China's Silk Road

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The Vacationist China's Silk Road
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- Oct 24, 2017
- 🌧 8 °C
- Altitude: 3,082 m
- China Xinjiang Tashkurgan 37.77881, 75.2236537°46’44” N 75°13’25” E
Day 11
Karakoram Highway to Tashkurgan
October 24, 2017 in China ⋅ 🌧 8 °C
The epic journey from Kashgar to Tashkurgan via the world's most dangerous highway commenced this morning. We shared a van with 5 other people from our hostel. Costed us ¥400 per person for the journey.

Along the way we made multiple stops. Our first stop was a town called Opal. We stopped here for lunch and to stock up on food. This is a town run by Uyghurs so expect predominantly Uyghur food.

Next we stopped at the side of the road to take pictures of the Red Mountain, also known as the Oytagh Canyon. A river crosses nearby making the pictures look more dynamic.

Along the way we could see the snow capped Karakoram mountain ridge. The weather was getting colder as we headed to higher elevation.

My all time favourite was the White Sand Lake. The turquoise lake with the white sand dunes in the background is a great combination. I couldn't get enough of the scenery. But it was cold, so I had to surrender to the elements and get back in the van.

A little further up was Karakul Lake. Now this is the highlight of the Karakoram Highway. However, the clouds were thick so Muztagh Ata (translates in Uyghur to "Father of Ice Mountains")could not be visualized clearly. The mountain has a height of 7509 metres. There were camels around and one could ride them for a fee. I decided to save by butt the agony.

Tagharma plateau wetlands were next. These are at the foot of Muztagh Ata at 3050 metres above sea level. The coursing river in between makes a beautiful view of gold and blue.

Lastly, we arrived at Tashkurgan, a little town that is at the Pakistani, Tajik and Afgani border. Ethnicity here is mainly of Tajik. Before we went to our hostel, we went to the town's glassland. Looks like a marsh to me. There is a river with water wheels placed. The Pamir mountains beyond adds to the scenery.

We stayed at the Kute Youth Hostel, which was pretty affordable (¥50 per person) and had a classy feel to it. Dinner was at a hot pot restaurant nearby where we had yak meat and plenty of vegetables from the steaming pot. I think the place was called YipNYak Nourishing Hot Pot. It was nice to have warm broth in my stomach in freezing weather.Read more
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The Vacationist China's Silk Road
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- Oct 25, 2017
- ⛅ 12 °C
- Altitude: 1,298 m
- China Xinjiang Kashgar 39.47015, 75.9802539°28’13” N 75°58’49” E
Day 12
Tashkurgan to Kashgar
October 25, 2017 in China ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C
Before leaving Tashkurgan, we visited the Stone City, or the Stone Fort. This area has a 2000 year history as it was a major caravan stop along the Silk Road. It served to control the traffic along these caravan routes and provide refuge for the merchants. For a fee of ¥30, we were allowed in to view this ancient monument. It has wooden pathways which lead upto the Stone Fort, where a magnificent view of the Golden Grasslands and the Pamir Mountains can be seen.

We left soon after and travelled down the Karakoram Highway making the same stops as we did yesterday but with one additional stop, which was where the trees formed sort of a dome/tunnel along the highway. We took some pictures in the middle of the highway when the road was empty.

The skies were clearer compared to yesterday, so the Muztagh Ata was more photogenic today. Because of this, the White Sand Lake and Karakul lake seem to be shimmering due to the unshielded sun rays.

It took us about 8 hours to get back to Kashgar as there were multiple security checks and traffic jams.
We checked back into the same hostel, the Kashgar Old Town Youth Hostel, and checked out at dawn the next day to catch a flight to Xi'an.Read more
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The Vacationist China's Silk Road
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- Oct 27, 2017, 12:54am
- 🌙 7 °C
- Altitude: 417 m
- China Shaanxi Xi'an 34.26015, 108.9390134°15’37” N 108°56’20” E
Day 14
Xi'an
October 27, 2017 in China ⋅ 🌙 7 °C
Took a 6 hour flight from Kashgar to Xi'an today. Reached Xi'an at almost 5pm. We got a rip off taxi driver who charged us ¥200 from airport to our hostel which was near the DrumTower.

Chang'an Youth Hostel. Nice place. We got twin beds and our own bathroom. So we left our luggage and off we went to Muslim Street to get some food and souvenirs.

All kinds of food here. We had fried banana, fried potatoes, stuffed chicken wings, beef dumplings and of course, the ever famous pomegranate juice.

I bought quite a lot of souvenirs. The price can go down by almost 50% if you have the energy to haggle. I bought bookmarks (they are light and easy to carry), a scroll painting, fridge magnets, and T-shirts. Oh, and I got myself an artist to draw a potrait picture of me. Costs ¥80. Fortunately, drawn me looks better than real me. Real me has been walking around China lacking hydration and sleep. Picture me looked flawless.

We left the place 10pm. From what I hear, most stalls close by 10.30pm here.

Rather easy going day today. Off to the deadly Mt. Huashan tomorrow morning. Going to need all the rest I can get.Read more
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- Oct 27, 2017
- ☀️ 14 °C
- Altitude: 1,640 m
- China Shaanxi Hua Shan 34.47786, 110.0847934°28’40” N 110°5’5” E
Day 14
Huashan Mountain
October 27, 2017 in China ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C
The finale. Known as the most dangerous hike in the world. Mount Huashan is one of the 5 sacred mountain in China, and holds the title of "most precipitous mountain". Just imagine climbing a mountain shaped like a square, with the vertical incline at almost a 90 degree angle.

We left our hostel with our bags at 6.30am and walked to the nearest metro station to take a train to the Xi'an North station. We left our heavy luggage at the storage area there for the time being. From there, we took a bullet train (pre-booked on Ctrip site) to Huashan North station. It took around 30 minutes to get there. There is a free shuttle bus service every half an hour from the train station to Mt. Huashan. Entrance ticket costed us ¥180, but there is more. The bus ride to the mountain proper is paid separately. We took a bus to the North gate (¥30) as most tourists go to the West gate, so it wasn't as congested. From there you have to take a cable car and pay again. It was an expensive day but we didn't care because it was our last day in China.

Once at the top, we walked up and down stairs to the multiple peaks starting from the North Peak. It was tiring and my knees needed a break every now and then. Luckily I had muffins and Snickers. Unhealthy I know.

It was a mildly cool day so a regular spring jacket was adequate. The views are pretty much the same for all the peaks, but what we wanted was an adrenaline rush. We reached the Dangerous Plankwalk people have been talking about after 3 hours of hiking. After waiting in line for almost 2 hours and a fee of ¥30, we were worn harnesses and allowed on the plank. Now this was thrilling. Just a plank against the mountain wall and the view is just breathtaking. Some tourists were screaming and crying but still wanted their picture taken. This is not for those who fear height.

After that adventure, we continued our way down to the West Peak and took West cable car down the mountain. We took the park bus and then the shuttle bus to the Huashan North station and caught our train bound for Xi'an North station.

We were so hungry by the time we reached Xi'an North that we started binging on McDonald's. We then grabbed our luggage and took the airport shuttle bus since it was only ¥25.

Our flight was departing at 12.50am so we took the time to eat again since we were done checking in by 9pm. It was time to say farewell to China. This trip has taught me alot, especially regarding the Silk Road history.

Here's some tips I can offer:
1. As far as possible try to opt for roaming. If you don't then you have to have VPN everytime you connect to wifi. I recommend the Express VPN app.
2. Book your train tickets 1 month in advance from ctrip.com or the app. Otherwise, it is highly likely you won't get a train buying tickets over the counter.
3. Carry snacks with you as you are going to be very nomadic. Biscuits and bread will do.
4. People in China don't understand English much so I recommend using the Google translate app. It can help in constructing sentences as well as reading the chinese writting on signboards and menus.
5. Expect smelly public toilets even in decent looking places, to avoid disappointment.Read more
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Karakoram Highway to Tashkurgan

Tashkurgan to Kashgar

Xi'an

Huashan Mountain