting patiently. We (I) recover and buy the mandatory T Shirts "I climbed the Great Wall" which have increased 3 fold in cost since my last visit. We eat locally at a small restaurant partaking of pork and cabbage dumplings and local beer, both of which were lovely. The sellers are much more organised these days, compared to my memories of Simitai, little stalls winding back up the street for about half a kilometre. Mutianyu is in the middle of an orchard and farming area. The fruit trees are just starting to blossom, I must say I really am enjoying this part of China as far as landscape goes. I loved Xinjiang and Gansu but was there too early in the spring for any colour other than brown and a bit of grey, this green is fabulous.

We agree to yet another exhibition/retail experience and hit a porcelain showroom. The quality of the merchandise is outstanding. Stunning. Not cheap and we are now a bit more clever, and don't take credit cards or large amounts of currency. So a small purchase each.
Headed back to town, Li suggests we could have the mandatory meal of Peking Duck. We had intended to have it one night, so why not. An upmarket restaurant near the Olympic Centre so we get some time there viewing the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube - with millions of others. There are also good views of the 5 buildings which seem to create a dragon along the rooftop - fabulous.
The meal is okay but probably not the best we've ever eaten and fairly pricey but we've had it now.
Back at hotel, Marg finds information about a dentist and chases her lost underwear from the laundry, both quests are successful.
Tomorrow we're on our own and I think probably looking forward to it. Marg will go to try and sort her tooth out and I'll find China Post to send stuff home in the hope that we might be able to be underweight on the flight to Giulin and eventually on the flight home.

Day 22 Beijing
Last day in Beijing and sorry we are leaving but an excellent day...
Despite the misgivings of various child guides, we seem to cope quite well when left to our own devices.
Despite a relatively late start at about 10am, we found our way via the Concierge's Chinese characters used for a taxi driver to the 'Union Hospital' (Peking Union Medical College Hospital where it cost less for Marg to have treatment than for a Singapore Sling later in the day) which has an international section with some English speaking medicos. A bit confusing on the ground floor but Margaret now also has a card entitling her to treatment there. We headed up to the third floor to the various rooms dedicated to each medical speciality. We both had the same thought about the nursing staff, of whom there seem to be hundreds, together with as many doctors ... the uniform is white white white with the little caps worn by nurses in the TV soapies about 1965 - Ben Casey and Dr Kildare (for those under 50, don't worry about it.)
Marg was literally inside waiting and being treated for only about 45 minutes while I pretended to read a book and actually watched the people. The Doctor/Dentist came to Beijing for university 18 years ago and has never left. We want to find out whether there are dentist's surgeries as we understand them as both our guide and the concierge both immediately said international hospital rather than a surgery. Marg was given a temporary filling which should last her a few weeks. She seems okay and hopefully it will hold.

From there, another taxi also courtesy of the concierge's Chinese characters, to the China Post International Business office to send a parcel back to Sydney. They knew exactly what to do, spoke a little English, helped pack it all up and it is now, hopefully on its way home.
[Note: parcel arrived less than a month later and very enjoyable it was opening it up] Very kind and helpful people who made what could have been difficult very easy.
Another taxi was a little hard to come by as they didn't want to go to Tiananmen Square - probably the traffic but one eventually stopped and dropped us nearby. By this stage it was 1.30pm and we were hungry and found a nice restaurant on the Square with a light BBQ beef, onion pancakes, rice and beer, Very nice. Emerged from there and spent several hours wandering around TS, including the North Gate which has been opened to foreigners, we think, courtesy of a young man who said, no I am not a guide but a volunteer in TS. It is an incredible place, we hoped to see the People's Congress building but it was closed still had a marvellous time just enjoying the good weather and walking around.
Strangely we passed several up market hotels including the Beijing Raffles. I've never been to Raffles and Margaret thought she should compare with Singapore. A Singapore Sling later and we both wanted to move in. Superb hotel and we very much enjoyed it.
We wanted to check out Wanfujing Street which is the main shopping street with rather a good book shop which we enjoyed.
Finally decided to brave the Subway - can't be in a city this size and not check it out. Rush hour. But only two stops with a change of line in between and managed with relative ease. Even the crowds seem to behave but the Chinese crowds are unbelievable overall and frankly am pleased we are heading to a relatively quiet part of China. On the other hand both Marg and I love Beijing and will be sorry to leave.
I'm not sure what it is, it's not a really warm city but people cooperate and there is so much to see just walking around. It's not just the old, but the new, the history, the pride in that history and culture and the overwhelming size of the place. Having mastered the Subway we are confident of getting around. It will be shame to leave and the reality is that a return visit would be highly recommended.
Another early start tomorrow as it's a fair way to the airport and we fly to Guilin arriving mid afternoon. Now the weight of the luggage is dramatically decreased I should be allowed to fly.

Day 23 Beijing to Guilin
At the more luxurious end of holiday and sadly only for a few days.
Final day in Beijing and we are out of the hotel about 9am to go to the airport, drive is about an hour but we have the opportunity to see some more of this incredible city. Quite happy as we sit and gaze out the window. Again we pass through streets of office blocks which are amazing, nothing samey about them. Li told us that they often house a huge number of businesses. For instance he told us that one of things he does is translations. There is a business with an address on a floor of one of these buildings but it is a tiny office with 3 desks and computers. There are 3 people, Managing Director and 2 Operations managers (of which he is one) who actually work there, but they have a network of translators of over 100 people who they contact to do the translations as necessary into over 15 languages.
Airport is massive as you'd expect it to be, we head for Terminal 3 which is domestic although there are international flights to Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau.

We farewell Li who has moved back into businessman mode and was ready to move onto the next item on the agenda. We'd been dropped a little early (good idea in Beijing to allow for traffic problems) so had a cuppa, went through security to the gate and waited for the 12.30 flight to Guilin. After about an hour it was apparent there was a delay, so we waited some more.
Eventually took off about 2pm for the 3 hour flight. OK flight though we have decided that Chinese people on aircraft need to be frisked for mobile phones - to make sure the things are OFF! Chap next us got an earful from Marg (and let me tell you I've done the same thing). about turning it off. Not keen on descending into mist where the pilot is obviously flying on instruments to have a mobile switched on.
Anyway met by our next guide, a lovely young man called C.
A short trip into town (about 1 mill) to the Guilin Park Hotel which was very nice, near a small lake, and very pretty, it's a tourist town and we suspect, a retirement type place. Peaceful. For the life of me I can't work out why we're so tired, all we've done today is get on and off a plane. Don’t want to think I'm getting too old for this! Anyway across the bridge into the town for a dinner which was memorable mostly for the noise in what is obviously a family restaurant. Good meal and back to hotel for an 8.30am start.
C informed us that he will be travelling with us on the Li River cruise which is a nice bonus as we thought that we'd be on our own to be picked up at the other end by a different guide. The river cruise is about 4 hours. Also our luggage will be taken onto Yangshuo. Bargain!
Masses and masses of river cruisers are lined up at the Pier, about 40 all up, we're told for both local and foreign tourists. There is set seating and we are at a table with a small (6) group of Americans, two couples from California and the other from NY City. All are surprised that we know where the San Fernando Valley is and Albany. Need to explain that we have huge amounts of American TV and that most Australians are more familiar with American geography than their own.
After take off or whatever it is on a boat the string of boats starts down (up?) the Li River. Up on deck lots of us stand around and take photos of what is really, to me anyway, 'classic' Chinese countryside. Tall, peaked, limestone mountains with fir trees running along the ridges and beautiful clear water. It's like every Chinese classic painting I've ever seen. And this goes on for miles and miles, C stops by every so often to point out the highlights, like 9 Horse Mountain. He’s so good, we want to bring him home with us. If I'm on the lower deck he tells me the highlight then races up to the upper deck to tell Marg. Very conscientious. Through our usual not so subtle questioning we found out that his grandfather speaks both Russian and English as G Grandmother was Russian. His English does have a slight accent but flows easily and he is very enthusiastic about providing information about the area and Guangxi generally.
We love the river and enjoy the villages along the way mostly belonging to colourful ethnic minorities whose villages have obviously been updated and renovated by the government. Cormorants along the way and water buffalo. Fisherman use the cormorants for fishing by having them dive for the fish, they have something around their necks (the cormorants not the fishermen) which stops them from swallowing the fish and the fisherman grabs the fish. Apparently quite common around here.
A few hours on the river, with a nice lunch provided (our fellow tourists stick with fries and fried chicken which is not nice, the fried rice, noodles and soy stir fry are lovely. I try a local wine made from the osmanthus flower - it's a fortified wine, much like sherry with a light flavour a sort of rose colour. Really very nice and wonderful with fried rice!
We end up in Yangshuo about 2pm after all the boats ply for docking privileges. Into the town which is lovely - though busy and a bit touristy. Resort is 10 miles out of town. Wonderful Wonderful River view over another colourful ethnic minority village ... but beautiful. Room is superb, very upmarket and extremely comfortable. Lots of goodies for us to play with.
Well must go, Marg has returned from a reccie of the place and despite wanting $5 for a small bottle of Evian water (we will go to town tomorrow for water) the place is magnificent.

Days 24 - 26 Yangshuo
Finally a couple of quiet restful days. We scheduled these days so we could have a bit of a break and it's working out beautifully.
The Yangshuo Resort while billed as a 5 Star resort still has a few glitches to iron out but overall the setting makes up for it all. The Resort was opened in 2009 and is about 10 miles out of the town Yangshuo where the river cruises dock.

We are surrounded by limestone karsts, the solitary looking mountain thingies and facing the river where small bamboo boats are punted up and down, mostly with two people sitting in splendid isolation on the 'deck' while the oarsman does all the work. The Resort is set in massive grounds facing the river and there is plenty to see and to watch from the balcony of the room but also really, from any vantage point. The building is very long so it takes advantage of the river view from every room, we are told. The room is large with a settee and a coffee table and is set somewhat on an angle to maximise the space. There is a desk and masses of lights (unusually for a Chinese hotel room) so we can actually see. The TV is large but we are faced with a very limited choice of the Discovery Channel (Kiteflying in Malaysia and Confronting Your Deepest Fears) and HBO which is showing B and C grade American movies. Tonight I believe we may be treated to Rocky IV followed by a Harry Potter, last night best not discussed. Some appalling thing with Matthew McConnachie about a revolting male finding lerv....CNN is non operational, sadly and no BBC though we could probably tell you all their current stories by now.

Yesterday we made a late start heading via Resort Shuttle into the town. It had been raining all morning though we actually enjoyed it, with the mist on the river and the hills above, it was classic postcard stuff. A bit of rain in town but not too bad. Marg forgot the umbrella she'd brought with her, and I hadn't brought one anyway....
We needed lunch to fortify ourselves for the assault on West St, our last major shopping opportunity. Marg tried the local beer battered catfish. I found it a muddy flavour but she enjoyed it. I stuck with fried rice, the local version, as tummy wasn't brilliant. Marg also continued her taste testing of the local beers which she has been enjoying across the country. Overall, not surprisingly, we can always find something to eat that is usually local and delicious.
So the assault on West St... suffice it to say that we are doing our best to sustain the local economy. Weighing in at the airport on the other hand may well be a challenge. Still if we each lug about 10 kilos in hand luggage we might just make it.
By 6-6.30 we decided to return as the street was starting to liven up for the evening and becoming more crowded and noisy. Taxi back and then a well earned Scotch. To be honest just sitting in the room enjoying the view is the best part of the place to date. It is quiet and peaceful and the scenery around is just glorious.
Another late start this morning and we've decided just to stay here and enjoy the Resort though we have booked massages for this afternoon. We dropped in yesterday, chap behind the desk had no English and my Chinese of 'hello' and 'thanks' wasn't getting us too far. Chap raced up the stairs and conned an English speaking guide into translating for us, very kind.
Marg has gone for an explore of the grounds - apparently there are 9 buildings - and she wants to identify them Being less adventurous, I'm heading down to the river (2 minutes) to take another few thousand photos to bore you all with.
Tomorrow we head back to Guilin, a night in Guangshuo and an early morning flight back to Sydney...

Conclusion is that each part of China is unique and we must come back.

Sounds like you had quite a journey!

An FYI re: city walls - Pingyao's city walls are also complete.

And re: the Muslim quarter in Xi'an - it extends for several blocks beyond the covered market.

Thanks for sharing!

Interesting report. Thanks. (We were told that the farmer who signs books at the Terra Cotta Warriors is supposedly there almost every day. I wouldn't be surprised if there are numerous Mr. Yangs who they cycle in and out. Don't look for "authentic" in China.)

There are not many reports of the Silk Road so your detailed one is especially appreciated.

Hi thanks for feedback especially about Pingyao. Comments thus far reinforce the need for me to re-visit China - if I needed an excuse!
OzJane

You can feast your eyes on Pingyao and beyond, and learn the history of the late 19th century from the recently released film "Empire of Silver" by Christina Yao.