HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I wish all of you HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010! ENJOY and celebrate like no other! Travel and explore like never before! And always remember - WORK HARD BUT PARTY HARDER :)

Happy and lucky 2010!

Empire strikes back!

Although back in my old routine (i.e. work work work) I feel need to share with you my joy that the balance in force was restored and the universe returned back to order. In a galaxy of stars on sports' sky there is no brighter star then New York Yankees!

As even the brighter ones (double pun intended - wonder who would understand it actually) of you have probably noticed Yankees became World Champions for the 27th time after winning sixth game of their 40th World Series.

By beating Philadelphia Phillies in six games they ended nine year drought since their last championship in 2000. The four "fathers" from the previous dynasty (Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada) - a.k.a. The Core - surrounded by highly (Alex Rodriguez, C.C. Sabathia) and not so highly (just about anyone else) paid ballplayers did not hesitate to wrap up World Series at home and confirm Yankees' position as the winning-est team in baseball.

Only minor kink on this beautiful day is awareness of the fact that on our way to the 27th pennant we were not able to trash the Red Sox. Let us enjoy tomorrow's parade through Canyon of Heroes and soak in glare of glory :) Let's go Yankees!

May the force be with you!

Running wild!

Eight months after my last big run in Honk Kong I still stick to my plan of two half-marathons per year. During first Sunday of October I decided to run half-marathon as a part of Kosice Peace Marathon meeting (Kosice Peace Marathon is the oldest marathon on an old continent and one of the oldest in the world). I am very happy to report that I was successful and able to finish it. Of course, one have to point out that my time was the worst so far (1:54:44 - official) but considering the volume of training I did I am fully satisfied. Due to ongoing teeth problems I was not able to train and altogether run for 12km prior to the event. My finish was very much product of my will and overall atmosphere (easily the best I have experienced during half-marathons) then my physical ability. To redeem myself I already plan my next 'move' which will be announced later :)

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish!

This is actually my last post from Middle Kingdom (for now) and as such it will be very brief. Main reason for that is to avoid any pathetic crap people usually write when departing place they lived for some time. Crap will follow in September when I will sort out my thoughts and write things I did not manage yet.

It was fun! I'd gladly come back. And really, thanks for all the fish :D :P :)

Adijo!

Into the unknown

As this is probably the last meaningful post from the Chinese soil, it is only the most appropriate to write about the most memorable trip I took in China. I don't dare to say that this was the best but it ranks high up there. On other trips I have seen more things and I have more time to soak up the atmosphere but three days in Sanqingshan (SQS) offered condensed experience and everything you can wish for for a trip in mountains. I promise that this time it will be much shorter than those novels no one wants to read I have offered previously.

We decided to explore SQS - an UNESCO listed mountain in Jiangxi province. As not mentioned (yet) in Lonely Planet, we can consider ourselves lucky as we were positively one of the first westerners to visit this national park. Of course, Chinese tours make their presence felt even here. SQS is located c. six to seven hours by train (normal speed train) but can be approached by D-train within four hours limit. We took a D-train to Quzhou in Zhenjiang province where we transferred for a bus to northern gate of the SQS National Park. Thanks to the courtesy of our bus driver, we were dropped by other bus at the original bus driver family house, where we found roof for the night. What we saved on accommodation (70 RMB / 7 EUR for two people) we overpaid on food. Although we were offered the option of a chicken to be killed just for us, we preferred veggie and fish dinner at our hotel :)

Getting up at 5.30am and on trail at 6.30am was first achievement of the day. We continued to climb through wonderful subtropical forest for good three hours. Towards the end I discovered my second (this time unrepairable) mistake. Battery in my camera was not charged. Unlike pictures from Chengdu which I completely restored upon my return to Shanghai, this time no such luck was at hand. I left my recharger at home as just before we left I checked and found battery fully charged. Probably it has something to do with incredible humidity in the area but by the time we reached our first crossing, battery was absolutely empty. Therefore there will be no pictures from the most beautiful national park I have seen in China so far.

Anyway, after three hour steep ascent from Northern gate we reached the first crossing where we took direct way to Sanqing temple. Entrance to the park is paid on top of long long flight of steps so basically you are happy to do anything they ask you (80 RMB / 8 EUR for student after 50% discount - not only one of the most beautiful but also the most expensive mountain in China). There we explored beauty of place (another short loop with beautiful views of surrounding mountains and temple area is available) and paid our homage to Taoist gods (at least one of us). After short meal (be warned that SQS is considerably expensive mountain compared to others in China - 30 RMB / 3 EUR for roasted rice and this was the cheapest dish) we continued along the Sunshine coast - a plank road on Northeastern cliff of the mountain. We took the first chance to ditch this way as this was our relax route for next day and climbed the highest peak in the area - Yujing shan (1,817 meters). All the way we enjoyed incredible views of pine forests, huge rocks and granite boulders and many many dragonflies :) On top we made quick acquittance with whole Japanese family or tour and left for some more adventure.

On our way down we took temporarily or permanently closed road which continued in our preferred direction. The road was closed probably because of the rockslide which destroyed only a hut on trail but otherwise it was perfectly safe way (although much steeper then our ascent trail). We reached West coast sea road (plank road rimming Southwestern cliff of SQS) and continued through other peaks and gates (understand - tiny cracks in between huge walls of rocks) towards fascinating shapes and compositions of boulders in eastern part of the park. There we saw boa towering over the pines, statue of goddess with head gently inclined and many others. Best thing came shortly before final descent to our targeted hotel. On a plateau around Yutian scenery spot we saw our first Buddha light - the very famous and in China very revered natural phenomenon when rainbow shapes up in the perfect circle. It looks awesome especially if you position you head in the middle :) We were left speechless for good twenty minutes and acted like little giddy children who got some super cool new toy (of course I complained constantly about my camera because chance to see Buddha's light is extremely rare). Afterward we descended to our hotel, had a quick dinner and tired went to bed - after 13 hours of constant hiking and c. 1,700 vertical meters we were pretty much spent for the day. Accommodation on the mountain is frankly of very poor quality and certainly extremely overpriced. From our inquiries we settled for the cheapest option of 260 RMB (26 EUR) for two person accommodation in dirty, full of bugs and humid room. Unfortunately our hotel (the one called 'hotel' also on map of the area - others are called villas) was the best on the mountain - at least from outside look.

Next day we woke up at 4.00am and run our tired legs towards Yutian plateau to see the sunrise. We enjoyed whole experience uninterrupted by anyone else as most of the Chinese tourists came towards the end of the whole show. Colors and sky with sparse clouds were fantastic (easily the best sunrise of all my attempts around China - with majority being bust). Cherry on top was visit of uncle eagle on our way back. He flew towards our bright colored jackets to check upon those rude intruders within 10 meters and sailed away to hunt for some breakfast. Still giddy but feeling already tired from extremities of yesterday we filled our stomachs as well and continued our journey around West coast and Sunshine coast plank roads to complete our exploration of SQS. If previous day and morning were almost tourist free, then rest of the day was from classic Chinese tourist book - people everywhere. After seeing monkey king with his treasure we decided to run for our lives and peace of our souls and finished the loop as early as possible. Totally exhausted we jumped on cable car and descended to Southern gate of National Park (my co-traveler almost killed herself from exhaustion as she was so excited to finish the trip that she literally flew down last 20 steps bruising any part of her body possible - except for head).

Upon descent we took local bus (two hour bumpy bus ride for 15 RMB / 1.5 EUR) to Yushan and after big dinner with famous chicken being cooked finally we jumped on sleeper train to Shanghai. SQS is magnificent mountain with extremely green pine forests in higher and subtropical jungle in lower elevation. Granite boulders and rocks make you wonder 'what are men compared to rocks and mountains' in line with heroes of that Austen girl. Anyway, although beautiful in nature it is already being kissed by Chinese tourism authority and build up in and around SQS National Park is in full throttle. On the other hand, it might improve competition and quality of accommodation on mountain since currently it is abysmal. My personal disagreement is with Jiangxi cuisine as I find other Chinese cuisines better and more nutritious. Be alert that this is still undiscovered corner of China for Western traveler as no Lonely Planet guide described it and therefore everything is in Chinese standards :)

Mad dash to the sea (and beyond)

As mentioned in the previous post, we travelled from Wudang shan to Luoyang (one transfer in Xiangfan needed) which was the first city of our 8 cities 2 showers 8 days 'are-you-on-crazy?' tour concluding our three-weeks-long trip. In these eight days we visited all imperial capitals, birthplace of Confucius, swam in the sea, the best part of Great wall, climbed yet another Taoist mountain and indulge in tea culture and tea plantations of Hangzhou. The sleep was scarce and time for shower virtually non-existent. Some days we could not stand ourselves, such was the effect of 35 degree weather and constant movement from one historical sight to the other. On the other hand, we covered crazy amount of kilometers and anything worth of visiting in the below described cities (only exception is Beijing). Looking back, I would do it all over again, anytime :)

Luoyang
Capital of 13 dynasties (several dynasties had more than one capital city - e.g. Tang) was center of Chinese empire up until 10th century and the decline of Tang. Importance of Luoyang in the history of China magnifies number of temples in the city proper including Bai Ma Si (White horse temple) - the first Buddhist temple in China (built in 68 AD). We arrived late in the evening and happily accepted train station hotel offered by station staff (its all connected as usual - uniformed men and women instead of taking care of trains offer accommodation to anyone getting off the train). Heavy bargaining and two near walk-outs ended in 70 RMB (7 EUR) De-luxe bedroom. My guess is that this was lower price than Chinese people, who got to the hotel first, paid (talk about bargain power :).

We dedicated the first day to visits of temples and important sights such as Longmen caves. Longmen caves are member of the famous triumvirate of Buddhist grottoes (with Magao and Dazu carvings) dating back as early as 5th century. There are another Buddhist caves around Datong, which are even older then Longmen caves, but as I have not seen them I would not dare to comment. Grottoes here were created over two centuries following relocation of capital from Datong in 494 AD. Size-wise, the caves are the biggest one from the above mentioned triumvirate with over 100,000 statues stretching along banks of Yi He (Yi river). Beauty-wise, Longmen caves are the most beautiful and the most tourist-friendly of the three, offering best value for money as well. Dazu is too small compared to these caves and Magao is by far the unfriendliest one as you can visit only pre-selected caves your tour guide will take you in. In Longmen, you can enjoy walking from cave to cave and only thing you have to worry about is the amount of Chinese tourist groups. Although no statue is as big as 50 meters high Magao Buddhas, some of the caves offer wonderful 20 meters high statues and carvings. Work done by chisels is precise and detailed, representing top of grotto art in China. Unfortunately Longmen caves were the closest and the most convenient for Red guards to visit. During their reign of cultural (or rather uncultural) terror great amount of statues was damaged and beheaded (talk about saving art and history for the future generations). Although heavily damaged, undisputed beauty of Three Binyang Caves, Ten Thousand Buddha cave and Lotus Flower cave are preserved (more detailed description can be found on the web so I will not bother you here). Opposite bank of the river offers some more grottoes, freshly renovated temple where you can still enjoy fresh paint aftertaste and tomb of one of the most revered Chinese poets (don't ask for his name).

After some hopeless search for forgotten / stolen camera of my friend we used public transport to get to the Guanlin temple. All major destinations in Luoyang are served by public transport; Longmen and Guanlin temple by line 81 starting at the train station and Bai Ma Si and the old town by lines 56 (starting at the train station) and 58 (from Guanlin temple). Guanlin temple is dedicated to general Guan Yu of Shu kingdom (my beloved Three kingdoms period), whose head was allegedly buried here. His bravery and fearlessness brought him posthumous title of the Lord of War (something like 1,000 years later). His fame was spread mostly after his life when he became revered by people and both Buddhism and Taoism embraced him in their pantheon. You can recognize him in most of the temples you visit as red faced, mostly angry looking statue with long thin mustache. Temple is rather big complex of buildings and halls with simple round tomb at the end.

From Guanlin we moved towards Bai Ma Si to see some real stuff. Name of the temple comes from legend of how Buddhism came to China. Legend has it that two Indian monks brought first Buddhist sutras on two white horses. They stayed in this temple built for them and translated scriptures into Chinese. Since then temple housed the most important and oldest relics and became center of Chinese branch of Buddhism. If Guanlin is big, Bai Ma Si is huge. Besides main halls on the south-north axis complex includes living quarters and special buildings to host sutras and scriptures. Most buildings are dating back to Qing and Ming dynasties but new worshiping halls are introduced. The motives are mostly Indian (I guess legacy of monks lives on) with some of shrines being built and financed from India (as a proof of friendship).

After Bai Ma Si we had left some time and energy for exploration of night market and choosing of restaurant for our highly deserved dinner. Ah, those restaurants of Luoyang! The quality and price of food is one of the best in China and I would rate it as the best food on our trip. To discover and explore just get off at Bei Da Jie and walk along Zhongzhou Dong Lu. You can either follow Lonely Planets recommendations (night market looks awesome but recommended restaurants look pricey and half empty) or do as we did - follow the locals and walk into the fullest one. First day we enjoyed Beijing duck for quarter of the price in Beijing (normally just half but that day was some special festival) with free beer and other three dishes altogether for 86 RMB (less than 9 EUR). Unfortunately this was the first time when we left something behind and did not destroy the food within seconds. It was just too much for us. Next day we visited neighbor restaurant and again were overwhelmed by how cheap and huge are the dishes. Both restaurants can be found on Zhongzhou Dong Lu - left side if you walk eastwards - and are easily recognizable by huge crowd inside. The best thing is that kids (you cannot call them otherwise) working in these restaurants are so nice and excited that some foreigners walk in that they will make the dinner all worth it (and you will be attraction for rest of hosts).

Xian
We get off at Xian after overnight train from Luoyang and after dropping our bags at train station immediately went to visit Terracotta army, Big goose pagoda, Bell and Drum towers and concluded our day at Big Mosque and by dinning at Muslim quarter night market. Besides extensive walking through old and new town (outside and inside city walls) I have seen all sights (see previous posts) and thus we can move on.

Kaifeng
After yet another overnight train ride we spent pleasant day in Kaifeng exploring this Song dynasty capital. Considerably smaller than Xian and Luoyang, all major sights are within walking distance from train station. In one day we visited Iron pagoda (the oldest glazed pagoda in China), Old Guanyin temple (currently under full renovation), Sacred Heart of Jesus Church (my first church in six months or so), Dongda Mosque (old mosque open for all visitors in the middle of Muslim quarter), Longting Park (site of former imperial palace hidden today under two enormous lakes and pavilions), Shaanshangan Guild Hall (old guild house built by wealthy merchants in good old imperial times), Temple of Chief Minister (pleasant oasis in the middle of old town housing four-faced four-thousand eyed arms Guanyin statue and other notable Buddhist treasures) and Yanqing temple (small and not-much-to-see Taoist temple).

We dined in the western style restaurant and reached all tourist attractions either by foot (Kaifeng is conveniently small town) or public transport (lines run between main tourist attractions). Old town around Muslim and Jewish quarter offers particularly pleasant walks in between stalls of peddlers and family run restaurants. Also worth paying the visit is exhibit in Guild Hall where you can compare models of old and new Kaifeng. Somehow we both ended up siding with old one as the more beautiful. While admiring old buildings we felt sadness about newly built theme and entertainment parks luring Chinese tourists. After spending day in Kaifeng we hoped on another night train to Qingdao, so called Chinese Switzerland and coastal town promising some true beach culture (a'la China).

Qingdao
Coastal city in Shandong province was under German concession for all 16 years from 1898. Still German influence on city architecture, spirit and people is palpable. Besides architecture which very much resembles Europe (German part of it) as both old and new building blend together unlike nowhere else in China, it offers beaches, parks and most of all brewery (the most famous and the biggest in China). Basically in day spent here we managed to see everything worthwhile except for that brewery. We explored streets (almost as hilly as those in Zizkov in Prague), churches (small and simply but still very much admired by gasping Chinese), parks (nice and very nicely located on hills of the city, offering good views of harbor and coastline) and beaches (crowded). Basically, besides churches and former German governor villa where Mao once spent his vacation and discussed plans for China's future, we just wondered freely from street to street in general beach direction. The best advice is to obtain some general simple map of Qingdao and walk around - all interesting (unless you enjoy business districts) is located within walking distance on peninsula on which Qingdao is spread.

We realized we are not in ordinary Chinese city immediately when we got off our train as train station is situated in historical building right in the heart of town. What a difference to enormous glass / steel / concrete behemoths of other places we visited (with only exception of Dunhuang with its classy modern train station blending traditional characteristics with modern materials and needs). After walking around city we parked ourselves at beach no. 1 for a quick swim in the sea and shower afterward (what a relief!). Getting our hands dirty munching on crab meat we realized it is time to run for a train or we would miss our trip to Tai shan. Of course, last minute arrival was at hand once again. Qingdao meant also end of our dash to eastern seashore as from now on we turned back to accomplish one last magnificent loop back to Shanghai.

Tai shan
We arrived to Tai shan around 10.30pm in accordance with our plan to climb this holly mountain of Taoism (the most visited one) in one long overnight hike in time for sunrise. We started our climb after refilling our supplies at c. 11.30pm by long walk across town. Although originally we were afraid whether there are any such fools like us to attempt the climb at night (Lonely Planet only briefly mentions that some of the Chinese do it) we learned very soon that our idea is not so original. Further up the mountain it looked sometimes like on Tian'an men square in the middle of day. Traffic jams ensued as apparently half of Shandong decided to climb Tai shan that night.

80 RMB (8 EUR) ticket gives you opportunity for four hours climb up the mountain and some shivering at the top. Surprisingly early morning was cold even though mountain itself has only 1,545 meters. Probably our totally sweated through T-shirts did not help as well. The climb is strenuously long and after first six kilometers of relatively modestly steep hike you start some serious step hoping. Steps seem to be never ending (similar to crowds) and when you think you reach the top you realize you have somewhere else to go. On your way you pass obligatory three gates to heaven (First, Middle and South Gate to heaven), extending hand greeting pine (as usual on all mountains in China) and other notable hills, sights and temples. Nature is rich in pine forests (but nowhere near the beauty of Sanqingshan - see next post) and temples which are mostly located on top.

Upon climbing to the top we decided to borrow (5 RMB / 0.5 EUR) army looking coat which must have remembered the Long march. After one hour of shivering and waiting for sunrise we ended up totally empty handed as with first rays of sunshine huge mist sprang along the cliffs and covered any view possible. We healed our hurt souls by visit to Dai Miao - temple where emperors started their climb up. Unlucky and still unsatisfied we returned down and hoped on the first train to Qufu.

Qufu
Qufu is an old small town and the birthplace of Confucius. Yet another quasi-historic town which got lucky as one of his former citizen and dissatisfied bureaucrat started what is today one of the three most important philosophies in China. Although he lived his life in poverty wandering from place to place around several provinces, his family - Kong - became over generations that followed one of the richest people in China, rivaling the court. Kong mansion and temple are both huge complexes located next to each other. Temple offers one-sided history of sage's life casting extremely positive light on his achievements. The philosophy suited (and still suits) perfectly those on top as it emphasizes hierarchical structure of society as wife respects husband, son respects father and commoners respect officials (pyramid goes on). The popularity of Confucianism shows perfectly that history in China is written not by the winners but by bureaucrats. Thus Qin emperor and the first one who united the whole China was viewed as malice and Confucius is revered. Although his philosophy is embraced even today, commercialization, capitalism, and individualism win the hearts of young generations (especially apparent in the cities).

Both temple and Kong family house offer nice view of Chinese traditional architecture with several halls impressively decorated and marvelous carvings on pillars of at least two major halls rivaling those at Forbidden city. After visiting both (ticket for about 150 kuai / 15 EUR) we transferred ourselves to his tomb. More like a family cemetery, it is where all members of Kong family are buried. It appears that this tradition will be broken as the eldest male heir of 78th generation escaped to Taiwan... Tombs show progression of ornaments and burial customs over the years and dynasties. Confucius tomb is simple small hill with single stone tablet marking it.

Beijing
From small, walled town Qufu we went to Beijing to see some wall. Basically we had one day in Beijing to spent as we were forced to return to Shanghai on fourth or third and we were planning to see Hangzhou on our way as well. As I have already seen Badaling part we decided to try Jinshanling. It is one of the longest parts available for hiking and connects directly to Simatai part. Taking bus 980 will bring you to Miyun. Of course local clique worked here as well and we were dropped in the middle of nowhere at bus station turned minibus station of some taxi drivers. We bargained hardly for rental of a car and we got best price of 25 per person (one way) to Jinshanling. Together with two Spanish girls we met in the bus from Beijing we set off.

Road to our destination should have give us warning of what to expect later but we happily ignored minor congestion and progressed to the main gate. Paying tickets (80 RMB / 8 EUR - no student discount available) opened wall of opportunity for us. We spent something like four hours hiking along the most beautiful part of Great Wall I had seen yet. Unlike Badaling it is not so renovated (only towards the end, near Simatai) and by far less populated. Ever present hawkers, if you push hard, offer decent discounts for drinks (just double the price in your local Walmart) and shirts (you can get one for 15-20 kuai (1.5-2 EUR). I would not even start with views and pictures I have taken - just wait till I upload something. Jinshanling part of the Great Wall spreads along horizon wherever you look. Sharp ascents and breathtaking descents are good for hikers. Don't worry about 'proper' equipment as it is possible to walk this part of the Wall with only sandals on. Upon paying another 40 RMB (4 RMB) at Simatai part of the Wall and another 5 RMB (0.5 EUR) for crossing rope bridge over river (no other option - we checked) we finished our journey by taking local bus (2 kuai / 0.2 EUR) to Miyun. This bus goes allegedly once a day at 2.30pm and is unknown to any foreigner (we are still grateful to local hostel stuff). Unfortunately, perfectly planned journey which should have enabled us to visit both Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven turned into five hour nightmare where we were really scarred to make it on time for our train again (we managed to squeeze some picture time at Tian'an men square).

Hangzhou
Night train (first class after three days without no shower) took us directly to Hangzhou where we managed to walk around Xi Hu (West lake), Lingyin temple (local super temple which turned into touristic gold mine as coach after coach after coach full of Chinese tourists turn at its gate) and Longjing village. This village is epicenter of the best green tea in China (Longjing - Dragon well). Plantations are all around hills south of Xi Hu and public transport buses run there. Anybody visiting Hangzhou should pay it a visit as calm environment is in as big as possible contrast to overcrowded shores of Xi Hu. Of course, that was a time to run again to the train station to catch our last one train to Shanghai (close but we did it).

Finally, last post about my crazy trip all over the middle China. Although, incredibly exhausting it was all worth it :) Next will follow the post about Sanqingshan - probably the most beautiful trip since I am in China. Stay tuned :)

South v. North

As our journey continued, this time back in eastward directions, we left behind Sichuan and Chengdu and transported ourselves to Wudang shan - birthplace of Tai chi. In true nature of yin and yang (cornerstone of of tai chi, gong fu, and the whole Tai chi philosophy), we went after visiting Wudang shan to search for balance to our torn apart souls in Song shan - birthplace of Gong fu itself (for those completely ignorant - the world famous Shaolin temple is located at the foot of Song shan). In following paragraphs you can find description of Tai chi guan (hereinafter described and called simply tai chi) and Shaolin gong fu (hereinafter described and called simply gong fu) - distinct styles of the most famous martial arts of China. This is also the first stage of our 'mad dash' to the coast and beyond. Remaining part will be described in the next post.

South
Tai chi is a martial art which, when looking on those practicing it, gives you a feeling that it is really an art. Legend has it that gong fu master (shifu) and Taoist monk residing at Wudang shan monasteries - Zhang San Feng - got inspired by observing bird attacking snake. He implemented evasive movements of the snake (which by the way saved his life) into gong fu movements, which he mastered before, and thus 72 poses (today there is something like 108 basic figures) of tai chi were created. Tai chi, considered internal martial art, is striving to use fluent movements and minimal effort in order to disarm opponents. Today it has many forms and mostly it is practiced as an exercise in order to promote blood circulation, balance, muscle and joints relaxation. As it allegedly promotes health and longevity it is very popular in western world (something of yoga sort) and with Chinese elders (practicing it in parks in the morning and / or evening). It is also very suitable for those who neglected training or sports and suddenly realized that their body is no longer what it used to be and for those who are really clumsy (like me) as it does not require any physical talent or strength (perfect!).

From Chengdu we took overnight train and arrived in the city of Wudang shan (you already know about the Chinese ´imagination´ with respect to names of the towns) - another generic tourist town with hotel capacity exceeding three times its population. Unknowing how long will the ascent will take and whether we will make it in time down from the mountain or will be forced to take shelter in some 'high altitude' option we dropped our bags by friendly peddler and took cab / minibus to entrance gate. Entrance ticket is rather expensive (90 RMB / 10 EUR) but includes free bus service up to the middle of the mountain (strictly altitudewise). Considering that final station (after one transfer) is c. 45 minutes or 25 km away from entrance gate it is worth it. New bus service is all operated by park and no minibuses are needed (as alleged by Lonely Planet). Entrance gate is c. 800 meters from the city center and thus no minibus is needed but unless you know upfront you do the same as we did.

It took us approximately two hours to get to the top and of course we took the harder way up - through three heavenly gates. Ascent is pleasant as nature is nice, steps although plentiful are not very steep and every now and then you have a temple to visit. The first one is Langmei Xian temple - THE temple - where you can pay homage to above mentioned monk a.k.a. father of tai chi. Hour beyond the temple you come to the crossing where you can choose the right way (three heavenly gates) or 'sissy' way (less steep around the mountain trail). Each gate brings you closer to heaven and offers spectacular views. Upon reaching mountain top (Golden summit) you have opportunity to visit wonderful and really spiritual temples (listening to monks chanting sutras is just priceless) and heaven city (upon yet another modest payment of 20 RMB / 2 EUR). City commissioned by some emperor is protected by wall and has bronze (originally golden plated) temple - talking about lightning rod. On the top number of tourists increases significantly as besides walking trail there is a chairlift option (very popular with Chinese). Surprisingly, on the top of this tai chi domain I had my first encounter with gong fu practitioner. Maybe I just got it entirely wrong as my six years old shifu was practicing his horse stance at the toilet (although it sounded as if he was mastering it to the highest level). Descent the other way is little boring in the shadow of tall trees.

We made it down from the mountain before sunset and in time for delicious dinner. Do not worry at all about finding accommodation - hotels are plentiful and discounts are huge. We found shelter in the third hotel for 70 RMB / 7 EUR for bedroom with shower in renovated and I would even call it luxurious institution. We had little idea that our streak of 'hotel towns' would continue for rest of our journey. Do not hesitate to walk out when they do not want to settle on your price - either they will run after you or next door neighbor will do. In this town another streak of ours interrupted - streak of 'towns we visited and observed local breed of cockroach in'. Although it was most certainly not the cleanest, since Wuhan it was the first town we had not the pleasure of crossing our path with cockroach. Next day, next stop - Luoyang - former imperial city which was destroyed and resurrected as many times as Star Trek movie franchise :) More on the city in next post as we dedicate this space to Shaolin temple which is located nearby (in Chinese sense - 100km).

North
Gong fu is a martial art we admire the most - the legends of super strong and super endurance monks are true - believe me, I have witnessed what they can do. It is understandable as Shaolin monks were fighting on the side of righteous (emperors) for centuries. Protecting coastline from pirates, suppressing barbarian invasions, and peasant rebellions they earned reputation as incredible fighters and envy combined with respect (and disrespect) of those they fought against (maybe this is the main reason why temple was burned many times - rhe latest in 1970's - courtesy of Red guards). Unlike tai chi, gong fu is considered external martial art with little regard for smooth movements and little effort. Training requires incredible amount of effort and strong will. It further emphasizes inner 'chi' in order to strengthen shifu's body. To master this art you would need to practice for years and during this time as you continue to improve and aware of your powers you become less and less interested in worldly fortunes. True masters are not succumbed to commercial presentation and selling off the Shaolin legacy but remain removed or rather disinterested by outside world (basically, famous kung fu actors are sore losers who were not able to master the true gong fu and sold themselves out to consumerism of western world :D ). Unlike tai chi, gong fu draws its philosophy from Buddhism and as such is much more aggressive (at least to untrained eye) in movement and fighting style.

Shaolin temple is easy to reach destination as it is very popular destination for Chinese and Western tourists. Easily reachable from both Luoyang and Zhengzhou, minibuses will take you there for c. 20 kuai (2 EUR) one way. Of course, hardened negotiators like me can negotiate same price for return tour, but I have met other westerners paying up to 180 kuai (18 EUR) for approximately same tour (watch out since tour prices do not include tickets for sights - pay if you want to visit policy applies). Tour means that in the price are included visits to surrounding temples. Usually tour includes visit to Songyang academy (one of the oldest higher education institutions in China) with its allegedly 4,500 years old cypress trees, Songyue pagoda (the oldest brick pagoda) and Zhongyue Miao (Tao temple). Whole trip will take one day which is fairly comfortable as you got to see most things. Unfortunately, such arrangement do not let you climb Song shan (1,512m).

Believing in ourselves and in Lonely Planet, we clawed half of the price from our tour operator at Shaolin temple and decided to climb Song shan and return to Luoyang by ourselves. Of course, little had we know that Shaolin temple is so awesome and breathtaking that we will spent there almost the whole afternoon. We observed open air training grounds where local gong fu schools come for practice, Shaolin monks skills presentation (sooo awesome :) ), pagoda forest with pagodas dedicated to the most revered monks and wushu shifu's (those who watch Kung Fu Panda movie know that this means 'martial arts master') and the temple itself. Although Taoist temple with reciting monks at Golden summit of Wudang shan was impressive, the spiritual power of the famous entrance hall, Guanyin hall (with frescoes of fighting monks), Pilu pavilion (with depressions in the floor created over centuries by practicing monks), and wonderful quite pagoda forest was much much stronger. Honestly, it took me 24 hours to settle down and calm down my excitement (meaning stopping performing 'gong fu' strokes on my co-traveler). Awesome!

Anyway, after visiting temple we attempted ascent of Shaoshi shan (Song shan's highest peak) by taking Shaoshi shan chair lift. What was our surprise when we discovered that there is not marked or paved trail to the top and that peak itself is off any trails in the area (first time I had a feeling that Lonely Planet people did not do they work properly). Main trail, which starts at the start of Shaolin cable car (different from the one we took - 60 kuai / 6 EUR return ticket), goes along it. Beyond terminus it continues for additional 15 km via hanging bridges and cliff trails. Still Shaoshi shan is significantly off even of this main trail. According to our own little research and wander into the wild there are unofficial trails leading to the top (better and shorter route is from the terminus of Shaoshi shan chair lift and beyond the paved road - trail is clearly visible). Unfortunately, we were unable to explore these trails to the full extent as our time in Shaolin area was nearing to its end (understand sunset). We run down from the mountain and jumped on the first tour bus heading to Luoyang (plenty of them and locals will gladly assist you and shout Luoyang at parking lot for you (no affect on price as they derive their commission from those 20 kuai you pay to bus driver.

South v. North
Above you can find basic description of two fighting styles. Here, I will repeat main differences and summarize my findings (sounds almost academical). Tai chi draws from Taoism while gong fu draws from Buddhism. Tai chi is spread along southern provinces while gong fu is popular in the north. Tai chi is more concerned with smoothness of movement and do not use much power or strength. Gong fu concentrates on strong and explosive strokes sequences. Although, both are based on inner chi, each uses this inner power differently. While tai chi tries to balance yin and yang and as such is considered to improve practitioner's health, gong fu uses inner chi to strengthen practitioner's body so that it can withstand and endure more grueling training. While tai chi will make you live longer, gong fu will make you invincible (to the point you can bend spears and break iron plates on your head). Looking back at what I have seen, I can say that although tai chi master could evade and use less energy during fight, gong fu master would beat him to the ground anytime (of course this is based totally on no experience with one or the other whatsoever :).

Next post will describe how we blazed through all capitals of the ancient China and found time to swim in the Yellow sea. Enjoy!

About the typhoon that wasn't.

This is a quick post about typhoon Morakot and its impact on Shanghai. Basically, it was nonexistent as Shanghai lays way north of the main impact zone. Deadly in Taiwan and at Zhejiang and Fujian coast, it was weakened and disintegrated by the time it got into the vicinity of the city I currently reside in. Also I would like to praise Chinese authorities, which in this case showed a lot of competency and issued early warnings along potential zone of harm (all the way up to Shanghai). Little overreacting (warnings to keep windows shut were issued on Thursday) but anyway very organized and professional. Unfortunately, this made my first typhoon experience boring (same as my first riot experience in Xinjiang) to such an extent that I decided to seek out some adventure and get closer to action next time some storm decides to come ashore :) Enjoy!

Chengdu! Chengdu!

Better late then never. Here is what we did in Chengdu, Sichuan's capital and important city of ancient China with history including Shu kingdom of the famous Three kingdoms period. It was also the westernmost place we spent night in on our journey through Chinese heartland. Just to absorb the city in its entirety we stayed not one, not two but three nights altogether. Dreams Travel became our base for trips to nearby UNESCO and not-so-UNESCO sights.

Templing inside out
Due to its history Chengdu 'suffers' by temple abundance. Their exploration itself requires several days, not mentioning city parks. Oh, and those parks! By amount of green, Chengdu trashes any city in China (including current Urumqi with its new green dress). We started with nunnery near Wenshu palace and old town (Chengdu's answer to Shanghai's Yuyuan bazaar but much less crowded), then explored Wenshu itself. Wenshu temple is important Buddhist temple dating back to Tang emperors. Its grounds hide several tea houses and it is place where we started our education and observation of Sichuan's tea culture, sipped quality green tea and ate 'piskoty' (Central European version of sponge biscuits). I mean piskoty - domestically produced but anyway, in China! Also we had our first encounter with ear wax removers. This custom and occupation has a long tradition in Sichuan and advanced almost to form of art. 'Artists' venture into crowd with their palette of brushes of various sizes and shapes ringing iron poles to draw attention and customers. They can play with your ears for lofty 30 minutes, which could be exactly half an hour you crave for if you are same ear freak as me. Unfortunately, I was too amazed by the sight of somebody making his living by cleaning others ears to try this procedure, although I promised myself that next time I walk into Chengdu I would do it.

From Wenshu we continued along tree lined streets to tomb of Wang Jian, a mausoleum of the king of the different Shu kingdom (Former Shu of five dynasties, ten kingdoms period). Tomb is significant for reliefs depicting the whole band of musicians (the most complete of that period in the whole China). We continued our walk towards Green Ram temple (the biggest Taoist temple in Chengdu) where we arrived after the opening hours but armored with a true Central European arrogance entered through side gate and explored it thoroughly. During this exploration, we had an opportunity to witnessed tai chi practice of the master and his students literally from all over the world. Nearby Culture park offers expensive opportunity to visit Sichuan opera performance (tickets from 120 RMB / 12 EUR up). Also nearby is big complex of the so called Dufu's village. Cluster of historical buildings intertwined with poetry of Dufu (famous Chinese poet who completely skipped my radar) and other Sichuan based poets (same goes for the nearby park dedicated to poetry). Of course, beauty of Chinese poetry stays still hidden from my ignorant soul. Maybe one day when I will understand it or at least grasp mandarin to such an extent that I would be able to distinguish verses, when they will be recited to me (on the other hand, I have this problem even in my native language).

As it was already dark by the time we get out of Culture park, we decided to slowly return to the hostel. On our way back we discovered another interesting gem of Chengdu - red light district (literally, as it was lit by red lanterns) of Wuhuoci. It is in fact commercial area spreading around Wuhouci temple, where local shops and western restaurant, bars and pubs are vying for tourists' money. Wuhouci is a temple dedicated to Zhuge Liang and others from Three kingdoms. In there I experienced a Popperesque moment and saw a black swan :)

Sightseeing outside in
The biggest problem we encountered in Chengdu is the fact that there are too many sights to see in near vicinity. Besides temples in the city, there is Leshan Budha (the biggest Budha statue in the world), Emei shan (holly Buddhist mountain), Qingcheng shan (another holly, but Tao, mountain), Dujiangyan irrigation project (this is what made Chengdu and Sichuan so rich), nature reserves (Wolong & co.), and other Buddhist and Taoist monasteries. Of course, there are also those Giant Pandas :) Easily you can spent two weeks in and around Chengdu but as we had only three and a half days and I had already pleasure of visiting Leshan and Emei shan, we dignified Dujiangyan and Qingcheng shan with our presence only. And also those oversized lazy black and white crossbreeds of rat and bear.

Be aware that, following the earthquake in 2008, provincial government introduced so called Panda cards in order to lure back tourists. This Panda cards are issued one per each person (must be complemented with passport or ID) no matter whether you are Chinese or foreigner (another reason why I really love this province - no white person surcharges or 'special' offers). Each Panda card entitles its owner for one free entry to major sights in and around Chengdu (it works on virtually all of the sights in Chengdu plus 100km radius but I am not sure about those further away, e.g. Emei shan).

First we visited Qingcheng shan and combined it with quick visit to Dujiangyan irrigation project. We were joined (or rather we joined) Chinese girl who kindly offered us her help (thank you Melisa). With her help we were able to get through for 40 RMB (4 EUR) per person into otherwise 100 RMB (10 EUR) Qingcheng shan natural park (of course we were unaware that with Panda card you can get in for free). There we spent half a day hiking around Taoist temples with long, rich and colorful history (some temples were hiding places for partisans, generals or princes, and scholars). Usual Chinese hikes (steps, steps, and more steps) were made more lively by the fact that our 'guides' who got us through the gate system unharmed, took us to some remote place which gave us opportunity to hike through not so civilised area with some ladders and unpaved trails.

In the afternoon, after some sampling of local cuisine, we finally got to Dujiangyan irrigation project, a site I wanted to visit most. It is project which tamed river Min and made of Sichuan the granary of China. It was built more than 2300 years ago by prefect Li Bing in order to prevent flooding of Chengdu plain which was pretty much annual thing. This project diverts waters from Min into series of canals irrigating fields all the way down to Chengdu (60 km away). We had an opportunity to walk around main diversion called 'fish mouth' as it has shape of fish head (Chinese fantasy working full throttle) on the banks of river and canal. To give you some idea: under the name 'canal' please do not imagine something we know from back home - two meters deep and two meters wide ditch. Min river is c. 100m wide strong and quick stream river. Fish mouth divides it into two streams - inner and outer - whose through flow is regulated according to needs. Working up until today it divides waters in 60:40 ratio (inner : outer) during floods period and sand in the ratio of 20:80 (that is some engineering!). Legend has it that this this levy system is the reason for happy and laid back attitude of Sichuan people. It is due to the fact that after its completion no floods occurred and thus people had and still have nothing to worry about :) Furthermore, steep banks offered good defense position for defending Chengdu plain from invading north armies (barbarians and those Wei soldiers as well). Old guarding towers offer wonderful views of Dujiangyan city and Min river stream. Here we had opportunity to witness some damage caused by last years earthquake as not everything was repaired or masked.

Next day was the panda day as we elected to visit local breeding station of Giant pandas. There we witnessed those small (year old cubs), smaller (red pandas which are generally smaller than giant ones), and the smallest pandas (one really ugly blind, hairless little newborn). Whoever says you that pandas are lazy, do not believe him - they are just like any other animals. Cubs are fighting like crazy, they eat like crazy and run around happily until tired. When sun comes up the activity decreases as even pandas are not crazy enough to run around in 30 degrees heat (just like humans - ask your Spanish, Italian or Chinese friends). Maybe the morning fight is staged each day to entertain the tourists but then I have to admit pandas are better actors than wrestling professionals :) Cubs smashing and climbing over each other is sight to behold and to take picture of. Lucky me I had my camera with almost infinite capacity :)

This brings me to one last thing I want to mention about Chengdu. During our stay we had an opportunity to witness sun eclipse - the longest one for next three hundred years. Unfortunately, Chengdu was all cloudy on that particular morning (imagine our disappointment when we realized that Chongqing which we left behind just one day earlier was all sunny) except for one small glimpse of sunshine when it was almost all over... Even worse, with the sun eclipse come also eclipse of my mind and I formatted one of my cards deleting a week worth of pictures (there goes Yangzi cruise). Further adventures of the two foreigners making it through the heart of China will be summarized in next posts. Read on!

Cruise control

After two days of walking around hot and burning Shanghai we started our "journey to the west". From Shanghai we took D-train (imagine Spanish AVE-class trains) to Wuhan, covering first 1,000 km in mere five hours. The intention was to explore Hubei province and Yangtze river region. Below you can find the account of what we went through while cruising in the "hell belt" of China. Area between Shanghai and Chengdu is during summer turned into one huge sauna (or hell) as Yangtze provides humidity and sun provides heat. Temperatures stay between 35-40 degrees and humidity levels well into 90's. You sweat like crazy and six liters of water just barely provide for what you have lost.

Shopping around
We arrived in Wuhan around midnight, found accommodation in one of two local International Hostelling member hostel (unfortunately we chose the wrong one, which was basically a regular hotel possing as hostel chain member - understand no dorms or rooms below 100 RMB / 10 euro, no internet access but breakfast provided) - precisely one located in the Hankou city center. Night ride through the city offered us the first glimpse of this sprawling metropolis (Wuhan, as of today, is a wild combination of three cities - Hankou, Wuchang and Hanyang) with population well over four millions.

A night walk on the main pedestrian street enriched us by witnessing the greatest concentration of homeless people we have both seen so far. The street (Janghan road) was covered with sleeping men and occasional woman laying on the benches, ground and anything slightly suitable. Maybe this was vivid sign of ongoing global economic crisis (and especially car industry crisis since Citroen factory is/was located nearby) or maybe local homeless prefer to sleep in the shaddows of the super-brands (Rolex and co.). Anyway it was an interesting experience, not helping Wuhan in my "My favorite Chinese city" competition.

In the morning we started our quest for the cheapest cruise along Yangtze all the while exploring one of three furnaces of China (Wuhan, Chongqing and Nanjing are considered the hottest and the most humid cities of the hell belt - Shanghai anyone?!). City center and riverfront are littered with colonial style buildings from Wuhan open-port past. After visiting several agencies we concluded that the betst option would be to transfer ourselves to Yichang (port-of-call for all cruise ships). If Wuhan is rich on old style architecture, Yichang is richer on modern and not-so-modern accommodation institutions. Main street (Dongshan road) and surrounding area offers all sorts of cheap and not-so-cheap rooms. Don't hesitate to shop around and refuse those who are unwilling to discount their listed price by at least 40%. There always be somebody else willing to do so.

In the morning we finally decided to take Chinese passenger ship with first class double cabin for 880 RMB (88 euro) per person (second class four bed cabin is for 640 RMB / 64 euro and third class 6 bed cabin is for 360 RMB / 36 euro - no food included). Chinese passenger cruise was second alternative choice as we refused to pay additional 350 RMB (35 euro) per person in addition to original and already paid for price of 1,325 RMB (132.5 euro) just because we are white foreigners (surcharge was not mentioned in the price list but is according to agency a regulatory obligation). Eventually surcharge turned out to be a hidden blessing as it knocked off cruise ships from the top of our "value for money" chart and instead of travelling with hundreds of Norwegian and American retirees we had pleasure to spent our days with chinese families and kids. We enjoyed celebrity status possing for pictures and answering all sorts of questions from our young inquisitors.

San Xia (Yichang to Chongqing)
San Xia or Three Gorges consist of Xiling, Wu and Qutang gorge (upstream order). Our cruise started with one hour bus ride (so long for the port of call) along Xiling gorge below San Xia Da Ba (Three Gorges Dam) where we borded our ship (JinTao). As I understand, cruise ships take additional one day to sail this area and ascend locks of the dam. We started our journey at 10.30pm and cruised through Xiling at night (allegedly this is the least interesting gorge). Early morning we enjoyed on-deck vistas of Wu gorge, jumped on small ship and explored Xiao San Xia (Three Small Gorges). Little sisters of more famous triplet are more photogenic and quiter as no transport ships are allowed to sail inwards. Side cruise included ride on bamboo ship with singing shipmen (another version of Chinese Venice). In the afternoon we continued towards Baidicheng (White king city) with plenty of three kingdoms history. It was here where king of Shu passed his mantle to his son. Evening sail through Qutang gorge and yet another fruitless wait for colorfull sunset and we parted our ways with Three Gorges. For those lacking imagination and fantasy: Gorges are really gorgeous canyon's with width of 100 to 300 meters. Yangtze cut into limestone during centuries, exposing steep riverbanks to views of passengers and sailors. Streem is swift as strong Yangtze is coralled into narrow coridors of Qutang, Wu and Xiling gorge (downstream order).

Next day we had one more stop in City of Ghosts (Fengdu) on otherwise unspectacular journey through shipyards and factory land up to Chongqing. Fengdu is historical city with huge temple complex (Budhist one) and palaces dedicated to various ghosts and spirits. Instead of visiting palace complex we explored newly built theme park (result of no English directions and ignorance of our guide). Fengdu was also the place where we caught up with geriatric cruise and place was choked up with foreigners.

Chongqing
Disembarkation at 7.00am offered us opportunity to epxlore for half a day this beautiful city (one of my favorite in China), visit some temples and shop for clothes in its multiple markets before moving on to Chengdu. Chongqing has plenty of trees (similar to any city in the west), top brand shops and even a pedestrian district. Delicious food and other perks are described in previous post.

Note that cruises are offered both downstream and upstream. Timing of visits and stops are therefore different. As we took upstream cruise, timing is described as such. Cruise ships offer one more day on the deck and price includes meals. Downstream cruise description is offered in Lonely Planet. First hand account of our exploration of Sichuan capital will follow soon. See you later, aligater!

Lawrencing through Uighuria

Referencing, as it seems, the only book I can't finish (300 pages after two years and counting) I bring you my account of the days spent in Taklamakan. My desert adventures preceded last two posts about Urumqi but as we are in a country where the day after tomorrow means the day before yesterday, who cares. If interested, you can find below brief notes on how I travelled from Kashgar (Kashi) to Charklik (Rouqiang) and beyond. Although Chinese renamed all the cities to their liking and these names are currently used in all official and most of unofficial transactions, for sentimental reasons I state Uighur names first. Read on!

Monday
As mentioned before, I have spent night in Kashgar's new (recently established, not newly furnished, extremely convenient) city center hostel. Early wake up call yielded lone photosession with old town, interrupted occassionaly by children on their way to school (surprisingly kids get up earlier than the majority of adult population). Advantage of wee hours wake up is the fact that there is no one to charge you for entrance of residential quarter. The old town is literally vanishing in front of your eyes as buildings are being disassambled either to be reassembled in accordance with safety standards or disappear for ever.

On my return to hostel I witnessed early deployment of police following the uproar in Urumqi. Unaware of true reasons and afraid that justice finally caught up with me, I fled shortly before noon hoping on the first bus for Karghilik (Yecheng). After 5.5 hours long bus ride (rough) which was originally scheduled to be completed in four, I taxied myself to the local mosque (open and free for everyone), walked bazaar spread around it, and left the town with suspicion that I am in forgotten part of China and worse, there is nothing else besides sand to see here.

Bus ride (rougher) to Hotan (Hietan) was again longer than scheduled (eight instead of five hours) underlining the suspicion that time here was more like a general guideline than strictly enforced rule. Of course, one can argue that sand storm we encountered on our way (courtesy of Taklamakan) had something to do with it. As an unexperienced desert rat, I was in awe when sand dust covered everyone and everything in the firmly closed bus. I guess Sir Lawrence was right. We arrived to Hotan shortly after one o'clock. With little complications (accommodation options were narrowed to "preferred" institutions) I put myself to bed in true Chinese station hotel.

Tuesday
Besides being developed, Hotan is something closest to what you can call a town on the southern rim of Taklamakan. Modern as it is and having all facilities western travellers require, it most certainly lacks the charms of Kashgar. Museum (tiny but free), "boulevards" (wide but soulless), Mao's statue (with local leader but still dominating everything), bazaar (big but same as anywhere) and supply of hotel rooms (plentifull but limired) make Hotan true capital of the Southern Xinjiang. While walking the streets (basically whole day, covering all corners of the town), visiting sights and checking time it will take army convoys to circuit streets, I shopped for accommodation for the upcoming night. I am happy to report that there are plenty of new, older and old hotels available, but restriction in place for travellers safety make me unwelcomed guest in most of them. Eventually, I ended up in the same institution as night before (the cheapest one with convenient location next to the bus station) although it is certain that new Military Sub-hotel (10kuai more expensive but located in the city center with wonderfull views of Mao and People's square) would be better alternative.

Wednesday
Taking morning sleeper bus (comfy) to Cherchen (Qiemo) turned out to be a whole day affair. Country changed for better as more water and sophistricated irrigation system put up bigger fight to neverending sand dunes and vicious sand devils (little sand tornadoes rising in the middle of nowhere on a flat lands). Camels mingled with goats and sheep herds more frequently and cows and their cowboys on motorbikes made occasional appereance. My life was enriched by the first encounter with sleeper bus a'la China. It is certainly comfortable (for those of Chinese size) way of travel on long distances during hot days.

Thursday
In Qiemo I quickly concluded that there is not much to see and after yet another night in a run down station hotel I hoped on first morning bus (less comfy) to continue my journey. The towns beyond Hotan are small even for European standards, making them miniscule by Chinese standards. They consist of few streets and main roads making one to question official population figures (what is missing here is most certainly found in megacities on the east coast).

Charklik (Rouqiang) turned out to be the same since in three hours spent there I have walked all over it and someplaces three times. Tired of sand flavored dishes and with boredom creeping into my mind, I decided to abandon my original plan to continue to Golmuf and rather return to Urumqi. One more sunset, night and sunrise in prenatal position of Chinese sleeper bus bunk and windfarms of "green city" unfolded in front of us.

After two days spent in Urumqi, I returned to Shanghai in time to pick up my friend and get back on road again. We will travel around Hubei (middle of the middle), Yangzi river (Chang Jiang) and three gorges area, Chengdu and back. If interested come back for more.

Green City

After three days of eating the sand and reaching the easternmost corners of Taklamakan, I decided to postpone my eastbound trip and instead of Golmud I returned to Urumqi. Partially it was affected by my impatience and dislike of bus travel (Golmud is allegedly several 'bus-drive' days and transfers away from Rouqiang) and partially glum description of Golmud in all travel books available. Furthermore, it would be highly unlikely that I would make it to Shanghai in time to pick up my friend with whom I was supposed to travel afterwards. Of course the main reason was my relatively low adrenaline level and high desire to be at the right time at righter place (bad English intended). Below you will find my observations about Urumqi after being swamped with army personnel. Description of my travel through desert will follow in the next post.

Green
First things first. Whatever you think and it might be a lot, consider Urumqi a safe city. Four days after July 5 protests there were something like half milion soldiers patrolling the streets or at least it looked like that. In a city center where main riots happened and in Uighur part of the town, each corner saw its own squad of soldiers taking watch or resting. Other squads of policemen or soldiers walked the main roads from corner to corner. Back ups and reserves rested idle in shades of subways, bridges, overpasses and in front of buildings casting the biggest shades. Outter suburbs were patrolled by passing army trucks keeping to their predetermined loops. Soldiers walked and guarded all major parks, and crossings. Basically anyone trying to lift a stone would be uprehended within seconds. My personal guesses as of today are: (1) zero crime rate (including pickpockets) and 1 to 5 soldier to citizen ratio for greater Urumqi (Urumqi has population of two millions...). Everything made me feel totally safe and my only worry was that I would get caught while trying to take pictures of soldiers (prohibited) and would have to suffer consequences (expatriated).

Of course most of the army was deployed in haste and closer look revealed deficiences but everyone has to admit successful gualling of public disorder. Hastiness caused some soldiers carrying sticks instead of batons (mostly in suburbs and Chinese parts of town). Most of the soldiers were 18 years old and looked in their oversized equipment more scarred than those they were supposed to scare and their officers had full hands of keeping their morale high (I guess that was the reason for regular exercise, wartime shouts and singing - besides announcing their presence to potential protesters). One had to admire particularly those in full body armor in 30-35 degree heat and constant scorching sunshine. Of the all units I have seen, the most respect generated Uighur policemen with shotguns and machine guns in and around Uighur dominated streets. Looking menacingly and ready to use their equipment against slightest trace of disturbance, they towered above everyone in sight. I guess that was caused by their regular meat diet as compared to rice diet of their sleepy army colleagues deployed from other provinces.

City
After two days of walking around city I discovered certain hidden and not-so-hidden gems worth visiting. Besides those described in previous post about Urumqi I visited Hongshan park and wandered all over the city proper. Hongshan park is large hilly oasis with many adrenaline and not-so-adrenaline entertainment options for youngs and elders alike. It also offers multiple cultural sights (Budha temple, Dragon spring pavillion, tower and pagodas) and incomparable views of the city skyline and with mighty snowy Tian shan as a backdrop.

Walking through the streets you can try to discover 10 sights Urumqi municipality considers important or of high inner or outter value. Among those discovered by me is oversized bronze statue of Lenin in the lobby of Bank of China at Jiefang Road. Kept in shades of this historical building it is protected by brave security staff from flashlights of picture hungry capitalists. Sculpture was discovered by local branch manager at scrap yards of Tacheng and restored to its former glory from funds of comrades welcoming institution it currently resides in.

Other discoveries included great minority building which is supposed to house minority traders and shops. Dome built and funded from money provided courtessy of government and momentarily shut down by it in order to prevent gatherings of those minorities (same fate met local grand bazars and night market). Furthermore, I realized that my original observation about ideal melting pot of cultures was at least partially correct as there is no animosity between older generations of Hans and Uighurs. Any Uighur men or youngling would stand up and vacate his bus seat for Han older or lady - a sight almost unheard of in Shanghai, the place where fights for seats in bus or subway are accross weight and age categories and resemble more UFC bouts.

Although only wildly guessing, I can conclude that protests demanding justice (as reported by media) turned ugly and galvanized into full fledged riots upon joining of hot-headed young guns and mishandling of situation by unprepared police. Thirst for protesting is shared by all young people across the world and unless chanelled to some better purpose it results in bloodbath (1, 2, 3) and very rarely in something good (1, 2). The exeption to this is current generation of soulless brainwashed zombies who can be found lingering in university campuses east of west and feeding on everything served by big brother media.

All above said, the display of power was impressive and it efficiently subdued any attempts for further disturbance of peace within two or three days (there were some reports of Han retaliation and Uighurs lively demanding less harsh treatment and information on missing). We can say (borrowing from old Slovak proverb) that any protester would be beaten to ground by cap-wielding policemen as quantity once again trashed quality :). Unfortunately, the numbers made whole situation boring and I left Urumqi with feeling that I was at the right place but in a wrong time.

To Spice up my life and make the end of my journey more adventurous I took hard seat two days train ride from Urumqi to Shanghai. And believe me, it was all worth it (all 389 RMB) as it was right there among my best journeys by train yet - fun and gamble thing - playing cards and talking with my Chinese compatriots, sleeping on tables, eating all possible snacks and rubish food and watching children pee in cans, on floor of the train, and virtually any surface imaginable except for hole in the floor of the toilet. Awesome!

Wrong, False, and Unlucky

This is probably as close as I will ever get to being a wartime correspondent, therefore I will abuse this opportunity in every possible way. Through my network of contacts and support I will try to give you the latest development in Xinjiang province, where riots between native Uighurs and incoming Hans erupted few days ago. Sunday’s night madness in Urumqi and Monday´s follow-up in Kashgar represent the most serious challenge of order and authority since 1989. Luckily for me, I am in the right place at right time as I plough through sands of Taklamakan looping Chinese part of Silk road. If interested in what´s going on, please read on.

Wrong (When peaceful ain’t so peaceful)

Oh boy, how wrong I was! Only in my previous post I declared my admiration for coexistence of various minorities with Han population (daring to use the term “peaceful assimilation”) in this melting pot of cultures at the crossing of civilizations. I guess it has just boiled over. Whenever you think you understand something (me -> China) think again as life will prove you're wrong (me -> China).

Riots erupted on Sunday in the center of Urumqi (provincial capital) at Circa 8:00 pm. Flame bombs were thown and innocent shopkeepers attacked. According to the latest estimate, death toll is 156. As army and police moved in, attacks were subdued. Internet was switched off in the whole Xinjiang to prevent spreading of information and increasing tension. Soldiers from Tibetan outposts were moved in to keep an eye on major cities. First hand observation: It is really impressive to watch passing convoys of army trucks on their way to Kashgar. Only if it didn’t bring up painful comparisons to what my country had had to go through in 1968.

But unlike in our case, Xinjiang occupation (and you cannot call it otherwise as police check points are established every 50 to 80 km on all major roads and the ratio of police/soldiers to donkeys is now greatly in favor of the former) is not the result of peaceful move towards greater democracy, but rather the result of violent uprising of frustrated people, which became minority in their own “autonomous” province within 20 years of “Develop the West” policy. Although one can understand the dissatisfaction, violence must be condemned by all. Especially violence on innocent people who just try to escape poverty back at their home provinces.

False (assumption is mother of all f*ck-ups!)

I have to admit, my false assumption based on history (1,500 years of trading with anything and anyone) led me to the incorrect conclusion that Xinjiang is similar to Singapore – center of tolerance. I sincerely thought that Xinjiang is living its own life in its own time (both literally – as it uses Xinjiang time, which is two hours behind official Beijing time - and poetically – as donkey cars dominate the roads and traditional dress dominates the streets). I should have been warned by omni-present statue which dominates every city in China and firmly assures everybody in what country (s)he currently is – the statue of great helmsman.

Unlucky

There is no better word to describe my rising frustration as it seems to me I forerun the “trouble”. I left Urumqi circa 20 hours before riots in order to visit Kashgar. Little I knew that the best hope for some action was to stay back in Urumqi together with my friend who planned his visits to “-stan countries” (according to information I got from hostel staff he left unharmed on Monday as he planned). Of course I noticed police maneuvers in Kashgar on Monday morning (while having my photo session with the old town) but I left the city before noon on a bus to Karghilik (Yecheng) in accordance with my own travel plan. Little I knew that there will be some action on its own in Kashi.

It seems to me the action is catching up with me (by the time it finally will, it would be probably only in form of extra nuisance to travellers that would find their choices of accommodation even more limited), therefore stay tuned as I await my bus departure in Hotan. For more stuff concerning Silk road and mutton dishes you have to wait a bit longer.

P.S.: These check points are, as the most of the things, only pro-forma. ID check always ends when policemen discover somebody who “forgot” his ID. Why bother and cause any trouble?! Leave it to someone else.

Donkey town

Another post in a short time - suprisingly there is an internet access in western China. As of today, I reside in cozy hostel in the very center of Kashgar (I mean very very center - in the middle of old town and three minutes from Id Kah mosque). Accommodation is very unchinese with open rooms, wooden beds and common space without chairs but with plenty of carpets (we are in carpet country indeed :). What follows is a short account of things I have seen and experienced during my 12 hours in Kashgar (Kashi for sinophiles).

First and the most important thing, which should be mentioned about Kashgar, is livestock market - and baby, this is really something. It is huge, it is crowded, it has everything what moves and sometimes even the things that don't anymore (sun-exhausted cows and watermelons). You can see, bargain and test-ride donkeys, sheeps and lambs, cows and bulls, goats and horses. I have also seen snakes for sale (not on the plane :). It is sooo 19th century and out of touch with Maglev and other perks of Eastern seashore.

The whole Xinjiang is different from China (although differences are less strict in Urumqi thanks to the invasion of Hans encouraged by 'develop the west' program - a.k.a. peacefull assimilation) and the contrasts are the sharpest in Kashgar where Uighurs are still majority and Tajiks and Kyrgyzs account for the rest. As such it is also stuck in 19th century. Although ratio of cabs versus donkey-pulled carts is now in favour of cabs, still donkeys are one of the most important means of transportation.

Xinjiang is also land of fruits, especially watermelons. These you can find here in any shape, size, color or smell. Problem is that of all fruits, veggies and whatever we call plant, I hate watermelons the most - can't stand it. Besides fruits, region's other main product is mutton (again any shape, size, smell etc.). Right now, after shashlik / kebab dinner, I feel over-muttoned and I can swear that if I see any sheep, lamb or ram, mutton will erupt from any opening on my body. Here is another unsolvable problem I face - I will pass through mutton country for next six days...

Another distinction of Xinjiang from the rest of China is the early age local children are maturing. Today I saw seven to nine years old driving a scooter. It is frequent sight to see 10-15 years old boys selling and helping their fathers with carts, stalls and business in general. Completely different to Shanghai where high-schoolers are awaited by their grandparents in front of the school gate to be accompanied back home.

Besides above mentioned, I have observed and visited Abkah Hoja tomb, Id Kah mosque, old town, and one-eyebrow women which are probably considered as good and fashionable here (Breznev was sorry loser). Abkah Hoja was local chieftain, who established large tomb for his family and whose one great granddaughter was emperor´s concubine - don't ask me whether this is important or significant - according to the size of the tomb and how she is celebrated everywhere, it is.

Id Kah mosque is one of the biggest mosques in China and surely the biggest in Uighur style. It is also surprisingly open to visitor who can step also in side the praying premisses (carpets!) of course during no-praying time. Uighur style means open space with wooden pillars supporting the roof. This style is also used for living quarters in old town and as such I partially understand intention of Chinese government to level it and rebuild it according to safety standards. It is scary sight just walking by - some houses are falling apart in front of your eyes. Of course if it could stand for 500 years why do you feel the need to change it? Luckily changes in Xinjiang come very slow and old habits are rooted deeply (long live the donkey carts!).

As most of the city is built from mud or mud bricks, there is enormous amount of dust everywhere, which results in children which look beyond-dirty and possitively medieval (more on medieval things in China sometimes in the future - believe me the list is long :) Althoug I have to admit that there is certain charm in dusty kids running wild around streets of Kashgar old town, smiling and waving to any foreigner. With this I conclude my remarks on Kashgar and move on to some other destinations. Live long and prospere!

Looping the silk / silking the loop (preface)

After three days of lingering and resting in Urumuqi I am embarking on another adventure. This time I would like to follow entire Silk road on the Chinese soil and circumvent the Taklamakan desert. Silk road as, all of you know (at least I hope), starts in Xian and ends in Istanbul. In Gansu and Xinjiang (around Dunhuang) it splits into two branches (some say three, but the middle one is more like a shortcut connecting southern and northern path) - Northern, which leads north of Taklamakan along Tian shan mountains through Korla to Kashgar, and Southern part, which follows Pamir range through Hotan and up to Kashgar where the both paths reconnect.

Of course, I had already passed along a good portion of the northern route. Today I will board the train to Kashgar - the meeting point and great market where the caravans and traders exchanged their goods. This ancient city is going through renovation (Chinese style) in order to prevent any earthquake damage. Problem is that all the historical buildings and streets will be levelled and rebuilt using modern materials.

As I still do not know how much time I would have and how my journey will continue I plan to spend couple of days in Kashgaria and explore mountain passes into Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan (if possible). After Kashgar my journey will lead me through oasis towns south of Taklamakan (Yangar, Hotan, Niye and so on) specialising in knife production and carpet weaving. The end point is either Dunhuang (Gansu province), Xining or Golmud (both in Qinghai province) depending on transportation means available. Possibility of cutting the whole trip short and crossing Taklamakan to Urumqi is high as well - all depends on beauty of Pamir mountains and how the buses will work. Of course, the whole exploration is limited by time as I have to finish the whole journey in c. eight days in order to return on time to Shanghai where I am supposed to meet up with my friend and to proceed together in exploration of other provinces (awesome plan is taking shape already).

The whole Silk road all the way west to Istanbul might sound more adventurous (with all the 'stan countries with crazy political situation in there) but believe me, from what I saw in Urumqi it is much more travelled alternative. Urumqi, and the hostel we are staying in, is a sort of base for all the explorers planning to return overland to Europe (I plan this too but later - when situation and time will allow me to follow exactly the route of ancient caravans).

This preface to upcoming trip was written to clarify my travel plans for those not familiar with Chinese names and geography and in case there will be no access to internet along the way. If no "wan ba's" (internet bars) are going to be available, see you in eight days :)

Melting pot of everything

Leaving Gansu behind we entered the stew of Xinjiang. As it turned out later it is not so hot (at least the days we spent here so far) as feared. Mountain ranges are plentiful with Pamir, Tian shan (and some other) and deserts are large (Taklamakam and co.). Besides meeting point of various cultures (Central Asia and China) it is also meeting point of Indian and Eurasian geological plate which partially explains the contrasting geography here. Not only is this province the largest in China, but it also has the world's second lowest (Turpan - 154 meters below sea level) and the world's second highest (K2 - 8,611m above sea level) point. Xinjiang is also the place where the journey of our group of four ends. Our routes separate as I plan to continue around China's portion of silk road, Thomas (Norwegian backpacker) will continue on his journey across all the 'stans in the steps of the caravans, and girls return to Shanghai to follow their own paths. Below you can found account of our journey up to separation point in Urumuqi (Xinjiang capital).

Craddle of grapes (in China)
Upon our arrival to Turpan (or Tulufan as it is pronounce in Chinese) we negotiated cab for 50 kuai (5 euro) per person for the whole day (not including entrance fees for sights). This gave us opportunities to see everything we planned in the vicinity of the city. We started sightseeing at Emin minaret (monument dedicated and named after local chief who succumbed to the rule of Chinese empire in order to gain hereditary title of Xinjiang governor for his family. Also he led his people into 20 years relocation after armies of the empire were forced to leave. Upon his return he fought various warlords and gained the praise and title he aimed for. Minaret and mosque is open to public and is built in Afghan style (fairly unique sight in China).

Our journey continued some 70 km out of Tulufan to village of Tuyog (a true Uighur village). In there you can literally see Uighur way of life (doing nothing most of the day). It includes some magnificent scenery and canyons around. Unfortunately grottoes (local version of Mogao caves) is closed as of today due to safety reason (of course we walked as far as it was possible). Nearby grape valley is the epicentre of raisins industry (local wine on the other hand sucks as it is too sweet - wine tasting provided courtesy of our skilled taxi driver).

After short stopover in Karez museum (wells and underground irrigation system with almost 4,000 km of tunels at its peak) we reached our final destination - Jiaohe. Jiaohe is ancient city which reached its peak in Tang dynasty but then was sacked by invading barbarians and thus left for ruins. Even after 1,500 years you can see perfectly outline of the city with house and streets preserved by lack of rainfall in the area. One of the highlights of the trip for me, as you can walk between the buildings and temples and see how the city was organized. Surprisingly, preservation efforts are done with some delicacy and no major changes are visible.

Urumqi (Wulumuqi)
Capital of Xinjiang Autonomus Region (for Uighur minority) is something what looks most like metropolis west of Xian. It is also the most landlocked city with furthest distance to any sea or ocean. Surrounded by epic mountains of Tian shan it is supposedly hikers heaven. Unfortunately we do not have opportunity to confirm this findings.

In here we visited local museum offering nice exhibitions of local minorities (from Uighur - 8.5 mil - to Russian - 4,500 headstrong), history of Xinjiang (in western style - from Neolithic age till today, but with Chinese tweaks - skipping 'uninteresting' periods - namely three hundred years of 13 to 16 century), revolutionary struggle of red army during independence fight in Xinjiang (no English captions) and carpets of Xinjiang (world renowed local product - especially in the south of the province).

After museum we searched for the biggest local food market (Wuyi Yeshi - Wuyi night market). Believe me this is sight to be seen. Liveliest and by far the most crowded market I have ever seen, stalls spread over three streets and over at least five blocks. It offers food, spicies, dried fruits, fake T-shirts, jeans and handbags as well as anything you can imagine - from pigeons to sandals and entertainment options. Food stalls offer lamb (whole thing with head and rams still on, or just the favorite pieces, e.g. head), fish, shashlik and whatever else you want. Of course we tried and feasted on local delicacies (be warned as prices are somehow high). We haggled with fruit sellers and make all other customers laugh (still not sure whether it was due to our inability to negotiate and understand what was going on or jokes of the fruit seller :).

Anyway, after our last supper we went to bed as girls had to wake up for early plain. Morning of their departure left us asking and scrambling for our ongoing plans. I plan to circumvere the Silk road on Chinese territory by visiting first Kashgar and then continue its southern branch along Taklamakan desert. For further updates please stay tuned :)

Off the beaten track!

In words of one show-off 'backpacker' from Norway, I will try to introduce to you Gansu - province of Gobi desert, Qilian mountains, and the last part of the empire that the Silk road caravans passed before entering no man's land of western barbarians. As already mentioned in other posts, our group of four travellers entered this province on the overnight bus from Xining to Zhang Ye. We planned to visit Mati Si (with allegedly lots of hiking opportunities), Jiayuguan (the last stronghold of the former empire with magnificient fortress protecting borders), end of the Great Wall, and Qilian mountains and theirs glaciers. You can see below how did we succeed.

Day like no other
Although previous day spent at Dalai Lama's birthplace was highly valued by all of us as so far the best one of our trip (due to its spiritual and 'natural' qualities), it was trashed by the day that followed. At two o'clock we arrived to Zhang Ye where we quickly found accommodation and slept sweatly till 9.00am. Afterwards we hopped on the bus to Mati He (a crossing 9km far from our ultimate destination). After unsuccessful negotiation of taxi (called by friendly farmer) fare - I personally think we overpaid but who cares when the fare is less than starting rate at any western European capital - we successfully negotiated our accommodation (10 kuai or 1 euro per person - I had never ever paid so little price for overnight stay - not including my homeless foyers at Scotland, New Zealand, in the US and Spain in no particular order :).

What followed was as surreal as any picture of Dalí. We waited one hour for a meal that ultimately smelled like puke (allegedly mutton and mushrooms), hiked in the best nature all of us have yet seen in China (not only were the waterfalls beautiful and magnificent, valleys deep with green, but also the meadows covered with yellow flowers were picturesque just like some Austrian postcard), had the photosession with bunch of Tibetan monks (all the so called 'supermodels' have no clue about the art of pose for picture), had dinner in traditional Tibetan tent with 100% original Tibetan girls, and danced with totally drunk Han tourists. Besides that, our Norwegian backpacker from the first paragraph, had an eye-to-eye discussion with one of the drunks each speaking in a different language (Chinese versus English). Obviously both had a good time as they settled their differences on a dance-floor. Tired and totally speechless we put ourselves with the vision of early morning wake up call in order to a catch bus to Jiayuguan.

Edge of the Empire
On our way to the ancient city, which still strongly resonates as the end of the civilisation in minds of most of the Chinese, we encountered our first herd of camels (50-100 heads strong). Same day we managed to negotiate visits to the fortress, through which caravans and expelled artists passed into oblivion, and the reconstructed last part of Great wall all for price of 60 kuai - 6 euros). For the first time we also experienced so called factory in the middle of nowhere phenomenon - here in Gansu and also in Xinjiang you can find factories churning up fumes of black smoke up to he sky. These factories are literally in the middle of nowhere without any city in their vicinity. Next morning came the highlight of my bargaining career so far as I managed to negotiate even lower price for cab drive to the glacier and back (each road c. 130km on gravel road). 360 kuai (36 euros) is 10 per cent better than two years old Lonely Planet suggests :) This puts me in good position to finally stop overpaying for fake market T-shirts and fabric market shirts.

The way up to the glacier is a story by itself. It is 4 hours drive with average speed of 40km per hour (in case you hire a taxi and not a four wheel drive Toyota). It follows gravel road for good 75 per cent of the way and offers some breathtaking (altitude caused and panorama caused) views. Of course our overweighted small cab overheated and cooling pipes exploded into face of our driver. Partial shower was delivered to me and our female Norwegian companion (no harm done to any of us). The most laughs gained speedy exit of our Norwegian backpacker as he was sleeping in the car. His reactions can be compared to those of a koala (slow and slower :). Anyway our humiliated driver (as he could not hold up to his end of the deal) called for help his family and manually repaired his car while we were offered family limousine (true Guangzhou produced BYD - Build Your Dreams). We took turns in pitying this car forced to drive entirely inappropriate roads.

Glacier is 4,300m above the sea level. We spent there good three hours hiking and exploring rocky country of Qilian mountain range and soaking in sunlight (therefore sunburned noses upon our return :D. On the way back we were fed fair share of dust from trucks transporting iron ore from local mines and resisted any attempts of our poor driver to increase the price. If he did not asked for it he would probably get it as we estimated that this trip put solid two years on his cars (usage-wise).

Sands of Dunhuang
As I already mentioned, western Gansu is mostly desert country with southern borders copied by Qilian mountains. From Jiayuguan we hopped on the bus to well known Dunhuang where we intended to visit those famous Budha grottoes at Magao caves. Again we succeeded in negotiating 'fair' price for tax hire - 120 kuai (12 euros) for three sites - Moon crescent lake and Mingsha shan (sand mountain on the outskirts of the city) and Mogao caves (30 km from the city proper). Although a bit disappointed by Crescent lake and commercialisation of the area by money seeking Han people, we found our breath swept away by the magnificence of towering sand dunes of sand mountain.

The greedy hawkers asked money just for use of ladders leading up to the dune top - which is pure exhortation and should be ignored completely. On the top of the dunes we could overview kilometers of sands leading up to the horizon. Furthermore, we witnessed meeting point of oasis and desert - wonderful sight. As this was my first desert I have ever seen, views made the strongest impression on me from all what we saw in Gansu.

Mogao caves were afterwards a little disappointing as Chinese reconstruction and preservation made their original features unrecognizable (curently, a modern meter-thick wall covers the sand stone in which are these caves carved). We undertook Chinese tour as no student discount was offered on foreign language tour although all four of us possess Chinese university IDs. The reason why did I for the first time shout on an adult man who completely ignored my modest and calm requests for explanation why rules of admittance are not followed (it is written that foreigners should pay extra 20 kuai for foreign language guide to the price of their ticket - which we were happy to pay). We visited 10 caves with various Budha statues from different periods and influences (from Tibetan to Nepalese, and from Qin to Tang dynasty) as well as cave 17 where great amount of ancient manuscripts were discovered and later exploited and exported to the safety of European museums (items left were lost or given as bribes to various official upon their transport to Beijing - only small amount of mostly less valuable scripts reached ultimate destination. All-in-all Mogao caves with their huge two Budhas (c. 40 meters high) are something comparable to combination of Leshan giant Budha (the worlds biggest) and Dazu caves and reliefs.

After the Dunhuang visit we boarded overnight train (soft sleeper) to Turpan, in Xinjiang province, where we intend to explore more. This soft sleeper was the first time in more than five days we got good quality sleep without any hustle (no bus or early morning wake up calls). Gansu province left fond memories in all of us as we were deeply impressed with its nature variety and fondness of its people. Turpan marks ultimately our last day of 'American' tourism for us (hiring the cars and letting ourselves to be transported around. This is mostly due to the fact that there are no other option and our schedule is thougher than though. More on Xinjian and its cities in following days. Enjoy!