Back in Urumqi.

Back in Urumqi.
It was a good flight back and being met by our guide and chauffeur and back to our same hotel made us feel at home even if it was 1am
Next day we were off to Nan Pasture which was about a couple of hours out to the Tainshan mountains. Its an area of grassland where the local people sleep in Urts and farm around this area. We were on the other side of the mountain from Heavenly Lake but thankfully it was nowhere as cold although there was snow up on the hills. This was another over rated tourist spot. I think we missed a horse show but managed to get a horse ride up into the Mountains for 30mins…well if you call being out of sight and the guide talking on his cell ph then bringing us back while we watched the other group go further up the mountains and then he trotted us back… Ripped off I think. However we did get to see a local yellow coloured mole digging up the ground. The horse responded well to Bills commands As I had been sick overnight I was riding with a local cowboy and felt quite secure trotting round the mountainside.
Our next stop was Turpan a 3 hour drive away. I was looking forward to this city of about 63,000 people who export many tons of raisins from here. Turpan is also known as the hottest place in China. Boy do we believe this. It was a dry heat and quite energy sapping. Small fields of grapes planted in trenches and were supported by a lean-to poles and lined the road every where. Brown brick drying sheds were scattered among them.. The holey patterning on their walls was to let air ciculate, but in this heat a very efficient drying method. It was a pleasant change from the traditional brick or grass/mud homes we had been used to seeing.

We drove along the Flaming mountains named after the colours (they change due to different light reflections), to the ancient Buddhist Caves of Bzlikli, These Caves were home to a Buddhist monastery early AD and were on the edge of a steep river ravine. They had a steep set of steps leading down to their gardens by the river. I guess its a reminder that climate change is not just a modern phenomena as this area, like so many others in this Region, used to support a large population and agricultural system.
We lunched in a typical Ugar home eating a dish of noodles and vegetables (tomatoes, egg and beans). I’m becoming particularly fond of noodles and spent my lunch time watching the women making noodles and serving them up for lunch.
Wandering around this village we saw that all the mulberry trees were in fruit and baskets of white and rich red fruit were lining the village roadways. Surprisingly enough all the trees lining the walkways were stripped, but only to the height of a tall person. A ladder would produce a rich harvest. A walk around the village gave us an insight to the simple village structure these people live in. An irrigation system gave local children the opportunity to cool off with a water fight. We weren’t sure what else the water was used for, but suspect they were actually using this water for domestic (drinking) as well.
Walking round the local bazaar we enjoyed the colourful world of open air butcher shops, not to mention the smell although it wasn’t too bad, carts of local vegetables. Melons are a speciality of this region and we shared a delicious piece of water melon . There doesn’t appear to be any shortage of fresh fruit and vegs. Apricots are coming into season as are peaches, pears and apples.
We also visited the Gaochang ancient city and the tomb of Astana. We think England has the greatest historical records but the Chinese people have certainly been able to retain a lot of its ancient building sites in spite of so much of their historical data being lost. This due largely to the very dry climate where it seldom rains if ever.
The ancient city of Jahohoe was fascinating. It is under the UNESC World Heritage Protection It dates back to 500AD and once again was built high above a river bed which was a fertile growing area A huge temple is to one end and using ones imagination from the remaining ruins a village can be fashioned..
Local dancers put on a cultural show which we all enjoyed. The folk dancers were preformed with a lot of facial gestures, fun and laughter and of course an initiation to join them was extended to me much to everyone’s amusement. (Pauline now has another career path)
Heat and having finished our tours quicker than normal, we ended up at the Karez underwater system created in the 15/16 century enabling desert farm land to be productive by catching water from the mountains in underwater tunnels fed by shafts and digging wells into the tunnels out in the desert to retrieve it. This system was still being expanded until recent times and although originally all done by hand, more lately some machinery was used. The advantage over the more common open ditch system would be that there was less wastage (evaporation etc) and water is kept very clean and cool so suitable for domestic use.