Pingyao, Louyang and the Silk Road
Trip Start
Aug 08, 2008
1
13
Trip End
Aug 31, 2008
London, England, United Kingdom
Monday, July 6, 2009
Two hundred years ago Pingyao was a vibrant banking and trading centre in the Qing Dynasty, but failed to prosper in the modern age. During the 1960's and 1970's it didn't have the funds to participate in "revolutionary" development programmes underway in most of China's cities. Pingyao officials had planned to demolish much of the town and build new roads, but decided to leave it untouched. In 1996, the Chinese Government decalred Pingyao a national historical city, which provided it with state protection and funds. Eleven years later it became a World Heritage City. It is now a welcome relaxing counterpoint to China's bustling modern cities. Its delicacies include: red dates, yellow wine, vinegar and braised beef. We sampled the moon cakes - a hollow and crispy sweet pastry that melts in your mouth.
Pingyao
Fisherman
Over the next few days with the help of Julia and Peter we explored Pingyao inside and out, literally. It is a quaint place and is like stepping on to a film set. Old grey buildings with tiled sloping roofs, red lanterns hanging from the ornately carved eaves, narrow streets lined with shops filled to the brim with dusty curiosities. The locals sit in clusters in the middle of the streets playing cards and mahjong (upturned cardboard boxes doubled up as card/mahjong tables). All of this is framed by the City Walls originally built during the Zhou Dynasty. The rammed earth and brick structure makes up an unbroken circuit of 6.2km around the city in the shape of a turtle - the six city gates represent the head, tail and limbs.
We visited Armed Escort museums (housing relics used to carry huge sums of money from one place to the next); Draft Banks; Financial Institutions; The Chamber of Commerce Museum; The Newspaper Museum and The Confucian Temple. We also stumbled on preparations for a wedding. A street was adorned with giant red and yellow inflatable pillars. We were invited into the wedding house and got a glimpse of the groom,as well as the wedding presents (they had got a plasma tv). The wedding bed had six duvets (six being a lucky number). One day we witnessed another gaily coloured procession headed by a band - unfortunately, it was a funeral!
We ventured outside the city walls on bicycles and cycled 7kms to Shuanglin Temple, a fortress-like structured Buddhist temple complex originally built during the Northern Wei Dynasty (220-265AD). It was more hairy cycling within the city walls than outside of them. Motorcyclists and cyclists whizz out of the side streets without looking!
FRIDAY 12 JUNE 2009 - DESTINATION LUOYANG - We boarded an overnight train at 1.30am along with a young German couple travelling independently. We awoke at 7am - the Chinese National Anthem was blaring out over the tannoy system. We arrived in Luoyang at 9.30am. Tian, our guide, welcomed us and took us to the hostel, or so we thought. We cringed as we pulled up outside a shady looking apartment block on the outskirts of the city. It was a "homestay" - Tian's flat, which he shared with Chifan, his 14 year old son.
View from our room
It was very clean and we had our own room. We spoke via an interpreting programme on the PC! With no time to waste, Chifan kindly took us to a local restaurant for lunch (steamed dumplings) and then went back to school! We used Luoyang as the gateway to Longmen Caves (aka Dragon Gate Grottos) and the Shaolin Temple.
LONGMEN CAVES - The grottos are regarded as the most famous treasure houses of stone inscriptions in China. There are over 2,300 holes and niches, 2,800 steles, 40 pagodas, 1,300 caves and 100,00 statues. Most of them are the work of the Northern Wei Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty. Most of them,however, are in a poor state having been decapitated and destroyed in the cultural revolution.
Temples
SHAOLIN TEMPLE - We had to haggle the price for the bus ride to the Shaolin Temple. Luckily for us, Tian had written the going rate in English and Chinese on a piece of paper. Not sure what else he had written, but the bus driver backed down and we got the going rate! En route to Shaolin we visited Mount Songshan Scenic Area, which included Zhongyue Temple and Songyang Academy. Shaolin Temple, the birthplace of Zen Buddhism and the home of Kung fu,is situated in the beautiful Songshan mountains. It was established in 495. Bada, an ancient monk came to Luoyang to spread Buddhism. Emperor Xiaowen was a believer of Buddhism, so he decided to build a temple in the Songshan mountains to house Bada. Damo, the legendary indian monk and creator of Chinese Zen arrived at Shaolin temple in 517. But he was not welcomed, so he sat in a cave facing the wall for nine long years. An image of his shadow was left on the wall. The cave is now called Damo cave.
There is a saying that all martial arts come from Shaolin. The long tradition of martial arts at Shaolin began when an armed group of monks was assembled to protect the temple from wars or riots. The temple was built during the feudal age when warlords divided and ruled each region of China separately and murderers, bandits and thieves were commonplace. The monks, however, soon found favour with China's emperors. In 620 AD, 13 Shaolin monks saved Li Shimin, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty and thereafter Shaolin soldier-monks were employed to defend the honour of the chinese nation.
Sholin Monks
We watched a Kung fu show where the soldier-monks performed hand technique and kick and feet technique. They displayed various weapons including the famous shaolin stick.They broke pieces of wood with their bare hands, smashed swords in half over their heads and popped a balloon with a needle through a pane of glass. They also performed movements representing animal behaviour, e.g. tiger, snake, dragon and monkey. Burning incense filled the temple grounds. One temple houses 500 Buddha statues painted in garish colours, some of them very grotesque.
We were well fed in Luoyang thanks to a young girl. She saw us looking bewildered and showed us to a good restaurant. She helped us order food before she excused herself. She was very kind and so genuine.
SUNDAY 14 JUNE 2009 - DESTINATION XI'AN - we said goodbye to Tian and Chifan and caught an eraly morning train to Xi'an. During the journey one of the guards sat with us for over an hour to practise his English. He also taught us some chinese. It was rather comical, but he did very well and now speaks English with a Lancashire accent!
We arrived in Xi'an at 2.30pm and booked into our hotel. That evening we met our new travelling companions for our journey along the Silk Road.
Xian South Gate
JOURNEY ALONG THE SILK ROAD
This was our second visit to Xi'an is the space of two weeks, but a poignant moment. We cycled to the monument that marks the starting point of the Silk Road. We pedalled through the hustle and bustle of the Muslim Quarter, squeezing past carts and tuk-tuks. The sandstone monument is slap-bang in the middle of a busy highway and depicts travellers and a camel train. We also viewed the Small Goose Pagoda, a 15 storey pagoda built in 707. It is said that a violent earthquake in 1487 split the pagoda from top to bottom, but another in 1556 brought the two sides back together!
Small Goose Pagoda
Silk Road Statue, Xian
TUESDAY 16 JUNE 2009 - BANISHED TO JIAYUGUAN - We still had time to explore Xi'an before embarking on the Silk Road. We met Spark and his Mum, Muriel (who had just finished a whistle-stop tour of Beijing and Xi'an) and visited the Shanxi History Museum. Some imposing Terracotta Warriors were on display, as well as ornate artefacts, including engraved wine flasks. A particular striking one is in the shape of a saddle-bag etched with horses holding cups in their mouths. We parted company with Spark and Muriel at the nearby Great Wild Goose Pagoda.
Spark, Wendy, Murial and Judith, Big Goose Pagoda
We boarded the overnight train to Jiayuguan and to our surprise found ourselves in soft-sleepers (first-class). Our journey took us through the Hexi Corridor (the geographical boundary between China proper and the West). The landscape was fabulous - arid desert, green oasis and black-hued mountains.
Jiayuguan and its fort represent the wild west frontier of Ancient China. In centuries past there were many levels of capital punishment, the highest being death by decapitation or strangulation. The next level of severity was banishment for life. This was further sub-divided in severity by 5 levels, each measured in li ( a Chinese distance measurement), the worse the crime, the higher number of li you were sent from Beijing. Jiayuguan was the worst of the worst, being in the land of barbarians and criminals.
We visited Jiayuguan fort, which was built in 1372 to defend a pass between Qilian Shan and Heishan. At the Jiayuguan Pass Gate the pain of banishment was etched onto the walls by scholars, heartsick at being separated form all they knew and loved. In the adjacent museum we met Michael, a 7 year old Chinese boy who spoke very good English with an American accent (he had learnt English by watching movies). He delighted in guiding us round the inner and outer ramparts of the fort pointing out the bowmens turrets and pavilioned watchtowers. The outer ramparts once housed barracks, storehouses, a temple to the God of War, a theatre and a freshwater spring. The whole fort was also surrounded by a defensive ditch. We had a go at shooting arrows from the turrets. The targets were two sack dummies in the coutyard below. We would not have made the bowmen squad! We also dressed up as soldiers in full battle regalia and brandished our swords and spears.
Cheers
Great Wall
Fort
Soldiers
We climbed a section of the Jiayuguan overhanging Great Wall, the north-west extremity of the (ming) Great Wall. The wall is now completely restored and starts at desert level climbing steeply to the Heishan (Black Mountains). We got a panoramic view of the area and saw and heard the 'goings-on' in a nearby military firing-range.
FRIDAY 19th JUNE 2009 - DESTINATION DUNHUANG - In the early days, Dunhuang was a key trading post along the Silk Road. The name means "blazing beacon" and is very apt - it definitely gets scorching hot there! Following the victory of Chinese generals over the Xiongu, Dunhuang was turned into a fortress and settled by the Chinese. Trade continued and the city propsered. It was taken over by Tibetans in the 7th Century, but they were driven from the Hexi Corridor a century later before becoming territory of the Uyghurs. Two more takeovers ensued: by the Mongols in 1227 and once more by the Chinese Qing Dynasty in 1760.
Dunhuang
HIGHLIGHTS OF DUNHUANG
Camel riding at the Mingsha Sand Dunes was out of this world. We got up at 5am to experience scenery just as you imagine the Silk Road to be. We mounted camels and rode to the crest of the silky smooth dunes and watched the sun rise. It was magical. Only the bells on the camels broke the silence. The crescent moon gave way to the golden sun, the rose tinted sky turned a China blue and white, wispy clouds got in the act too. After dismounting the camels we climbed to the top of a higher dune via a man-made wooden walkway and then slid down it on wooden trays! Our footwear left a lot to be desired - we had to wear orange calf-length sacks over our shoes. We looked like scarecrows!
Camels
Sand Dunes
Swapping camels for bikes, we cycled to Dunhuang Ancient City 20kms southwest of the city, right out in the desert. It is actually a film set less than 10 years old, and rather tacky, but is firmly on the Chinese tourist trail. We had fun getting there. Sections of the road were being resurfaced and the tar melted in the heat of the sun. It was like pedalling through treacle.
Film Set
Cycling in the desert
We had to ask for directions a couple of times. One lady flagged down a taxi and the driver attempted to put Dan's bike into the boot of the taxi, thinking we wanted a ride! The top attraction of Dunhuang is the Mogao Caves - the richest known source of ancient Buddhist relics in the world spanning back over a millennium. The caves lie in a tiny valley oasis at the foothills of the Mingsha Mountains, 25km southeast of Dunhuang City.
Caves
Most of the richest were taken by foreign archaeologists, aka "foreign devils". Still, many of the caves are in a decent condition. We saw murals, painted sculptures, big buddhas, manuscripts and paintings. One of the caves had only opened to visitors on 01 June 2009 and we were fortunate to be allowed access.The "market" life in Dunhuang is fascinating. There is little pressure to buy in the attractive souvenir market, so we browsed at leisure. There are loads of handcarts piled high with a wide variety of dried fruits and the colours are great. The local market sells fish, chickens, donkey and camel. The speciality foods include, camel tendons and stir-fried hump, and noodles with donkey meat. We dined al fresco at one of the foodstalls in the night market. It was firece competition - a lady from a rival stall urged us to defect, but we daren't break the rules and stayed put!
The White Horse Pagoda is a 9 tiered structure dedicated to the steed that carried a monk from Kucha along the Silk Road.
Overnight train
MONDAY 22 JUNE 2009 - DESTINATION TURPAN - Turpan lies in the second deepest inland depression in the world. It is the hottest city in China. Anciently called Huozhou (land of fire) its climate has not changed. It is extremely hot in summer (highest record in history is 49.6). The rainfall is low (average annual precipitation is 16mm). When it does rain it doesn't touch the ground because of the high evaporation, hence the name "dry rain"! Although the climatic features are extreme, a 2,000 year old irrigation system has kept Turpan alive. The Karez ("well") is a vast system of hand-dug underground channels that funnel the melting snow of the Tian Shan Mountain into Turpan. The unique natural environment gives Turpan a gift of producing a variety of fruits (e.g. grapes, sultanas and melons). The grapes have the highest sugar content in the world (up to 26%).
Turpan's history is one of constant struggle between the barbarian hordes of Mongolia, Central Asia, Tibet and the sedentary dynasties of China. The area was converted to Islam in the 14th Century. This increased the tensions with China and even now the city is divided into two sections: the Han dominate the new town; and the Uyghur population live in the traditinal areas. Many western archaeologists (foreign devils) came to Turpan in the 1900s attracted by the area's historic offerings and took tonnes of treasures and antiquities back to Europe.
Over the next couple of days we explored the delights of Turpan:
We visited a traditional Uyghur family house and had a cooking lesson. The house consists of a large square-shaped outside area, its walls and roof made from grapevines wrapped around trellises. The grapes were still green and would be ready in 15 days. Bad timing! We watched the lady of the house make noodles. She kneaded dough, shaped it into long strips and hand-rolled these into thin worm-like strips. It was very labour intensive. The daughters of the house prepared the vegetables and the man of the house watched over the pollo (a mixture of rice, carrots and raisins cooked in a huge wok). We sat on the floor at a low-set tables and tucked into a veritable feast. Afterwards we lounged on the carpeted floor and one of the daughters danced for us. Wearing a traditional outfit she looked very elegant and danced beautifully. Her father then did a chicken dance! He summoned Gary to the dance floor and we cheered as he strutted his stuff.
We also visited the Uyghur village of Tuyoq where we saw how the locals live. A man was barefoot and ankle-deep in mud, making mud-bricks. Other villagers rode round on little trucks, beds stood outside the houses (it is too hot to sleep inside).
Village
The spectacular flaming mountains are a sight to behold. The red sandstone hills are most famous as the setting for episodes of the chinese show, "Journey to the West" (better known to us as the Monkey Magic TV show). Under the blazing sun, the red rock glows and hot air curls up like smoke as though it is on fire. It is breathtaking and looks like a painting - there is a green oasis in the foreground, the flaming mountains behind and all of this framed by snow capped mountains - a masterpiece!
Flaming Mountain
We entered the Bezeklik Thousand Caves, once an important centre for Budhhist worship. In their hey-dey there were up to 70 caves here. Unfortunately, many of the caves were desecrated by the Muslims, then the foreign devils and the Cultural Revolution. There are still things to see and the fantastic mountain setting makes it worthwhile. Outside one of the caves was a man strumming a small rawap. He sounded like a Chinese George Formby!
We trekked to the ancient city of Jiaohe, which is perched on top of a raised land segment (shaped like a huge ship) at the confluence of two rivers. Under the heat of the blazing sun we toured the remains of streets, houses, courtyards, a monastery and an infant cemetery.
Oasis with snow topped mountains
WEDNESDAY 24th JUNE 2009 - DESTINATION - HEAVENLY LAKE - It was a hot and windy day and the wind turbines were turning at full pelt. We made a detour in Urumqi and visited the museum, which houses some mummies - very interesting. We arrived at our destination at 6pm, but the cable car to the lake had just closed, so we took a golf-trolley. As we walked up the last stretch to the Yurt camp we were speechless. A jade coloured lake, green forested hills and snow capped mountain peaks greeted us. It is like an old-fashioned chocolate box cover. For a split second we thought we were in Switzerland, not China! We settled into the yurts (big circular tents with a tiled entrance area and a raised living/sleeping area). The only blot on the landscape was the shared toilets, i.e. a field overlooking the lake accessed via a hole in a barbed wire fence. At least we got a good view! That evening the rain clouds moved in and it rained for a while. Then a glorious rainbow appeared stretching from one side of the lake to the other - fairy-tale land. That evening our dinner was rudely interrupted. Michael and Maria had to leave the group and go into hiding because they had registered their presence with photocopies of their passports rather than originals (the originals were at the consulate in Urumqi for visa purposes). The police insisted they leave, so they were driven to a safe house 3 hours away!
Yurt at Heavenly Lake
Heavenly Lake
At Heavenly Lake
The following day we explored the lake, i.e. the gushing waterfall and the Western Goddess Temple. The weather took a turn for the worst and it hail-stoned. We sought shelter in the warm kitchen of the lady who ownned the Yurt camp. The fugitives also returned safe and well with passports and visas. That evening Judith celebrated her birthday a day early. She was overwhelmed because the group had gone to alot of trouble to make it a special occasion. They presented her with a cake of mini cupcakes complete with a candle and some beautiful gifts.
FRIDAY 26th JUNE 2009 JUDITH's BIRTHDAY - DESTINATION KASHGAR - We left the Yurt camp in the early hours. Goats were being herded up the mountain by men on horseback. One of the men had a goat slung across his lap and two kids in the pockets of his saddle-bag.
We boarded the train to Kashgar at 12.57pm and settled own for a 24 hour journey! We marvelled at the scenery as the train snaked its way through the Takelamakan desert. At one point you could see both the front and back carriages of the train. We whiled away the hours with a few glasses of wine. A little girl on the train sang "Happy Birthday" to Judith. She was very sweet, but the cupcake that Judith gave her seemed to give her a sugar rush and she was still awake long after we had gone to bed!
We arrived in Kashgar on the 27th JUNE and at the hotel were serenaded by singers and dancers - a nice touch. Kashgar is fascinating and we enjoyed our stay here. It is a blend of old and new. Our HIGHLIGHTS included:
Strolling round the streets of the Old City where shops sell shiny pots and pans, and the aroma of freshly baked bread and bagels fills the air. The bread is displayed on shelves outside in the streets, resembling huge dinner plates resting on welsh dressers. Men were having wet-shaves and their beards trimmed on the pavements. Women sported mono-brows. There are many 'tooth gaps' in the streets because the Chinese Government is demolishing the Old City and rebuilding new apartment blocks in an attempt to modernise and to withstand earthquakes. On one occasion we stumbled on a wedding and were invited to join the party. A man was cooking a huge dish in a huge wok outside in the street. We declined politely, but accepted huge chunks of juicy water melon.
Kahgar old City
Kashgar Streets
Sipping tea in a traditional tea-house. It was a far cry from the Ritz, but authentic. We climbed up old stone steps into a large room with a grubby stone floor. We sat outside on an old wooden balcony and watched the world go by. We were served bright yellow tea from old teapots. It was very sweet and went down a treat. From our vantage point we could see a real sleeping policeman in his van!
The Sunday Market
Kashgar Market
is billed as the most mazing market in Central Asia. An assortment of people flood into the city to buy, sell and trade horses, sheep, camels, clothing, boots, hats, food, furniture and miscellaneous stuff. We saw butchers chopping up cows - their heads and intestines in piles under the stalls; goats tethered to a line standing side by side; cows and bulls being herded to designated areas; people baking bread; animal troughs made from wood and tyres; and a wide variety of vegetables. Traders tried to sell us knifes, whips and bells. The Bazaar is also worth a visit. There are rows and rows of stalls selling all sorts of paraphanelia including: material, scarfs, hats, pots and pans, knifes, mirrors, dried fruit and nuts.
Lake Kalakuli is a good trip. We went by jeep and enjoyed the drive. Huge flaming mountains are on all sides and are a multitude of colours that change according to the sun and the time of day. We saw different hues of reds, greens, browns and purples. At the lake we were mobbed by locals to go on a camel ride (1 yuan per minute). Burly men dressed in green padded overcoats and furry hats asked us to pay an entrance fee of 50 yuan each (5 pounds). It was a scam - one man whispered in Judith's ear that he would let us both in for 50 yuan! Our driver was on the ball and drove us further down the road and out of sight of the ticket sellers. We got out of the jeep and explored the lake unnoticed. The wind swept into our faces as we walked and it started to snow (it was like being back in Lancsahire). It was stunning - rocky terrain, sand dunes, wild straggly haired camels roaming free, yurts dotted here and there, snow covered mountains periliously close, and of course the huge expanse of the lake. We spoke to some locals building a yurt from camel and yak hair. They invited us to stay the night and offered us a ride round thge lake on a motorbike (for a price). We bumped into two young lads who looked frozen, their faces were very chapped, but they were still smiling.
Lake Karakuli
Yurts at Lake Karakuli
We had a fabulous trip to the Ouyitage Glacier
Glacier
(120kms from Kashgar). The surrounding countryside is very alpine-like. We walked through the little village at the foot of the glacierwhere people were going about their business on donkeys, horses and motorbikes. The motorbikes whistled down the hill (engines turned off) and children were having donkey ride races up and down the one path. Unfortunately, you are not allowed to walk on the glacier, but we climbed up to a high ridge where we sat on a huge rock and ate lunch. We had the best table in the house - the view was magnificent - rolling hills, fir trees, mountains, snow, blue sky and sun.
The Apak Hoja Tomb (5kms from Kashgar) was built in 1640 and is one of the key cultural relic sites under state protection. Apak Hoja, a great missionary in the 17th Century, Aji Muhammad and Yusuf his father, as well as five generations of Hoja, numbering 72 people are buried here. It is said that Xiangfeil, one of Emperor Qianlong's imperial concubines is also buried here.
The Id Kah Mosque in Id Kah Square was built in 1442 and is one of the largest mosques in China with courtyard and gardens capable of holding 20,000 people. We watched hordes of people entering the Mosque on Friday, the Sabbath.
The People's Park is a good place to relax. Opposite the park is a large statue of Chairman Mao. Watch out for the fake trees though!
We also enjoyed the fair. We had a spin on the ferris wheel and a ride on the dodgems.
Food and funny goings-on in the night - We enjoyed the food. We dined at the ORDA restaurant and sampled giant kebabs. We had almost finished and had had our fill, but somehow had managed to order the same meal again! We managed to cancel the second order, much to the consternation of the confused waitress! Our last supper in Kashgar was a hot-pot affair. We sat outside at a pavement cafe and cooked meat and vegetable kebabs in a pot of boiling water laced with chillies and spices. We washed this down with beer and taught the waiters to say "cheers"! It was a great night to end our travels on the Silk Road. It was even better when we got the bill - £5.00 for the both of us!
We didn't enjoy as much the late night phone calls from ladies of the night and their pimps. At one time they knocked on our door! Apparently, it is common practice in China.
SATURDAY 04 JULY 2009 to MONDAY 06 JULY 2009 - DESTINATION UK, VIA SHENZEN and HONG KONG
We had a 'bit of a to-do' with the taxi driver who took us to Kashgar airport. We paid him what the meter read, but he wanted more and wouldn't unlock the boot until we paid him. We refused and he caused a stir, attracting quite a crowd. Judith took his car keys from the ignition, but that didn't work. Eventually a kind policeman offered the driver the extra money, but he wouldn't take it, but he did unlock the boot and gave us our bags!
The taxi driver in Shenzen was more amenable (we agreed on a price and he kept his word). We landed in Shenzen in the early hours of 05 July and after some negotiation, shared a taxi with two very nice young men. We checked in at the Shenzen Loft Hostel at 3.30am. It was raining heavily - there had been a typhoon that day!
On Sunday (05 July 2009) we said farewell to Mainland China and crossed the border into Hong Kong. We checked in for Monday's flight to London Heathrow at the Airport Express terminal on Hong Kong Island. It is a 'super-duper' system and meant that we were "bagless" - we would be reacquainted with our bags in London! After lightening our load we visited our usual haunts in Hong Kong. We had a picnic on the roof of the IFC Shopping Mall overlooking The Peak. In the evening we drank beer overlooking Hong Kong harbour.
We bedded down for the night in Hong Kong airport. Our flight to the UK was scheduled to depart at 7.35am Monday 06 July 2009.
The seats in the airport aren't conducive to a good night's sleep, so were bleary-eyed when we boarded the flight to London Heathrow at 7am.
The twelve hour flight gave us plenty of time to contemplate our trip. We left the UK on 06th August 2008, have travelled through sixteen fabulous countries and have returned with great memories and friends to last a lifetime. We have lived a dream and our heads were still in the clouds, but then at 1.15pm on 06th July 2009 it was back to earth with a bump (literally) - OUCH!
THE END
