Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
September 17, 2018
Hotels in China
The hotels in China are happening. There are live plants in the hotel room, which was a first for me. Granted they were philodendrons, but they were still plants and alive.
A clear barrier into the bathroom from the bedroom is also becoming very common.
Another hotel with the clear barrier into the bathroom from the bedroom. I'll seeing a trend here.
Exploring New Meats...
They were all for sale at the train station store. Why not try them? I did, but honestly they were all processed and tasted very similar. I'm guessing the similarity was due to the same processing procedure and seasoning.
Camel Meat
Horse Meat
Yak Meat
Asian Food - After 10 months in Africa eating “African Food”…
The food in China was a welcomed change from Africa!! I feasted on noodle soup everyday and many times twice a day.
Whole raw garlic cloves with seasoned salt.
Tibetan influenced food made with yaks milk.
Vegetables for breakfast always!!
Breakfast soup <3 p="">
Nescafe in the morning; beer at night! <3 p="">
Evening train soup! Alway hot water available.
Circular tables! Spin and serve yourself.
Breakfast: vegetables, noodle soup and coffee.
September 16, 2018
Kashgar – Night Food Market
One the last evening of the trip, we feasted on Chinese Street food! It doesn’t get much better than this. The roasted goose egg was a first for me. I never had a roasted egg or a goose egg that I recall. I enjoyed it, even though I don’t especially like eggs. The Chinese know how to eat.
Kashgar City Tour
After visiting the livestock market, we explored Idgar Mosque, Abakh Hoja Mausoleum and Old Town. It was clear based on our experience that the security in the region has been escalated. There were a number of police checks and ubiquitous metal detectors. Reporting by New York Times provided the impetus for the heighten security. The region is currently experiencing a lot of social unrest as the Chinese government is trying to convert Muslims to communism.
The following are quotes from our tour brochure:
“Locked away in the westernmost corner of China, closer to Tehran and Damascus than to Běijīng. Kashgar has been the epicentre of regional trade and cultural exchange for more than two millennia. In recent years, modernity has swept through Kashgar, bringing waves of Han migrant workers and huge swathes of the old city have been bulldozed in the name of ‘progress’. Only a tiny section of the 'real' Old Town remains today, and is unlikely to survive for much longer.”
“On the northeastern outskirts of town is the Abakh Hoja Mausoleum, a 3-hectare complex built by the Khoja family who ruled the region in the 17th and 18th centuries. Widely considered the holiest Muslim site in Xīnjiāng, it's a major pilgrimage destination and a beautiful piece of Islamic architecture well worth a visit.”
“The Idgar Mosque is one of the largest mosques in China. It is extremely popular among the Muslims in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The Mosque was first built in 1442 and has a history of over 500 years. The building complex is in grand Islamic style, with strong religious features consisting of a gate tower, a courtyard, a doctrine-teaching hall, and a large Hall of Prayer.”
“Each day, between 2000 and 3000 people come here to worship, with this number increasing to between 6000 and 7000 every Friday. During religious festivals, the number of Muslims piously kneeling around the mosque reaches in excess of 40,000. Over the years, the Idgar Mosque has become a sacred religious place as well as a place for celebrating important festivals.”
Entrance to Abakh Hoja Mausoleum
Abakh Hoja Mausoleum
Very Persian...
Idgar Mosque
Our group: 4 Malaysians and 1 America. They all knew each other prior to the trip. I met Girlie Wong (woman in front of me) on a prior trip. She organized this trip and invited me to join. I'm glad I did.
“Locked away in the westernmost corner of China, closer to Tehran and Damascus than to Běijīng. Kashgar has been the epicentre of regional trade and cultural exchange for more than two millennia. In recent years, modernity has swept through Kashgar, bringing waves of Han migrant workers and huge swathes of the old city have been bulldozed in the name of ‘progress’. Only a tiny section of the 'real' Old Town remains today, and is unlikely to survive for much longer.”
“On the northeastern outskirts of town is the Abakh Hoja Mausoleum, a 3-hectare complex built by the Khoja family who ruled the region in the 17th and 18th centuries. Widely considered the holiest Muslim site in Xīnjiāng, it's a major pilgrimage destination and a beautiful piece of Islamic architecture well worth a visit.”
“The Idgar Mosque is one of the largest mosques in China. It is extremely popular among the Muslims in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The Mosque was first built in 1442 and has a history of over 500 years. The building complex is in grand Islamic style, with strong religious features consisting of a gate tower, a courtyard, a doctrine-teaching hall, and a large Hall of Prayer.”
“Each day, between 2000 and 3000 people come here to worship, with this number increasing to between 6000 and 7000 every Friday. During religious festivals, the number of Muslims piously kneeling around the mosque reaches in excess of 40,000. Over the years, the Idgar Mosque has become a sacred religious place as well as a place for celebrating important festivals.”
Kashgar Livestock Market
After breakfast around mid-morning, we’ll visited the Kashgar Livestock Market with farmers and buyers arriving by donkey cart, truck, bicycle, horseback, motorbike or on foot, with sheep (dead or alive), goats, yaks, donkey and camels, but no dogs, chickens or hogs (most are Muslim). No shortage of tourist existed. Tourist were plentiful, but the locals didn't seem to mind. The locals seemed to understand animal mentality.
September 15, 2018
Ürümqi -> Heavenly Lake -> Kashgar
After a morning tour of the Xinjiang Museum, we drove to Heavenly Lake a picturesque Alpine lake, 2000m up in the Tianshan mountain range (a UNESCO heritage sight), before catching a flight to Kashgar.
The following are quotes from our tour brochure:
“Xīnjiāng’s Museum is a must for Silk Road aficionados. The highlight is the locally famous ‘Loulan Beauty’, the first of half a dozen 3800-year-old desert-mummified bodies of Xīnjiāng's erstwhile Indo-European inhabitants. Other exhibits include some amazing silks, decorative arts, pottery and sculpture, a collection of white jade and an introduction to the traditions of each of the province’s minorities.” Definitely one of the better museums we visited on this Silk Road trip.
“Heavenly Lake Two thousand metres up in the Tiān Shān mountain range is Tiān Chí, a small, long, steely-blue lake nestled below the view-grabbing 5445m Peak of God. Scattered across the alpine pine and spruce-covered slopes are Kazakh yurts and lots of sheep. It was a paradise described in Vikram Seth’s wonderful travelogue From Heaven Lake; and still is for some.” It was estimated by one of the local officials that over 60,000 visitors visited the Lake that day. The clear, warm sunny autumn afternoon Sunday was the draw. By the end of October the lake is closed to tourist until time spring.
The following are quotes from our tour brochure:
“Xīnjiāng’s Museum is a must for Silk Road aficionados. The highlight is the locally famous ‘Loulan Beauty’, the first of half a dozen 3800-year-old desert-mummified bodies of Xīnjiāng's erstwhile Indo-European inhabitants. Other exhibits include some amazing silks, decorative arts, pottery and sculpture, a collection of white jade and an introduction to the traditions of each of the province’s minorities.” Definitely one of the better museums we visited on this Silk Road trip.
“Heavenly Lake Two thousand metres up in the Tiān Shān mountain range is Tiān Chí, a small, long, steely-blue lake nestled below the view-grabbing 5445m Peak of God. Scattered across the alpine pine and spruce-covered slopes are Kazakh yurts and lots of sheep. It was a paradise described in Vikram Seth’s wonderful travelogue From Heaven Lake; and still is for some.” It was estimated by one of the local officials that over 60,000 visitors visited the Lake that day. The clear, warm sunny autumn afternoon Sunday was the draw. By the end of October the lake is closed to tourist until time spring.
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