From Kashi to Yili Our new travel arrangements did not work well. We arrived at Yinning airport with a new agent and driver organised and deposit paid. No driver to meet us. Several frantic phone calls to agent and driver. We waited. We waited. One of our group who speaks Chinese wandered over to the nearby Government Tourist Agency. I don't know what discussions were had but ultimately it was decided to drop our current agent and the Government Agency would put a package together for us with car and driver and accommodation and entry to several parks and attractions. We agreed and the wheels were put in motion. The original driver turned up and we kept our mouths shut as we dropped our bags at the Hotel and then went out on an afternoon tour ... read more

Kashgar (Kashi) Ancient City I think that I may have fallen in love with Kashgar. This is a city in the dry arid country in the far west of China. It is close to the borders of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. You could also throw Afghanistan and Pakistan into that "close to" list. It does not feel like China. It has architecture, sights , sounds, smells and food that remind me of Arabia, Turkey, Mediterranean Africa even Zanzibar. With Moorish architecture and mud brick buildings and the oppressive heat. On our first day we explored the Ancient City. This has a wonderful feel to it. I must say that it is now almost a caricature as it has been remodeled and decorated and upgraded for the tourist trade. It still retains enough authenticity however to not be ... read more

Jiaohe Jiaohe aka Gaochang is an ancient, now abandoned, city. It was built on the banks of a river. By creating a canal the city was made into an Island in the river. This was done for defense. The current climate is arid, hot and harsh. The people who inhabited the city must have been hardy types, used to heavy manual labour and ready to defend their city. Fortifications are seen in the city, with supplies of stones, narrow, easy to defend, passageways and slits for windows. The city is made from mud, over time the mud deposited, the level of the river fell and what is now the present city was above the surrounding river. Houses and other buildings were made by tunneling down into the hardened mud. A huge map at the grounds entrance ... read more

Travel Day This day was a travel day, memorable for very little other than getting from Hefei, where I currently live, to Urumqi where I was to meet my companions and join the tour. The flight was a direct flight about 4 hours long. The airline food was not spectacular. Out of the window I could see lots of dry arid land. The normal signs of human habitation, roads and buildings, small towns. At one stage a series of what I took to be wind power generators and oil fields. On the approach into Urumqi there were snow capped mountains. (It is currently the height of summer). Back on the ground I was first off the plane, called out by the airline staff while the other passengers waited. It was my first introduction to the local ... read more