Dec 4, 2012 - The Buddhism in China

Chinese Buddhism with a history of about 2,000 years has been playing important role in forming the outlook of the Chinese people in terms of philosophy, politics, aesthetics, literature, and so on. Buddhism was first introduced to China from India in the early part of the Eastern Hart Dynasty and it flourished after the 4th century. Chinese Buddhism integrated the ideas of Confucianism, Daoism and other indigenous philosophical systems, and what was initially a foreign religion came to be a significant part of Chinese civilization wilt its...

Nov 30, 2012 - Urumqi-Northwest China

After finishing my Beijing Xian tour, I travel to next destination-Urumqi. It is the capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, lies in a large flat valley near the middle of the Tianshan, or Celestial Mountains.It used to be a dust-filled town, with streets that became a quagmire in the thaw that followed the savage winter. Now it is protected from the wind by belts of trees around the outskirts, has paved roads, flower gardens at the intersection of the streets, and shade trees to protect pedestrians from the furnace like sun. Even so,...

Nov 29, 2012 - Turpan, China

The 112-mite journey southeast from Urumqi to the oasis of Turpan takes half a day by road. Turpan was an important town, for it once stood on the "Silk Road" where the northern and southern routes separated. The northern route skirted the northern foothills of the Tianshan mountains, and wound its way to Tashkent, through Central Asia, to Southern Europe. The southern route skirted the southern foothills on the other side of the Tianshan range, and led to Kashi, then through the Pamir range to India. It was along the southern route that...

Jun 23, 2012 - Chinese and Russian carry on luggage

Sorry to anyone who missed me or thought I'd gone missing. I've been internetless with plenty of other mishaps and adventures in between! I left Guangzhou for the long flight to Ashgabat via Urumqi in Western China. I ended up sitting in the plane for 2 hours as they attempted to repair it, not a good start. Finally it was decided to change planes. The reason this became evident was because this plane actually flew from Urumqi to Moscow. Changing planes though was no easy feat. Just about every Chinese passenger had these boxes of fruit....

Jun 10, 2011 - 9 June Heavenly Lake

On 8 June we left Urumqi for 2 days at Heavenly Lake, a couple of hours drive north. Heavenly Lake is set in the Tian Shan mountains and we stayed in communal yurts with local Kazak herders. It was a beautiful setting with the lovely deep blue waters of the lake surrounded by mountains, and so peaceful with no traffic or noisy jet skis and boats on the lake. I wonder how long till this changes. Our host "mum" looked after us well, cooking meals on an open fire with very few utensils. Meals were mainly rice or pasta with spicy vegetables...

Jun 7, 2011 - 7 June - Urumqi

We've just arrived in Urumqi in western China, after a 25 hour train trip. The route skirted the northern edge of the Taklamakan Desert and I was surprised to see irrigated areas next to the train track. But most of the scenery was dry and dusty, with a lot of motorway construction and what looked like mineral extraction going on. As we booked our seats late we were all spread out through a couple of carriages, and only the top bunks were available. Our compartment mates were a Chinese couple - she slept most of the time and he went next...

Jul 7, 2010 - Silk Road -- Urumqi

We took a flight to Urumqi from Kashgar. In Urumqi, we were greeted by our guide for the day, Alim. He brought us to this Uyghur restaurant with delicious food! We sipped pomegranate juice and ate all sorts of specialties. I am back to vegetarian, so I couldn't try everything, but the eggplant was particularly good! After everyone had finished eating, Andrew gave his first of three lectures on this trip. We learned all about the "mummies" -- or, actually, desiccated corpses -- found in the desert of the Tarim Basin. His lecture focused on...

Jul 13, 2008 - First stop on the Silk Road

We left Beijing without a problem and spent two nights in Urumqi (pronounced oo-loo-moo-chee). While there we saw some natural wonders and went to a museum containing artifacts from tombs. The city has a diverse population with a high percentage of muslims. At the night market I took some pictures of fruit at different fruit stands. At a melon stand the seller wanted to see the pictures and liked them very much. He had me show his two female companions and they thought the melons looked beautiful. The two women let me take a picture of...

Jul 9, 2008 - Urumqi

Although it is only a three-hour bus ride between Turpan and Urumqi, there is a world of difference between the two cities. Obviously there is the difference of size. Urumqi is the Xinjiang Provincial capital, and has a population of approximately 3 million. It is a modern city, with steel and grass skyscrapers, congested highways, fashion malls and those pesky, yet convenient, American fastfood outlets. It is also an oil city that attracts Russian, Pakistani and Kazakh businessmen (there are very few businesswomen in this neck of the...

May 18, 2008 - Urumqi

After 17 hours on the sleeper bus we arrived in Urumqi, a modern city which has pretty much lost any feel of being a Silk Road town. After the Xiahe disaster I've decided I have time to go to Kashgar so I bought a ticket at the train station and stayed at a nearby hotel. Found a decent pub (the Fubar) in the evening, run by an Irish guy named Manas who has been in China for over 5 years. Pleasant evening playing pool and drinking Japanese beer.

Aug 12, 2007 - All alone in Xinjiang

As of yesterday evening, when my labmates waved goodbye to me (with worried looks on their faces!) at the Dunhaung train station, I have been on my own. While they got on the train to begin the long journey east back to Beijing, I caught one west, to the town of Urumqi. Trivia answer: Urumqi is the furthest place in the world from an ocean (2250 km). If that doesn't fulfill the definition of "middle of nowhere", I don't know what does. First, a brief introduction. Urumqi is the capital of Xinjiang province, the most western province in...

Sep 1, 2005 - Cruzamos el Taklamantan!

En China uno tiene que aprender a relativizar los conceptos de espacio o tiempo. En China uno se da cuenta que dos puntos cercanos en el mapa no significan nada. En China nada significa que entre Hotan y Urumqi nos han tocado 20 horas en autobus (y porque cogimos el express, la otra opcion eran 25 horas) el trayecto mas largo que yo haya hecho nunca hasta el momento. Pues vaya record, no? Lo que salva que este trayecto pase de ser una tortura a algo realmente apetecible es el hecho de que la carretera que une las dos ciudades pasa por el...