Blogs from Qinghai, China, Asia - page 3

Hi All, This was the journey we were a little worried about. Our guide didn't really explain if there was a bus from Charklik to Huatugou, but the guy at the bus station assured there was a bus at 10 o'clock in the morning. Well he was half right. There is a mini-bus that leaves when there are enough people aboard. On the minibus we met a fellow traveller, Andre' from Switzerland. He had been travelling up the southern silk road at the same time as us but this was the first time we'd met. The trip was 6 1/2 hours and uncomfortable and cramped. The bus was full of people, luggage and supplies for the village where we were going. Today's trip was amazing. After leaving the desert we followed a gorge through the mountains ... read more

My transportation to 西宁 is one of the most expensive one - soft sleeper. Luxury but not by choice! I was planning to bus to the train station, but was running late because I have go and grab a cross stitch, a new thing that is going to make the long journey more bearable. There is traffic everywhere in the city due to the subway construction. There is a saying that 来了成都不想走。 I was joking with the taxi driver that 想走也走不了，堵住了。 = PMy roommate for the ride is a guy who play drum in a band, a son and his father. After getting on so many long train journey, 20+ hour on a train is a piece of cake. Sleep, music, cross stitch and looking out the window, before I know it, I arrived in 西宁. ... read more

I took a small bus to start my tour around small traditional Tibetan villages.After 4 hours in an uncomfortable sit I arrived to Tongren. Tongren felt bitter, it the sad place I have been since I arrived to China. Is in the mountains in Tibet, the scenery to get here is quite impressive but then the rest not much. It is an old town, that in Tibetan language it is called Rebkong. I found it very dirty and poor. I have never seen so many beggars in China as I have seen here. There are not places to stop for a cold beer or a soda because most of the small kiosks do not have fridges so there are not cold beverages or bottle of water. The population is mainly Tibetan and there are several Muslims ... read more

Today I got up with a little bit of a cold, so I was taking it mellow. Traveling could be exhausted and without the language a tough job. So today was my day off.I used it to do download footage, write, and meet people in the hostel. Hostels are amazing interesting places. Marc Auge will define them as non-places, but I disagree. They have their own identity. They are island of non-nationality in the middle of anywhere. Places that have some universal rules but invites diversity, gives you a sense of safe, security and support. I believe is the only way you can make a trip around here without being completely lost. Hostels and Lonely planet are the common share language for many travelers around the world, spaces of possibilities, leanings, and opportunities to discover realities ... read more

In this TravelBlog #132, Part II of my visit to the Province of Qinghai, I am introducing the "GREAT MOSQUE" of Xining, Qinghai's capital city. After some research, here is some additional information about this least visited and poorest of the China's provinces: Qinghai is bordered by Tibet, Xinjiang, Gansu and Sichuan at an average altitude of more than 13,000 feet on the Tibetan plateau. Here, summers are hot and winters are cold and dry. The province is home of a mix of minority peoples, mostly Hui Muslims and Tibetans, along with Kazakhs and Mongols. Geographically part of Tibet and historically a distant and obscure region, Qinghai for centuries supported nomadic herdsmen. Later it found fame as a distant "Gulag"! The central government is making great efforts to develop the capital of Xining, infusing much money ... read more