Ray, Silk Road. June 7,8,9, JIA YU GUAN….HEXI CORRIDOR AND DUNHUANG
We visited the underground tombs of the Wei and Jin Dynasties (200 to 300 AD). Only one is open to public. There are over a thousand in the Gobi Desert (Gobi means gravel and sand desert). Beautiful tombs….35 feet underground, 3 rooms, filled with gorgeous paintings of everyday life and of course missing implements, jewels, etc which have been stolen. They are in perfect shape, constructed of dry laid brick and the design is similar to a pizza oven accept each room can accommodate about 10 persons. The painting on the brick makes me think of early Picasso…simple flowing lines giving a sense of life on the move. Paintings of herders, butchering, making silk, cooking, playing etc. Biggest ongoing problem is protecting from grave robbers one for obvious reason and other is if improperly opened they either collapse or the air destroys many of the artifacts.
PM visit to the Jia yu guan fortress and the end of the Great Wall. The wall directed all traders through this wall going both E and W on the Silk Road. They could sit here for months awaiting a passport as officials determined the tax they would pay. The wall is enormous and looks out on the Gobi Dessert. Construction is of pounded mud inner walls up to 30-40 ft thick and the outer was as thick but brick.
The wind blows strong year around, in fact China is building the world’s largest wind farm out there somewhere.
Then on to the “hanging wall” which is a totally reconstructed section of the Wall that funnels all traffic to the fort and is the highest point in the region. They have reconstructed it to perfection (more Disney style and John Sandy would have a heart attack). Another of the group had a birthday tonight…Camellia…very nice in an outdoor place with the same cake and candle and little girls showed up and gave a gymnastic show out of the blue.
Wed. we crossed the Gobi desert…7 hours by bus. It is gravel/sand with camel shrub so sort of grey green. Guide in fact says the Gobi desert is in Mongolia and this is the Gebi desert(gebi means gravel and hard pack which is everywhere). Tends to be irrigated all along the road back about 2000 feet on both sides for much of the way. Bus drivers are required to change every 3 hours as it is so monotonous that you tend to become hypnotized. Some of the wrecked vehicles along the way attest to the wisdom of having no accident.
We drove by the world’s largest wind farm under construction…..at least 2 hours of driving and it never let up. When the Chinese decide to do it they go big. They are also planning a similar site for solar electricity generation. It seemed like a steady stream of massive trucks going both ways carrying large piping, machines etc. These trucks are as long as a double in the states.
It is so dry that everyone is complaining of sore nose/sinus. AM and PM quite cool but mid day to 8PM very hot ( We are in Dunhuang (Don-hong) now and it again looks a prosperous city(41C).
Last eve visited the Crescent Lake and sand dunes…the dunes are 300-600 feet high and very impressive…everyone goes at sunset as the light changes are very impressive. I declined the camel ride to the top and did not walk up…sore heals from the hanging wall walk yesterday. Again the Chinese have turned it into more of a Disney site…landscaped, lots of kitch, and even plastic tree trunks…yuk. Tom and I took an ultra lite plane over the dunes ….beautiful and damn scary...they did not mention that the winds are quite nasty late in the day and it was a wobbly turn and landing but worth the view…lots of adrenalin and fatalistic thoughts when he hit the wind currents. Have invited Tom and Allison to visit in Aug before Julie’s event, they may stop for a day on the way to Nova Scotia.
Today the Buddhist caves, then 3 hours to train station to catch a 1:30 AM train which arrives at 5:30 so it will be a brutal night for sleep.
Dragon lady is now gently being moved from room to room among the single ladies….as no one wants to have her as a room-mate. Rest of group is quite easy and interesting…I now refer to Brian the skinny eater as the “cleaner” as he eats whatever is left over on other’s plates in addition to his own. And get this, his wife will actually go to other tables scouting for uneaten food for him toward the end of the meal.
We visited the Buddhist Magao ku caves South of Dunhuang. A must see, they are from the 4th to 10th century more or less and in much better shape than I imagined. At first glance it appears the Chinese have constructed a complete facade of cement stairs and entrances….then you realize it protects the caves which were otherwise exposed to the elements and deteriorating quickly. Can’t really describe the color and drawings, the two Buddha’s (which the Chinese refer to as the 1st and 2nd largest in the world…remember the Taliban blew up the largest). Caves vary in size from very large 40 by 40 by 40 to 70 feet high and all painted (murals using blues, green, red, yellow, white, black, aqua etc. . We saw at least 4 that would rival the Sistine chapel…smaller but remember 4 -6th century. Many of them are allowing visitors for limited times, when the humidity gets too high they are locked and others are opened, so no two visits are likely to be the same. We had an excellent guide/historian. In one from the 5th century they had painted all the different races and ethnic groups that passed thru…including Caucasians, blacks, Arab, over 40 different representations. Many of the paintings have a halo around the Buddha and his students.
This PM we did some more shopping and a little damage to the wallet….then another foot massage for the group and a meal. At 10:30 we took a 2.5 hour bus to some other city to catch the 1:30 AM train to Turpan…of course it is delayed so we boarded at 3:30AM, We are all exhausted and it is now 9AM and still bunked on a hard sleeper (dorm style…6 to compartment…me and 5 single women and I have bunk 9…which means good luck in Chinese…guess I will wait to get home to try my luck). We are now at the 2nd lowest place on earth (500 feet below sea level) and it is bleak, grey, and dark brown and no green in sight. We all experience incredible sinus pressure from being so low and hot(44C).
A Chinese teacher practiced her very excellent English with me for 2 hours in the train station. Thought it was interesting when she said that she seldom has a chance to practice, as Americans are shy or into themselves…”why don’t they want to talk to us?” She asks. She was forty….looked 25 and headed to Shanghai with 40 other teachers. Fascinating that in China the education structure is similar to ours even down to family and loans pay for college and most student’s graduate with debt. She also mentioned that people are now more open, playful with each other and with foreigners than 10 years ago. She credits the change to prosperity not necessarily to a change in govt policy. They certainly have created a large middle class that is quite prosperous.
Some observations of China: They spit in public…anywhere they just hawk it and ”spit O” on streets, in concerts, entering any facility, train station waiting room etc. Another observation is that I have yet to see a policeman with a gun; they carry walkie talkie and sometimes a baton…no cuffs. Hard to figure. Same with military presence, I see none with the exception of two busloads and some that have insisted they have their picture taken with me. Even the guides ask if I am a military man!..funny maybe the shirt I wear…I asked and they said it is my build (I am liking china!). Our first guide took to calling me a CIA person and it has become a running joke between us as he, as so many Chinese, have a great sense of humor and love to tease.
We enter Turpan soon to see the underground irrigation system built 2-3000 years ago and still operating along with some other sites which I am not up on. See you in Turpan.
Ray
PM visit to the Jia yu guan fortress and the end of the Great Wall. The wall directed all traders through this wall going both E and W on the Silk Road. They could sit here for months awaiting a passport as officials determined the tax they would pay. The wall is enormous and looks out on the Gobi Dessert. Construction is of pounded mud inner walls up to 30-40 ft thick and the outer was as thick but brick.
The wind blows strong year around, in fact China is building the world’s largest wind farm out there somewhere.
Then on to the “hanging wall” which is a totally reconstructed section of the Wall that funnels all traffic to the fort and is the highest point in the region. They have reconstructed it to perfection (more Disney style and John Sandy would have a heart attack). Another of the group had a birthday tonight…Camellia…very nice in an outdoor place with the same cake and candle and little girls showed up and gave a gymnastic show out of the blue.
Wed. we crossed the Gobi desert…7 hours by bus. It is gravel/sand with camel shrub so sort of grey green. Guide in fact says the Gobi desert is in Mongolia and this is the Gebi desert(gebi means gravel and hard pack which is everywhere). Tends to be irrigated all along the road back about 2000 feet on both sides for much of the way. Bus drivers are required to change every 3 hours as it is so monotonous that you tend to become hypnotized. Some of the wrecked vehicles along the way attest to the wisdom of having no accident.
We drove by the world’s largest wind farm under construction…..at least 2 hours of driving and it never let up. When the Chinese decide to do it they go big. They are also planning a similar site for solar electricity generation. It seemed like a steady stream of massive trucks going both ways carrying large piping, machines etc. These trucks are as long as a double in the states.
It is so dry that everyone is complaining of sore nose/sinus. AM and PM quite cool but mid day to 8PM very hot ( We are in Dunhuang (Don-hong) now and it again looks a prosperous city(41C).
Last eve visited the Crescent Lake and sand dunes…the dunes are 300-600 feet high and very impressive…everyone goes at sunset as the light changes are very impressive. I declined the camel ride to the top and did not walk up…sore heals from the hanging wall walk yesterday. Again the Chinese have turned it into more of a Disney site…landscaped, lots of kitch, and even plastic tree trunks…yuk. Tom and I took an ultra lite plane over the dunes ….beautiful and damn scary...they did not mention that the winds are quite nasty late in the day and it was a wobbly turn and landing but worth the view…lots of adrenalin and fatalistic thoughts when he hit the wind currents. Have invited Tom and Allison to visit in Aug before Julie’s event, they may stop for a day on the way to Nova Scotia.
Today the Buddhist caves, then 3 hours to train station to catch a 1:30 AM train which arrives at 5:30 so it will be a brutal night for sleep.
Dragon lady is now gently being moved from room to room among the single ladies….as no one wants to have her as a room-mate. Rest of group is quite easy and interesting…I now refer to Brian the skinny eater as the “cleaner” as he eats whatever is left over on other’s plates in addition to his own. And get this, his wife will actually go to other tables scouting for uneaten food for him toward the end of the meal.
We visited the Buddhist Magao ku caves South of Dunhuang. A must see, they are from the 4th to 10th century more or less and in much better shape than I imagined. At first glance it appears the Chinese have constructed a complete facade of cement stairs and entrances….then you realize it protects the caves which were otherwise exposed to the elements and deteriorating quickly. Can’t really describe the color and drawings, the two Buddha’s (which the Chinese refer to as the 1st and 2nd largest in the world…remember the Taliban blew up the largest). Caves vary in size from very large 40 by 40 by 40 to 70 feet high and all painted (murals using blues, green, red, yellow, white, black, aqua etc. . We saw at least 4 that would rival the Sistine chapel…smaller but remember 4 -6th century. Many of them are allowing visitors for limited times, when the humidity gets too high they are locked and others are opened, so no two visits are likely to be the same. We had an excellent guide/historian. In one from the 5th century they had painted all the different races and ethnic groups that passed thru…including Caucasians, blacks, Arab, over 40 different representations. Many of the paintings have a halo around the Buddha and his students.
This PM we did some more shopping and a little damage to the wallet….then another foot massage for the group and a meal. At 10:30 we took a 2.5 hour bus to some other city to catch the 1:30 AM train to Turpan…of course it is delayed so we boarded at 3:30AM, We are all exhausted and it is now 9AM and still bunked on a hard sleeper (dorm style…6 to compartment…me and 5 single women and I have bunk 9…which means good luck in Chinese…guess I will wait to get home to try my luck). We are now at the 2nd lowest place on earth (500 feet below sea level) and it is bleak, grey, and dark brown and no green in sight. We all experience incredible sinus pressure from being so low and hot(44C).
A Chinese teacher practiced her very excellent English with me for 2 hours in the train station. Thought it was interesting when she said that she seldom has a chance to practice, as Americans are shy or into themselves…”why don’t they want to talk to us?” She asks. She was forty….looked 25 and headed to Shanghai with 40 other teachers. Fascinating that in China the education structure is similar to ours even down to family and loans pay for college and most student’s graduate with debt. She also mentioned that people are now more open, playful with each other and with foreigners than 10 years ago. She credits the change to prosperity not necessarily to a change in govt policy. They certainly have created a large middle class that is quite prosperous.
Some observations of China: They spit in public…anywhere they just hawk it and ”spit O” on streets, in concerts, entering any facility, train station waiting room etc. Another observation is that I have yet to see a policeman with a gun; they carry walkie talkie and sometimes a baton…no cuffs. Hard to figure. Same with military presence, I see none with the exception of two busloads and some that have insisted they have their picture taken with me. Even the guides ask if I am a military man!..funny maybe the shirt I wear…I asked and they said it is my build (I am liking china!). Our first guide took to calling me a CIA person and it has become a running joke between us as he, as so many Chinese, have a great sense of humor and love to tease.
We enter Turpan soon to see the underground irrigation system built 2-3000 years ago and still operating along with some other sites which I am not up on. See you in Turpan.
Ray
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