The western end of the Great Wall


Lush meadows of Jiayuguan...


Jiayuguan...


...the first pass at the western end of the Great Wall of China


Brown - dominating color of the Hexi Corridor

Dunhuang...

...1000 Buddha Caves (Mogao Grottoes)

...Sir Aurel Stein and the hidden manuscripts of cave no 17 - explorer or thief?

...The best noodles with donkey-meat in China

...Soaring sands on the edge of a high rising dune

...Sand, sand, sand......and.....sand


The Echoing Sand Dunes 鸣沙山


Nothing but sand


This land is ours...

After a short breakfast we are driving to the Iron Gate Pass 铁门关, once an important post on the Silk Road which had to be passed by the caravans to continue further to the east or the west. What had been a narrow canyon for a long time, is now turned into a water reservoir supplying the whole area with electricity. Small boats take you on a ride over the historical site and a guide gives you some background information. After the boat trip you can climb on a close-by mountain offering you a beautiful view over the landscape. As it was a national holiday today, the roads were quite packed with people, all hoping for a relaxing day in the nature.


Tiemen Post water reservoir

The next stop brought us right into the Taklamakan desert, an area which is believed to have once been settled by the Lop People. The scenery looks like on a film-set, trees and a small lake right in the middle of the soaring sand-dunes. Some of the visitors take a camel ride through, others decide for the flight in a paraglider. We take off our shoes and hike up the dunes to get a glance of the surrounding sands. The sand feels really hot at the beginning, but becomes quite comfortable once getting used to the temperature. While I am walking up the sand-hill, I somehow feel like in my kindergarten-time, wanting to build a large sand-castle…probably the largest one in this world.


Settlement area of the ancient Lop people


Camel-trek in the Taklamakan Desert


Sandbox for grown-ups

On the way back to Korla, we make a last stop at the Luobuzhuoer-Museum, dedicated to the history of the region. An archaeological highlight of the area was the find of the Yingpan-Cemetery. Already Sven Hedin was here at the beginning of the 20th century. I am struck by the sight of the mummy of a young child which passed away at the age of about four or five years. It is lying there, seeming to wake up from its long-lasting sleep any second…

Despite the heat, we end our day in a restaurant close to the hotel – we are having a steaming Chinese hot-pot with fish…

Yes, I did make it to the next station of my itinerary! And yes, I have to admit that I doubted this after I got the message at the airport that my flight would have a delay. Anyway, after a flight of only about 40 minutes and some heavy turbulences inside a sandstorm, I arrived in Korla – the capital of the Bayin'gholin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture. The airport was one of the smallest ones I have ever seen in China. Somehow I felt like in one of those black and white movies when I left the aircraft on the staircase and walked over the runway to the waiting hall. There was only one hall, so everything worked out quite fast.

After I checked-in the hotel named “Rose Hotel” we went for dinner. Some of you guys might not like me anymore when I tell you know what I ate – I ATE A CUTE TURTLE! Yes, I can’t deny it! And you know what...I even documented everything with my camera – me holding the shell of the turtle with my chopsticks! I AM AWFULLY SORRY! PLEASE FORGIVE ME! You want to know what it tasted like? Well, something like chicken…
After dinner I took a stroll through the city – a city much different than any other places I have seen in Xinjiang. Very green, clean and a beautiful river inviting the people for pleasant walks or romantic boat-trips for two.


Finally arrived in Korla...


Boating on the river


Balloons for everyone


Night market full of food


Korla at night...


...sooo romantic ;)

Sometimes I ask myself why the hell I choose an area like Xinjiang for my project. Whatever plans you make, you never know if you will be able to carry them out, may it be due to political reasons, or like in most of my cases, because of nature. Everything looked quite nice when I left yesterday morning from Hetian. The sky was blue, the temperatures were great and I arrived at the airport in time for my flight to Urumqi. I had already prepared a book for the time I had to wait for my connecting flight to Kuche, which was about 3 hours. Well, it did not come as I expected. After I wanted to check in my luggage again, I was told that this was not possible yet. I should wait some more time. When I asked about the reasons I was told that there was a sandstorm raging in the Kuche region, nobody knew how long it would take. AGAIN, NO! Well, I sat down, continued reading and hoped...hoped for almost four hours until I got the final message that my flight as well as many others were cancelled. It was not sure if flights would leave the next day, so I decided to stay in Urumqi and book a new flight to Korla for the 1st of May. At least I get the refund for my ticket and the time in Urumqi for a needed haircut and some work which had to be done...Please keep your fingers crossed that everything will work out with my flight tomorrow...


Sandstorm over Xinjiang (Photo by Xinhuanet)