Turpan

We took the overnight train from Liuyuan (a town 2 hours via taxi from Dunhuang) at 12.10am and reached early this morning at 7am. You would think that 7am is pretty bright already but 7am here is actually 5am. We only say 7am because the whole of China follows Beijing time.

It was cold and dark when we got here. We where welcomed by a huge friendly golden retriever when we checked into Dap Youth Hostel. The hostel staff speak good English. With an American accent might I add. We had a warm shower and had breakfast and then left to explore the place. A private car was provided for us by the hostel with a price of ¥450. A day taxi would have been cheaper by it is not as easily available here. Good thing about it is, our driver, Anuar, also spoke excellent English so we didn't have to use sign language like we did in all the cities before this.

He brought us to see the Flaming Mountains. They are named so not because its an active volcanoe, but because of its colour and pattern. We were planning to head for Astana Tomb, but it was closed for some reason, so we headed down the road through Gaochang Village and saw the ruins along the way. The people here look more like those of Central Asia. Fair skinned, light coloured eyes, almost Arabic or Nepalese. Also, security checkpoints are almost everywhere, some of which require us to show our passport. It is because of the territorial dispute around these parts. If you look around, you see barb wires on houses. Feels like I'm in a war zone. It doesn't really scare me. Instead I'm dying to know more about this place and its people.

Sweaters and jackets were rendered useless once the sun came up. The weather was so hot it was like as if I was back in Malaysia. I supposed being in the Gobi dessert gives it the extreme temperatures. Temperatures touch 40°C at times. The Turpan Depression is also known as the Death Valley as it is the lowest point in China and the 2nd lowest point in the world at 154 metres below sea level after the Dead Sea.

Tuyuk Village was our next stop. This village has a history of 2600 years. Currently there are about 65 households with over 370 people, all of which are Uyghurs. Their main source of income are grapes, raisins, mulberries and melons. Most of these products are sold dry and are very affordable. We bought a bag of raisins, walnuts ans dried melons for ¥30. The buildings here are made of rammed earth so they have a brownish-reddish colour. There is also an old mosque in this village and its quite a sight.

We had our lunch here before leaving. It consisted of bread and tea, raisins, laghman noodles (consist of lamb and vegetables), dumplings and lastly, freshly cut melons. All for ¥25 per person.

We were stuffed and snoozing in the car after lunch. Before we knew it, we arrived at Emin Minaret or Sugong Tower. This place has a beautiful rose garden in front. The minaret was built in 1777 in honour of a Turpan general named Emin Khoja. It is 44 meters high making it the tallest ancient Islamic tower in Xinjiang. It has a mosque below which is still in use today.

We dropped by the Turpan Museum in town for about an hour. Good news: Its free. Bad news: No photography at some exhibits. There was alot on dinosaurs and mummies here as alot of remains were found in China itself.

Lastly, we visited Jiaohe Ruins. These is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is one the oldest and largest ruins in the world. As it has been well preserved for over 2000 years, it has been given the title World's Perfect Ruins. Why did it become ruins? Well, Jiaohe City was built during the 2nd til 5th century BC but because of continuous wars from 9th til 14th century, it was abandoned and subsequently became ruins.

After all that adventure, we headed back to our hostel by 8pm after having dinner. Decided to hit the sack early as our train to Urumqi tomorrow is at 8.45am.Read more