Xinjiang Travel 

It is said that you would not know how huge China is until you come to Xinjiang. When the train was speeding along deserts of Xinjiang, I really had this feeling.

My friend Xiaoma picked me up when we arrived at Urumqi, and he gave me 4 pieces of Nang which is a delicious local food. Xiaoma told me that this food could be reserved for one month. I received this big gift gladly and thought that I would not worry about my midnight snack and this was enough for a week. After checking in a hotel, we went to a Muslim restaurant for supper. Attendants were all the Uighurs, looking like foreigners. With the help of Xiaoma, I ordered some local food such as acidophilus milk and hand pilaf. Of course, lamb shashlik which local people called barbecue were necessary. They are really delicious and cheap. There were no pork in Muslem restaurant, and it was a kind of taboo to talk pig in Muslim world. So when you get along with Muslims, talk no things of pig.

After  two days' rest in Urumqi, we planed to visit Turpan for next two days. We started off with expectation and energy. The wind and sand were blowing when our bus were running on the road. Xiaoma told me that it was sand storm. Fortunately, it gone when we arrived. As the air became clear, it was hot and dry heat, as was different with the muggy surroundings of Guangzhou or Wuhan. Xiaoma told me that  the surface temperature could rise up to 60℃ which was hot enough to boil eggs. The first scenic spot we visited was the Emin Minaret  which was a typical Muslim building and looking magnificent. We took a lot of pictures there. Next we went to Karez that was the water source of Turpan people. This was a great project with more than ten kilometers underground. I was impressed by the wisdom of Turpan people. At the evening, we came to Jiaohe ancient city which had a history of more than one thousand years. The setting sun was downing, the bronze-colored sunshine covered this beautiful city. We could image the prosperity at that time from the cob walls of old houses. In the course of time many ancient cities have risen and fallen.

Left Turpan, we turned to kashgar. We were a little tired but time was limited. After a feast of hand pilaf and lamb shashlik, we visited Abakh Khoja Tomb (Fragrant Concubine Tomb) consisting of gate, a small mosque, a grand mosque, a church and the main tomb part, which was like a magnificent palace. It was said that fragrant concubine was one of favorite concubines of Emperor Qianlong. She was selected as the concubine of Emperor Qianlong and then got the name Fragrant Concubine because she sends out one kind sweet smell. She died soon because she was not acclimatized. The emperor employed 124 persons to carry her coffin home through 3 years, which was just a story. Then we went to bazaar and Karakul Lake. 

The seven days tour to Xinjiang let me have a completely new impression of China--so huge, magic and full of poetry. I think I have fallen love in Xinjiang through this experience.