Along the Silk Road (part 1--Urumqi and Turpan) (Oct. 2016)
The People's Republic of China was officially founded on October 1, 1949--as announced by Chairman Mao at a ceremony in Tiananmen Square. This event is commemorated and celebrated each year--National Day--during the first week in October. WE celebrated with not only a week off school, but also our first major "tour" here in China. As the masses headed to the train stations and airports and popular tourists sites (think Disneyland between Christmas and New Year's Day--and then add a few million people), we flew in the opposite direction--west--to the sparsely populated (only 23 million people) Xinjiang province, a minority area where around 53 different ethnic groups are living, including Russians, Kazakhs, Tajiks, Hui, Uyghur, Kyrgyz, Mongols, and Han Chinese. It is a mainly Muslim area. We traveled with a group of 44 BYU China teachers, all flying out of our various cities and converging in Urumqi on the evening of Oct. 1. We visited the Grand Bazaar (second in size only to the bazaar in Islamabad) before a traditional Chinese dinner (several varieties of local cuisine placed on a "lazy-susan" type device in the center of a table surrounded by 10-12 people) and a comfortable night in a surprisingly modern hotel.
October 2--Sunday. We received permission to hold a special Sacrament Meeting in one of our hotel rooms, so we all assembled, had a prayer and Sacrament song, and received the Sacrament (I know it was Conference Sunday in the states, but Conference Sunday here is on the 9th, so this particular Sunday was a routine Fast Sunday for us). I was quite touched at the STRONG spirit that was with us in those close quarters as we prayed and sang together. The music (I Stand All Amazed) was beautiful in four-part harmony and no doubt carried down the halls of the hotel. It was clear that many others felt what I was feeling, as I saw many, many people wiping their eyes. It was a very special moment that I will never, ever forget and a "legal" opportunity for us to share, through song, our testimonies of the Savior and His love for us.
Following our little meeting, we went to the museum in Urumqi and from there to Yar City, the ruins of an ancient city on the silk road.
As the sun set, we rode in the bus to Turpan, where we had another Chinese dinner and checked into another hotel, this one a bit more "rustic"--first hotel room I've ever stayed in that provided a fly swatter (needed!)
October 3--Monday--a windy, dusty, blustery day! Visited more ancient ruins (sounds like Rome again, right Jack and Gants?), explored a Uyghur village, marveled at an ancient Chinese irrigation system, and wandered around a 1000-year-old mosque. You can click through the pictures:
The area is filled with vineyards--and more varieties of grapes than I knew existed were being dried and sold EVERYWHERE--even on the roofs! I do have to admit, though, Nate--the vineyards in Napa are more inviting! While everyone in our group had been purchasing raisins from various stands all day, Brigg and I had already decided that we didn't want any. I did, however, break down and buy some from a woman who let me take a peek at her baby--sleeping away in a makeshift swing/cradle. I know, I'm a sucker!! (Click on the pictures below)
Brigg was fascinated with the construction of the roofs--clearly they do not worry about the rain (this is a desert). I found myself quite fascinated with the mud used in the bricks and mortar--see the straw that's mixed in? (very Hebrews-in-Egypt-like)
Can you see the straw in the mud in the close-up above? Now look at the shot below from the ancient city--same process!
And now you can click through a few more shots of our time in Turpan, including our view of the "Thousand Buddha grottoes" while hiking up to a Uyghur cemetery--and ending with your view of our accommodations on the sleeper train to Dunhuang. Note the shared "facilities"--one per train car (and trust me, you DIDN'T want to see this in the morning!) I sure didn't want to be visiting too often during the night (can you say "self-imposed dehydration"?) I actually threw away the slippers I wore into the potty. And thank you, thank you to whoever invented hand sanitizer! They don't have soap here in any of the bathrooms!! (They don't have warm water, hand towels, or toilet paper either, but we'll save that for another post . . . .)
