Bai Li Dan Xia (100 miles of canyons)

Flying into Xinjiang was exceptionally scenic. After leaving the typical lush Chinese landscapes behind, we flew over snowy mountains and sandy deserts before landing ahead of time at Urumqi airport. We picked up our rental car, a bright orange "Tank" (Jeep/Hummer lookalike) and went to check in at our hotel.

Arriving at the hotel we immediately faced a problem, the hotel couldn't cater to foreign guests. China is quite strict when it comes to certain rules, and one of them is they have a system so they know where foreigners are staying at all times. The hotel we had booked was not linked into the system, so if they provided Nathan with a room and the police found out, they risk being completely shut down by the government. Fortunately they offered us a full refund, and Vela quickly worked her magic and found a hotel nearby that could take foreigners.

We took advantage of the free washing machines and dryer while we waited for Sunny & Clara's planes to arrive. With Sunny and Clara joining our party, we headed to dinner. Being in the very Northeast of China, Xinjiang's food, culture and even the appearance of some of the locals, is quite middle eastern. The cuisine is very lamb heavy, quite different to the many pork based dishes found elsewhere in China. By about 9.30, the sun was starting to set (all of China runs on Beijing time, so being so far east and north means late sunsets) so we decided to play a little Majiang before bed. Nathan managed to be top scorer again, more than making up for the money Vela lost...

After a good night's sleep, it was time to hit the road. The landscape started out exceptionally flat, with fields of some unknown crop (maybe a grain of stone sort?) for miles and miles. We turned off the main highway, past a little power plant (we think it was nuclear) and headed to the hills. It was incredible how quickly the landscapes changed. Suddenly there were massive hills, rocky cliffs, and deep valleys around us. We stopped for a photo shoot (and bathroom break) before heading higher into the mountains to a viewpoint for more photos. We passed lots of farms with sheep, cows and goats, we even had to wait for a herd of cows using the road.

We made our way back into civilization and headed to a town called Wusu, where Wusu beer is brewed. It was a bit of a nothing town, with many of the buildings looking abandoned, but we did find a bit of street art. Obviously the artist was a time traveller and knew Vela, Sunny and Clara would be visiting one day.

We made it into Kuytun in time for dinner, and we had the most delicious meal of lamb any of us has ever tasted (think Nathan's face says it all). The meat was literally falling off the bone, and so full of flavour. Nathan managed to get his hands on the hock bone - very happy boy.

Back to our hotel in time to watch the late sunset (sorry about the dirty windows), no issues this time!Читать далее