Connecting the West and East on the Silk Road, in China

Asia » China » Beijing
February 28th 2007

Published: August 9th 2007

Creating a blog... how does it work? They made it easy, it seems...I just hope that I'm doing it quite well, so, let's start with my first travelling holidays in China, quite hectic -I must say- as back in July 2006, (my sister'd never forgive me for this as it meant cutting my holidays short in Colombia) I decided to do the Silk Road (3 weeks) and the trip to Colombia (5 weeks) at roughly the sam... Read Full Entry

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Frank Cardenas

Frankardenas

Hi all! Well, after so many seconds, minutes, hours, months and years of procrastination...-but highly encouraged by a most beloved friend-, I have finally got round to creating my own blog. Wow, I can't believe I'm actually doing it this time! It will be a nice opportunity to get in touch with so many friends that I've luckily gained in my entire '21' years' existence (we all know that's a lie but somehow it makes me feel younger, never you mind, sorry:); I'll be able to share some of the most precious memories of my travel as well as my day-to-day adventures. Let's just hope that my s... full info

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South Pass

Together with the Gate Pass, the South Pass marked (start of southern route through Miran) the western borders of China.

Kashgar

We actually went very far, up to Kashgar or Kashy (1200m) different ethnics: Uighur, Tajik, Kyrgiz, Uzbeks and Han Chinese; you can't help noticing that its population (9340,000) is mainly Muslim. Kashgar was definitely my favourite spot of the whole trip, most different to everything we saw and just so Chinese in many ways: past and present! This is the central square which displays exotic Uighur bazaars, a shame the city is suffering the Chinese transformation as many of its buildings are being torn down to satisfy tourists, maybe

The Etigar Mosque(1442)

One of the biggest in China and the most active according to the guide. Sorry, I was not very discreet about the photos but I just couldn't help it.

The Etigar Mosque

The locals were mainly men. Lots of westerners visiting the place and we were all very wise (no shoes on)

being respectul

You see, a carpeted floor for barefoot women wearing their scarves; everybody, out of curiosity, can actually tour the mosques when prayer services aren’t happening, and they are actually empty. I am very interested in mosques; for me, most religions almost come to the same teachings, but I haven't actually experienced prayers other than the ones held at a catholic mass, which by the way, I stopped saying a long time ago, sorry mum!

an afternoon tea on the sidewalk

a bit like 'la rue Paul Bert' in Lyon, isn't it? I was glad to take this picture because after reading about Kashgar, I feel that this and the narrow streets of the old town are bound to disappear. A shame though, then it will be like Venissieux's HLMs, if that rings a bell...

so, they are not ovens after all

A Muslim cemetery, though the graves are not given any paint, they actually look extremely well-preserved; don't tell anybody but at first glance, Lydie and me took the tombs for ovens and came up with different conspiracy theories; I put it now to the effects of dehydration, we were so tired, but then laughed a lot when we actually saw the dates and sort of hit us: ICEBERG!!!

Fancy a haircut?

Well, given the venue, the beauty salon might be functional, but sorry we're closed.

smiles and dresses

The colourful silk dresses on them were just as if the girls were ready to go partying, they were stunning; look at the photo carefully, this is the potential Miss Kashgar and possibly Miss China in some years' time.

Uighur craftsmanship

We were very lucky to see the locals working passionately on the handmade utensils and music instruments that they would sell on the spot.

lots of hats

Yeah, we saw them everywhere, different shapes and colours, I really liked the green ones (my favourite colour) which according to some people I met in Lyon, they're worn by those who had actually been to a pilgrimage to La Mecca. As for the other colours, I've got no clue, I suppose you just choose what you want to wear, what is certain is that I bought lots as I thought they'd make fantastic colourful gifts for some of my friends. a big 'chapeau' for Lydie, as her brilliant bargaining skills really got us a good reduction.

Uighur House

The Uighurs are the largest minority in Xinjiang; Uighur meaning united, consists of a Turkish-speaking minority of about eight million. You can easily see how proud they are and word has it that they don't like to have many Han Chinese around. This is one of the houses where they charge you about 20 yuan and you can actually have a melon with the family; it was ok as we were allowed to take pictures, a good deal.

one of my favourites again

The reason? apart from me coming across as most nosy, it also shows a family in their day-to-day routine, the guitar the child is holding is called 'dotar' which is a two-stringed guitar representative of the Uighur's folk instruments.

admire it while it is there

Beautiful, isn't it? though it won't last long, thanks Mel, for the article.

Cotton everywhere

Cotton, being one of the main products Kashgar's inhabitants grow; in fact, we saw it as an offer in many temples in Xinjiang and I haven't had the time to find out, maybe those of you who are more enlightened could tell me the real meaning of this offer. Other products are rice, wheat, corn, beans and fruit.

Mao Square

The Markets

Thanks to Lydie's insistence (find me a plane, we can't miss it!), we got to see the biggest bazaar in Asia, which is the main attraction; in fact, all the fuss to find transport and our bearings -once inside the market(donkey carts and sheep parade add to the major traffic jams)- were well worth it. The Livestock market is very colourful indeed: traditional Uighur costumes, horses, cows, sheep, trucks, music, motorcycles, everything and everybody ready to buy and sell at the market; we saw some of the horse transactions and both the trade and testing are very formal.

Romeo and Juliette

Just a nice way to say bye to Kashgar, am I not an excellent photographer?

Turpan (Tulufan for the Chinese)

Turpan, being synonymous with wine, became a most exciting stopover for Lydie and me, just as it was a must for the travellers taking the northern route of the SR. Three thumbs up for the locals who have thoughtfully arranged for everybody to go there and feel like Alice in Grapeland, I Loved It, reachable grapes at any time, NICE

Nice waitress...awful boss

Does the equation work? at least it does in Turpan where the service and food were excellent; nevertheless, our views changed when we had to pay for a bottle of wine we ordered, we were ripped off once more and all the boss had to do was to find us a bottle of white wine across the road; I guess he was too excited to have foreign customers (we didn't see many foreigners in the city) and showed his thrill by overpricing the 'almost hot' bottle of wine, which by Lydie's standards -she's a better wine connaisseur, I suck at this- was most appaling.

The hottest city in China

Yeah, very much, I remember the breezes of air being so hot, the reason? the town is located in a depression of 80m below sea level; though the temperature that day was about 45 degrees, my biggest memory of Turpan has to be the grapewine trellis; that and the quietness of the town itself are just fabulous treats for anybody.

25th March 2007

Michael
non-member comment

Looks like a very nice trip - you did the travelling for me - like I had been there myself (apart from the runs). I wonder how you got back from Urumqi? (and indeed how did you get from place to place) Perhaps you said and I wasn't paying attention! Anyway sounds like you were lucky to see places before they all get pulled down. I agree the ladies look strikingly Andean (even tho I haven't been there either.)

25th March 2007

Frankardenas
Frank Cardenas

Hi Michael
Yeah, we actually travelled most of the time by plane, which was a bit of a risk as some remote places had hardly any buses to take us; I suppose we were lucky when taking buses and taxis as we managed to be at the airports right on time. We avoided trains as it is quite difficult to buy a ticket if you don't speak the language, and the queues...no way! Since Urumuqi was our last destination, we flew back from there to Guangdong, the capital of the province where I live. . I displayed the prices of the plane tickets at the very beginning of the description. Michael, if I have the time I'll throw some light on the transport, that's a promise.

25th March 2007

Hanson
non-member comment

Way to go, mon ami! Wish you have a wonderful time living and traveling in my country, and hopefully some day in future I would be able to see those beautiful places and people of your country too. Hanson IFC, in Zhuhai

26th March 2007

Frankardenas
Frank Cardenas

Hey, Hanson.
Ni hao ma? Yes, lucky me. You, Chinese, must also count yourselves very fortunate to live in such a wonderful country; the experience of travelling here is a tremendous one. As for my country, yeah, it's impressive too, a different culture and as I said with the second happiest people on earth. Right now, I'm most genuine, happy and of course Colombian! So, the invitation is open!

26th March 2007

dawninshenzhen
Dawn Byers

Franklin! I'm so happy you finally started a blog! Now everyone can see your pictures and read about your experiences. I'll be checking in regularly, so you better keep it up! --Dawn

26th March 2007

Frankardenas
Frank Cardenas

I know...
Hey, Dawn, thanks for the idea; I've picked your brains on this one; I know I've fallen behind as this is only my first entry, but now that I have more free time, I'll definitely catch up, so stay tuned.

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