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)

In one of my last entries I had already mentioned that Hetian was famous in history for its production of silk, jade and carpets. Despite the incredible heat in the city, I nevertheless decided to leave the hotel and find out whether the city can still be called the City of Jade, Silk and Carpets or not. Decide yourself - here is what I found:

Carpets


One of the carpet factories in Hetian


Carpet weaving




Some working steps before

Jade


The Hetian jade trading centre


Merchant praising his jade


Jade in different shapes and colors. The pure white is the most precious.



Silk


Silk cocoons


Silk threads


76 years old - started this job when he was 15.


Spindle - more than 200 years of history


Fast with the hands...


...and also with the feet


The finished fabrics are sold at the Bazaar



---------------------------------------------

Do you still remember “La Grand Dame” from Dushanbe? Well, I discovered a similar refreshing oasis right in the heart of Hetian. It is not French, the owner would probably call it Venetian. He wanted to call his Café “Marco Polo”, unfortunately he did not get the permission to do so. Now it is called “Marco’s Dream Café” (Well, I have to admit I would have also preferred Marco Polo, but it shouldn’t be the name of a place making you decide to go in). The Café was opened in 2007 by a Malaysian couple. Both of them, as well as their two little daughters, speak English without accent. When they came to Hetian, they worked for an American NGO, and later decided to open the Café. All of them are very friendly and usually come over for a chat. They offer Malay food, but also some Western things – I tried the chicken with ginger rice. Best of all was the desert, a chocolate strawberry cake and REAL coffee – soooo good!

I told the owner that I was really happy in this moment – Pilaf and meat on a stick since weeks already – I couldn’t stand it anymore. Now I would finally get a piece of good cake. “That’s just what I told the Chinese when they asked me why I would open a Western-style Café in Hetian. When western foreigners arrive in Hetian, they will long for western coffee and cake!” I have to say he was more than right…

For anyone who should ever make it to Hetian, please check out this place. It is located just around the corner of Tuanjie Square 团结广场. It is a little hidden, but you can recognize it by the small wooden coffee tables and chairs standing in front of their window. They will also be included in the next Lonely Planet.

Yes, correctly – I am not in Qiemo as expected. When I went to the bus station in Minfeng in the morning for getting on a car to Qiemo, I was told that the street was closed due to heavy sandstorms and other reasons. I should wait until noon. Just about one hour later I was told that the street would not be opened again until at least the day after tomorrow and I should better return to Hetian. Well, what to do? In one of my earlier itineraries I had included Kuche on the northern Silk Road which is famous for its Buddhist Grottoes full of mural paintings – Kizil. Due to the time I took it out though. However, now I had to go back to Hetian and I did not know if or when I would be able to go to Qiemo. As I had other things on my plan, I just decided to continue my journey on the northern part of the Silk Road, taking a flight to Kuche and then continuing to Korla – bringing me back on the originally planned route. But before I would leave for Korla, I still had one day left in Hetian…


Back in Hetian

My day started at 9 o’clock Xinjiang time in Hetian (Khotian). I checked-out the hotel and took a cab to the eastern bus station. When I got there I was told that there were no buses heading for Minfeng today, only small cars. As they were only about 20 RMB more expensive this was not a big deal. I was the first passenger on this taxi, so I had to wait until the car was full – I sat about two hours in the burning sun until we got on the road…After a three hours ride through the open desert I arrived in Minfeng. As I got out of the car I was immediately surrounded by a knot of people, everyone staring at me, once in a while one of them said “See, it’s a foreigner! What does he do here?” Fortunately Minfeng is not a big town, according to one of its inhabitants just as big as his hand, so it was only a few steps to the hotel I had booked last night. Actually there are only two streets in this city and my hotel was located right at the intersection, down town so to say. It has the beautiful name “Very Happy Hotel” (好幸福宾馆), I think that was one of the reasons why I picked it. When I entered my room I even realized that there was internet which made me very happy!

Some of you might ask themselves why I stopped in this city right in the desert? Well, the main reason for this was a small museum which I found by chance on the internet – the “Niya Museum”.

The Ruins of the lost city Niya are located about 115 km north of Minfeng on the southern edge of the Tarim Basin. Numerous scriptures, sculptures, mummies and other archaeological finds such as architectural remains have been uncovered here. The Niya oasis was once a major commercial centre on the southern branch of the Silk Road where many caravans had to cut through on their way to the east or the west. I had really looked forward to seeing this museum. When I arrived in the hotel I asked the lady at the front desk about it. Unfortunately she had never heard about it. When I asked her about other interesting things to visit in the city she told me there is actually nothing to see. Well, I did not give up yet. I left the hotel, crossed the street, walked about 50 m in southern direction, and, et voilà, was standing in front of the museum…well actually in front of a tall fence surrounding the building. I was lucky again! I saw that the entrance was opened, so I just had to wait until someone eventually would come out which, happily, did not take long. A veiled lady in a long skirt came out, I frantically waved at her – I was lucky she did not call the local police – and came over to me. I explained her that I came from very far away and that I would really love to see the exhibition. She told me I had to wait for the director of the museum – only he could decide on this. Well, I was very positive and waited in front of the gate. About half an hour later the director really came. As I was about to fall on my knees and try to convince him to let me in, he just waved at me and said “LAI!” (Come!). That was easy! Well, I was the only visitor since weeks. The director went to his office to get the key, he opened the doors to the holy rooms and the alarm set off. Hmmm! The director stayed very calm, he just went back to his office and turned off the alarm – he seemed to have practiced this procedure before. He came back and said “NI KAN!” (Take a look!) Well, I entered the exhibition and another veiled lady was following me step by step – after about half an hour she switched off all the lights again and asked me to leave…at least I got this half an hour!

What to do now? I wandered through the streets and almost caused several accidents as cyclists fell off their bikes when they saw me. I thought I should better go inside, so I went into an internet-café. Unfortunately people without a Chinese ID are not allowed to surf in Minfeng County so I eventually ended up back in the hotel where I stayed until it got dark outisde. As I was looking for a nice restaurant, all the people sitting on the streets stopped talking instantly as I passed them…some of them sad “The foreigner again!”. I finally found this small place across the street. I went in, the people stopped talking and I sat down immediately. The staff was really surprised and did not know how to handle me. I decided to say something in Chinese to break the ice. From now on everything was okay. Many questions came from the other tables “What the hell are you doing in Minfeng? There is nothing to do here…there is a museum? Never heard about it.” Which working unit are you from? I decided to tell them that I came from the archaeological working unit – they were quite impressed! Ah, you are one of those guys who plunder tombs…you must be rich, having lots of precious things at home. As I was eating I enjoyed the atmosphere in the restaurant – people were spitting on the ground, they were drinking and shouting at the waitress to hurry up…just like in the old days!

After dinner I was still the witness of a donkey-cart accident – happily nothing happened to the animal…


"Very Happy Hotel"


The Donkey

The present-day city of Hetian (Khotan) was once a Buddhist kingdom located on the southern edge of the Taklamakan desert and one of the major points on the southern Silk Road. The city was built on an oasis, known for its many mulberry groves allowing the production and export of silk and silk rugs. Besides, the city became famous for the most precious jade found in China. Many merchants crossed and stopped in this city exchanging their goods from the east and the west. As I came into the city, I realized that it hadn’t lost much of its charm – still, the city is dominated by merchants. I was lucky, as I got to Hetian on Monday, the day when one of the largest bazaars in China is taking place here.


Waiting for customers


Cut and go


Bargain bin Hetian-style


People everywhere


Xinjiang Province - famous for its watermelons


Street dentist


Tired after a long working day


After-work rush-hour