Public Zone 公開區 > Travelogues 遊記相薄

Silk Road, China 絲綢之路 (18 Apr - 3 May 2003)

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chin:
My family has been talking about traveling the silk road for some time. We eventually reconciled our schedules, and hired the service of www.travelchinaguide.com to arrange a private tour for our family.

As we got close to the planned departure date, the SARS outbreak was getting momentum and everyone changed their travel plans. We decided to go ahead with the original plan. As a result there were very few tourist "competing" with us in most of the places we visited. Of course some people jumped away from us at the moment they learned that we came from SARS infected Hong Kong.

It was a rewarding and fun trip. The only big surprise was food - it was much better than expected.

We traveled roughly like this:
-> flight to Xian
-> flight to Lanzhou
-> overnight train to Jiayuguan
-> overland drive to Dunhuang
-> overnight train to Turpan
-> overland drive to Urumqi
-> flight to Kashgar
-> return home via Urumqi & Xian

All the pictures were taken in color slides. Lots of the places are either desert or dusty places - therefore earth tone in nature. So I decided to turn all photos into black & white like.

chin:
This little hill in Xian is full of history and legends.

In the ancient time, it was the place where "teasing the warlords with signal fire (烽火戲諸侯)" happened. More than 2000 years ago, in the Zhou dynasty, the king had a new concubine who did not smile. To make her smile, the king lit the signalling fire that was to be used only in grave dangers. When the concubine see the horses and armies rushing to help the king, she finally smiled. The king got what he wanted, but lost his credibility to the warlords.

In the structures at the bottome is the famous Hua Qing Pond (華清池), where the emperor of Tang bathed with Concubine Yang. Yang is one of the most famous women in Chinese history, who is also at the heart of a tragic story.

More recently this was the site of a mutiny that resulted in a united front of Nationalist and Communist against the invading Japanese.

chin:
The terra cota warriors is a must see in Xian.

An ancient capital, Xian was the beginning and end of the ancient silk road in China (before the Ming dynasty.)

chin:
After one night in Xian, we arrived Lanzhou by plane. There are a few cultural heritage sites near Lan Zhou that date back to the days when Lan Zhou was a major stopover for the ancient Silk Road.

On our way to one of such sites, Ba Ling Temple, we stopped over to buy strawberries. It was the one fruit that we found in abundance and very cheap near Lanzhou. Good quality also. Great treat for us because in Hong Kong strawberries are imported from US and Australia and very expensive.

While we were buying fruit, this old man just sitting there looking at us buying strawberries. And very happy to be photographed. After the picture, he even offered me his newspaper wrapped cigarette.

However the sight of tourists is getting rarer and rarer in the weeks to come, as the SARS scare reaching its height. Everyday we heard about how tourist has dried up.

chin:
Lunch stop before visiting Ba Ling Temple.

Officers setup shop on the street to promote the traffic laws. I still don't understand how setting up desk and chair on the street side can promote the laws, but I guess that's how things work in the mainland.

(We will see even more strange government campaigns. Just read on.)

After I took a picture of the officers from the back, two kids near by promptly reported my activities to the police. (Who just brushed them off.) Pictured here are the two kid informants.

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