Turpan, Fri., Sept. 6

Fri., Sept. 6

The Road to Turpan:
Again, we drove onto the main highway through the desert, leaving the smog and dust of Urumchi behind. No traffic jams this time, however. The highway from Urumchi to Turpan is a small leg of the much longer Route 312 that travels across China from Beijing, through Urumqi, into one of the "Stan's," then across Russia to Moscow. ( Some 4,000 miles, I believe). Built in the 1990's it is a major trade route now, along with a railroad, that runs a somewhat similar course, and ends up in Amsterdam.

"Nodding Donkeys," pumps to extract oil are fairly common sights

 We traveled through a flat stony desert for miles, flanked by the older narrow road. Apparently, many people still use the older, slower road because the tolls are very expensive A railroad runs along nearby that connects Urumqui with Beijing, also built in the late 1990's. The railroad is elevated along this whole stretch, which I'm guessing is to prevent getting covered by soil in a dust storm. China is the process of building  a high speed railway to

Car carriers in front of a windmill farm

Beijing, which is another sign of the increased development of western Xinjiang Province.

Checkpoints:
As we were to discover, there are numerous checkpoints along these major highways. Sometimes they involved just driving slowly through as a series of video cameras registered the vehicles. But, sometimes the bus would stop and the driver would present his paperwork. Later, as we crossed regional borders even our passports were collected and checked with a pre-approved list of passengers aboard our bus. In fact, as we neared Tashgurkan later in the trip, we had to walk through the border office with our passports - even though we were still about 15 miles away from the actual Chinese-Pakistani border. (Which we were never allowed to go near, by the way.)

Future Development:
During the 1980's China began to open up to the Western World, which coincided with the fall of the Soviet Union. Also, the Central Government of China began to realize the mineral wealth in this region, which includes China's largest oil fields, natural gas, coal tin, lead, copper and gold. The Government started to develop the region with mining, manufacturing, and building infrastructure like roads and housing. In fact, three oil pipelines carry oil from the Taklamakan Desert to major cities, including Beijing, in the east. We passed several large areas dotted with “nodding donkeys,” our guide’s nickname for the oil pumps that rock back and forth as they pull crude out of the ground.

Culture Clash:
This growth encouraged the migration of several million Han Chinese from the east who came for better economic opportunities. Before this time the local ethnic groups lived fairly

 

traditionally, but they have quickly adapted to the modernization in some regions. This has led up to inevitable tension with the local ethnic groups, mainly the Uyghurs who have been displaced and pushed aside in the job market. In addition, the Government has torn down their local neighborhoods in the inner city and disbursed them into outer areas of the city. 

Poor Wilbur:
Along with the many huge trucks, were many cars, buses, and sometimes smaller trucks with cows or sheep jammed in the back. One very sad story was a truck loaded with 4 decks of pigs probably on their way to the slaughter house. At a rest stop we watched the driver walk around prodding them with a long metal pole, which seemed unnecessary to me.

After about 40 miles, after passing a large salt lake we began to climb and go through  a low mountain area, still very arid. The only scrubby vegetation to be found was near an almost dried up riverbed. The mountains, more like badlands, rose up next to the road for about 10 miles, then we were deposited back onto a very flat desolate landscape until we reached Turpan. Gradually fields of green began to appear and then we reached the city.

Changes in Turpan:
Although Turpan retains a lot of its agricultural and historic roots, the city center has sprouted many high rise buildings, which loom over the small remaining adobe homes in the old neighborhoods. Luckily, the local Government is attempting to replace some of these homes with similar style buildings, rather than the blocks of nondescript apartment buildings seen in many Chinese cities. The catch, however, is that many displaced people cannot afford to move back into the city center because that real estate has become too expensive. A similar problem in many cities worldwide. Meanwhile, as in many Chinese cities, huge new apartment and industrial complexes are being built in the surrounding areas.

Local mosque

The Unused Airport:
Recently, a new airport has been built, again, in anticipation of the region’s future growth and development. Although currently little used, Turpan will provide an alternative to Urumchi’s airport, some 40 miles away when Urumchi’s dust storms and winter fog closes down their airport.

Freshly picked grapes

Grapes, and More Grapes:
An ancient city on the Silk Road, Turpan is an oasis town, surrounded by fields of vegetables and many vineyards. It is well known for its grapes, most of which are dried and sold as raisins. Being a predominately Muslim region, the local Uyghurs do not drink alcohol, so all that potential for making wine is passed by here.

The Family Courtyard:
Many of the homes are actually a series of buildings surrounding a large courtyard, next to the family's vineyard. Many are old sometimes several hundred years old, made of adobe, mud and straw brick. The compound consists of the family's house, as well as additional buildings used for storage and housing livestock. Often there is a second floor building as well, with open spaces in the walls to allow ventilation for racks of drying grapes. The roofs of these building have piles of brush used for kindling, lumber, and all sorts of household items being stored when not in use. In

addition, there are often beds on the roof that the men and boys (not enough privacy for the "delicate" women and girls) that are used during the hot summer to escape the heat.

Rooftop buildings for drying grapes to become raisins

Inside of a family compound - above are rows of drying grapes

More drying grapes

"Photogenics"

It looks like quite a shambles up there, but its quite functional, especially considering they do not have basements or garages. Often along the dry, dusty residential roads are trenches where the Karez water still flows and is used by the locals. We witnessed kids playing in the water, people washing themselves and clothes, and even a carpet being washed in it, although I doubt they drink it.

More "photogenics"

Take our Picture:
As with everywhere so far in China, the people are curious and friendly. Few Western tourists come to Xinjiang, this furthest western province, so we are a bit of a novelty. Local people often stop and stare at us, and often when we take photos, they will ask to see them. Sometimes people will ask us to take a photo of themselves with us, which is quite endearing. The other day, Kathy and I were walking across a bridge and a man with his two children asked us to take photos of his kids, then he wanted us to be in the pictures, too. Another time we were in a market, and asked if we could photograph several of the vendors. They wanted to see the pictures, and as we were showing them a crowd gathered to see them. There were a few instances, however, where we were waved away as we asked to take photos. Predictably, the more traditionally dressed women with face coverings, and full burkahs, did not want to be photographed. (This didn’t stop me from catching a few shots on the sly, however.)  Meanwhile, I think I have taken over two thousand photos, and have whittled them down to about 1,300, so far.  But there's still a week to go.

A proud mom

A Local Uyghur Family:
On the way back to the hotel we stopped to visit a local family. Their typical family compound in what we would consider the suburbs of Turpan consisted of a large courtyard with trellises of grapes growing overhead, an outdoor cooking and eating area, a sectioned off area with a shed for sheep and perhaps goats or a cow, a living area for the family (which often included grandparents and perhaps a third generation) and various storage buildings. Beyond the compound were their grapevines and melon and vegetable gardens as well. Their main summer occupation is growing crops and grapes, while during the fall the grapes are dried and sold as raisins. They raise a small number of grazing animals, which are kept in the compound during the frigid winter months, and either sold or eaten.

Platform and table for fruit tasting

Raisins and Melons:
Spread out on two huge tables were samples of different melons, similar to cantaloupes and honeydews, and several different types of raisins that they produce, all delicious. The outdoor kitchen was rustic, but functional, with running water and sink, a charcoal, or coal cooking stove, and utensils, and of course, the teapot. After we sampled their fruits, we purchased some raisins and dried melon, which we are still snacking on a week later. 

Sheepskins curing with salt

Raisins drying on the rooftop

Ancient City Ruins of Jiaohe(Yar City):
Near Turpan are several ruins of cities that were important towns along the Silk Road. Late in the afternoon when it cooled off down to the high 80's, we visited  the ruins of Jiaohe, or Yar City. Built on a high plateau, it was naturally protected by the two rivers that surround it. One of the very interesting things is that the buildings were excavated  down into the soft rock, essentially making them caves. Archaeological finds date back past 3,000 years,  however, it grew and became important as an administrative, military, transportation and communication center along the Silk Road about 1,500 years ago. 

Remains of a government building catch the late afternoon sun

A walkway through Yar, the Buddhist temple is in the background

The remains of a Buddha, (missing its head from the Muslims)

The city of Yar was located on a high cliff surrounded by two rivers.

The city walls and four gates protected the inhabitants from invaders. Sentry posts once stood along the city walls. Inside, you can follow ancient streets as the remains of the walls of homes, warehouses, courtyards and large government buildings can be seen. A Buddhist city, Jiaohe once had a huge temple with a large square around it. Also, we walked past the remains of a burial ground, a monastery and stupas, small religious structures. Later, the Uyghurs inhabited the city, but it was abandoned by the thirteenth century and the desert reclaimed it.

A Quiet Peacefulness:
As most of the tourists had already left we were able to freely walk  around the ruins virtually alone. The sun, partially hidden by hazy clouds, gave a golden hue to the already rusty colored rocks. Seeing the doorways into buildings and looking through windows helped me imagine how it once was. It was fascinating, beautiful, peaceful, and just a little eerie to know that tens of thousands of people once lived in this thriving city.

Almost eerie seeing these old abandoned ruins....

Let the Dancing Begin:
That evening we had dinner at a local Uyghur family's home. They put out a great spread, which was followed by a group of musicians and  dancers playing their traditional
instruments. The flamboyant costumes of the dancers were typical of their native dress. We learned that both the musicians and the dancers were just amateurs, that simply enjoyed their music and dance. Music is a big part of their culture and we saw this firsthand with the two very young children who sat and clapped to every song. It was a warm balmy night, as we sat under a grapevine trellis, eating all this great food, entertainment and finishing with local melons for dessert. 

A traditional favorite is dancing with a pile of cups on the head, with water in them, and not spilling a drop (or losing the cups!)