On to Turpan

Another morning on the train and when we arrived at Turpan, we met our new guide.
She explained the ethnic variations:
* Han- Lake Blakash to the Altain Mountains—Great Wall
* Hui- Chinese Han with Uighur and Arab and Islam
* Tajiks- ethnic Persians- speaking Persian

She also gave us some perspective on life in the Uighur Autonomous Region of Zinjiang.
* The military is in business. They own their own grape fields and produce their own wine
* The “Cultural Revolution”—from 1965-1975. They didn’t have any TV’s in her town until 1980—when her grandmother got the first black and white TV.
* University students couldn’t learn anything but the teachings of Mao. After the Revolution, they had to go back to the university to get re-certified.

We visited the Karez (ganats), underground irrigation canals. This ancient irrigation system is comprised of a series of wells and linking underground channels that use gravity to bring ground water to the surface.

In Turpan Country, there are over 1000 miles of tunnels. Keeping the underground channels unclogged is an ongoing task. Two men and a draught animal work as a team- one man is lowered down the shaft to clear the tunnel and the buckets of mud are hoisted to the surface by a rope haltered to the animal.
Then, we stopped to see the Emin Minaret. The minaret, made of mud brick is 44m high.

We asked our guide to drop us off at a typical Uighur restaurant. We were still on Beijing time so rather than 12:00- it was 10:00 am in Turpan.

She ordered for us and we got dinner for 20 for < $10.00…all inedible. The staff of 1 grew to a staff of 12 as more dishes were put on the table. The best dish was pasta ropes with mystery meat. The others! —chewy “bean jelly” noodles, stringy kebabs, dishwater dumpling soup. Embarrassed at leaving so much food, we paid the bill and ran out of the restaurant- having snubbed all of their food.

We walked through the bazaar—very very very hot…107 degrees—and we were lost. John negotiated a 60-cent taxi ride with some local Uighurs. I thought the price was too high- but John overrode me. We taxied to John’s Info Café and had cold beers. Mike, the Scottish guy from Dunhuang, was there, following the same tourist track. When 8 Chinese Mafia types arrived at the bar, we decided to beat a hasty retreat.

At 4:00 (2:00 Turpan time), we headed to another “1000 Buddha Caves” (a.k.a. Bezeklik 1000 Buddha Caves).

To get there, we drove through the Flaming Mountains with spectacular colors. The caves were fairly disseminated by the Moslems and the Germans so there wasn’t too much left to see.

Then it was on to the Astana Tombs, the Tang dynasty burial ground.

There were 3 tombs containing the dead of Gao Chang. Because of the dry climate, the bodies have been remarkably preserved - 700 AD mummies and a 130-year-old couple.
More riding through the Flaming Mountains. We are becoming flaming tourists…pink was the color of the day.
We headed to the ancient city of GaoChang and took a 2-km donkey cart ride through the ruins of the city.

The site is one of Han Dynasty ruins elaborated during the Tang Dynasty and was the 9th C capital of the Uighurs.

On the site is a wonderfully preserved Manichaean temple. The Manichean religion was established about 300 AD in Persia. Persecuted by the Persians, they fled to Samarkand and founded a community.
Back at the Oasis Hotel, we grabbed some beers and spring rolls with mystery filler (ketchup was the sauce).
Two showers—one ice cold, one scalding hot….

More Info from our guide;
* Minorities are allowed 2 children in the city, 3 in rural areas. Chinese only allowed one.
* The Tibetans get free medical, pay no taxes—and still hate being ruled by the Chinese.
* 2 scripts—Arabic (Uighur) reading right to left and Chinese reading left to right.
* Uighurs can send their children to either Uighur schools or Han Chinese schools. At Uighur schools, they learn Chinese- but typically can’t find a job. At Chinese schools, they learn Chinese, Russian and English and typically get a good job.

We tried the Oasis again for dinner and beers. This time, we ordered a cheese sandwich and got a ham and egg club with no explanations. When we asked the manager, he explained, “Cheese is finished”. This was beginning to sound familiar. It was a lot like the cold shower in Dunhuang; the explanation, “The boiler was temporarily broken that morning--from 10-11:00”…. but the water was still cold at 10:00PM.