Ürümqi (pop 3.5 million) - Uyghur name

Wūlǔmùqí – Chinese name

Xinjiang – Uyghur Autonomous Region

Peoples Republic of China

June 24, 2017

Hello and Welcome to Nan Shan – The Southern Mountains,

In the parking lot of this popular tourist area seventy-five kilometers (46 miles) south of the city, young Kazakh women offer to take us to their summer yurts for tea or lunch.  Horseback rides are available as well as hikes through the grassland meadows up the mountainsides.

(Between May and October Kazakh families move their yurts into this area to graze their herds. Kazakhs are an important minority group in this area of China.  The border of Kazakhstan is just beyond the mountains.) 

Korla

Xinjiang-Uyghur Autonomous Region

China

June 26, 2017

Dear Friends and Fellow Dreamers,

Stand with me now at the Iron Gate Tower … and imagine ….

Imagine that behind us lies the Tian Shan mountain range.  Our Silk Road caravan has traversed the mountains carrying goods from Pakistan and the West.  Beyond the gate we face steep cliffs and even more mountains.

Please close your eyes.

Kucha

Xinjiang

China

June 27, 2017

Xinjiang’s most extensive Buddhist site lies in a riverbed 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of the modern city of Kucha.

The Ancient Ruins of Subashi date from the Third Century CE and includes towers, halls, monasteries, dagobas (domed-shaped shrines) and houses, all severely damaged by time and the elements of the desert.  Yet the basic mud brick construction materials are clearly evident.

The city held several thousand inhabitants but was sacked and burned in the Ninth Century and had been abandoned by the Thirteenth Century.

Kuqa City (pop 49,000)

Kuqa County

Aksu Prefecture

Xinjiang-Uyghur Autonomous Region

China

June 27, 2017

Sheep’s Head Stew.

Sheep Lung.

Lamb Ribs.

Grilled sandwiches: choose your fillings.

Blackberry juice.

At the Kuqa Night market, other items are more prosaic: fresh fruit and vegetables, kebabs and candy.

Tian Shan Grand Canyon

Kuqa County

Aksu Prefecture

Xinjiang – Uyghur Autonomous Region

People’s Republic of China

June 28, 2017

Dear Friends,

The Tian Shan Grand Canyon is a 5.5-kilometer-long canyon (3.4 mi) characterized by tall, thin pinnacles, massive buttresses, overhanging walls and heavily eroded red rock.

The canyon is 53 meters (58 ft.) at its widest point, but only 0.4 meters (16 inches) at its narrowest.

It’s quite easy to hike through the canyon.  There are some stairs to climb and some water to avoid.  But basically, it’s easy.

However, it’s quite difficult to describe the scenery.

Here is one description I found:

Kirzil Thousand Buddha Caves

Kucha

Baicheng County

Xinjiang

China

June 28, 2017

According to my guidebook, the Kirzil Caves contained some of the finest examples of Hinayana Buddhist art in Central Asia. *  Unfortunately, all the statuary and carvings are gone.  Even the frescoes were removed.  What remains are fragments of wall paintings.