Our local Uighur tour guide Aiysha met us at the Turpan train station. We then headed to our hotel for breakfast. Turpan is pretty difficult to get to - the train station is quite far from the city center, and the closest airport is in Urumqi, three hours away. Xinjiang is China's most western province, close to Pakistan, north of Tibet. However, the official time used in Xinjiang is Beijing time. The sun rises at 8:30 am or later in Xinjiang. So unofficially, Xinjiang is 2 hours behind Beijing. Very confusing. Flights and train schedules use Beijing time, but local restaurants, hotels, etc. use Xinjiang time. Silk Road: Since Xinjiang is close to the West, and more central to Asia, Xinjiang was an important part of the Silk Road trade route 2000+ years ago. Turpan is
... read more