Silk Road - On our way from 吐鲁番(Turpan) to 哈密 (Hami)

吐峪沟

One of the oldest village that existed ever since the silk road days. We have to make our way (on foot) through this little old village to reach the 千佛洞, Tuyugou Buddha Caves.



The pavement which we set our footsteps on... The locals live in this old village till this very day. They spent their days growing grapes and mulberries.





The nearby mosque...



And another one situated on the steep slopes of the hills...




千佛洞, Buddha Caves

千佛洞 was discovered by accident, as of many of these ancient attractions. It was first discovered by a physician who was in search of new herbs in the nearby area. It wasn't known then and the physician wasn't interested in any of the relics which he saw. When he went back to compile his book of herbs, he briefly mention the presence of these Buddha caves in it. That was when foreign archaeologists took interest into the caves and serious robbing followed, especially by the Germans. The remains left now was pretty pathetic.

In the midst of trekking through the old village, i spotted the caves from a distance. Now this is definately a trek up! Can you see the wooden pavements through the slopes??!!





View from above.. The previous picture was taken from the tiny pavilion (in the background). yes... i felt as if i've scaled the mountains...



On even higher grounds, right in front of one of the buddha caves...



Emptied caves...



One of the caves which is opened to the public.



On our way to 哈密 (Hami)... we saw camels!!!!!



I soon learn that herds of shep and cattle are also a common sight along the roads....



火焰山, Flaming Mountain

Along our way, the 火焰山 kept appearing within our sight... So much so that you can't imagine it's total length!

Remember the Chinese classic 西游记, Journey to the west??!! It was said that the mischievious Monkey God was trapped in 丹炉 and was subjected to continuous burning in heaven. Unable to stand the heat, he managed to break open the 丹炉 and escape. However, in doing so, some of the hot charcoal was spilled into 人间 and 火焰山 is born.

Silk Road - 西安, Xi'an

西安 is a special place, officially appointed as the capital of China during 13 dynasty, it is full of ancient relics and historial sights. Its main attractions are not surprisingly, royal tombs. More than 60 kings are buried in this city alone. Because of the vast amount of historical records and burial antiques that could lie beneath the city ground, underground tunnels are uncommon here. (In case they destory precious historial records during the construction process). As a result, traffic jam is common as the roads are frequently packed.

西安古城墙 Xian City Wall

西安古城墙 is initally built during the Tang Dynasty. Its exterior was given an extra layer of protection during restoration works during the Ming Dynasty to give the present appearance.







Corridor of one of the buildings used for military meetings






This building was used to defend the city when invading forces attack. Its windows will be opened for the archers to aim at the enemies.




华清池 Huaqing Hot Springs


A royal hot spring (the one and only one in China) for the emperors of the Tang Dynasty, it was made famous by the love between Emperor Tang Xuanzong and his concubine, Yang Guifei.










The 海棠汤, more commonly known as Concubine Pool, was built for Concubine Yang Guifei. The emperor's love for his concubine is clearly seen here as it is the only pool which was built for a concubine. Others were all pools belonging to Tang emperors.



连花汤 aka the imperial nine-dragon pool, was the pool used by Emperor Tang Xuanzong.




Statue of concubine Yang Guifei




Natural spring water which keeps this royal hot spring alive. It's around 43 degrees all year round.





秦始王兵马俑 Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses

The famous 秦始王兵马俑!!!!

Known as the '8th wonder of the world', it was accidentally discovered by a local farmer who was digging for a well. Instead, he dug out life-sized clay heads. Thinking that it's inauspicious, the village people buried it back before choosing another site to dig for a new well. However, they found smilar clay figurines and it soon appear that it is not a coincidence. The farmer reported it to the authority and the government started digging, engaging professional archaeologists..

Statue of Qing Emperor at the entrance





A total of 3 pits are opened to the public, with Pit 1 being the largest and thus contains the most number of Terra Cotta Warriors.



Pit 3


Known as the command centre for Pit 1 and 2. There wasn't many warriors here and those which are found are mostly decked in armour and general scarves.

Kneeling archer.

Middle-ranked general

Warrior with horse

2 restored charriots

These charriots, unlike the warriors (built life-sized), are built half its natural size. This is so as there weren't enough materials and time to finish building them if the life-size models were made. Although only 2 are found, more are expected to be buried underground.

Pit 1

The largest and most magnificient of all....

Unrestored pieces...

A line of warriors facing the sides to defend the side lines

The frontline is made up of 3 rows of warriors

Digress again.... Tried their cup noodles... ha

Here's another shot at beef noodles while waiting for my domestic flight to Xi'an

Silk Road - 银川, Yinchuan

西夏王陵 The mausoleum of Xixia King


西夏王陵, a royal burial place for the 西夏王朝, was commonly referred as the Pyramid of China due to the dome-shaped tombs of the king. Little is known of this lost kingdom as ancient scripts describing its culture and history were little to start with. All that was known was that this ancient kingdom flourished in the past and was a frequent target for Genghis Khan. Despite repeated attempts to conquer it, 西夏 kingdom stood strong. Genghis Khan didn't managed to conquer it in his life and before his death, he ordered his son to continue his quest. In addition to his will, he asked his son to destory the whole kingdom and burn all its historical records to appease him. Thus, little is known about this mysterious kingdom.


The entrance to the tomb.





Flowers line the pavement towards the tombs






The local beer

饺子宴 Dumplings feast

Tried their 饺子宴!! Their 饺子 are sooo pretty!! It was such an artistic meal. Each 饺子 is made to represent the main ingredient it contains.

Silk Road - 中卫, Zhongwei

沙坡头


This used to be part of inner mongolia boundary but is now a new entertainment park which offers sand-gliding, flying-fox across the yellow river and what-have-you... Was part of the 腾格里沙漠, Tenggeli Desert (which is literally next to it). Due to efforts to 'save the deserts', vegetation started to prevent sandstorms in this area. The project was pretty successful as roadworks began so much so that a road was built on this land (which was once desert area).




The yellow river down the sandy slopes...






A lone catus.. so cute!




And more to come... though these are definately not catus..





腾格里沙漠


One of the largest desert in China (other than the Gobi Desert). Since the campaign to 'save the desert', vegetations has been successfully grown across 1 km.




Wheat grass used to trap water, promoting vegetation.







I tried this!!! Since the vehicle is much larger, it's much more exciting roaring across the sand dunes.




一百零八塔 108 Pagodas

These pagodas are found to be built during the lost Xixia Kingdom era.

It was believed that Yang Yuying, part of the 杨门女将 army, once used a 天罗地网阵 to fend off invading forces here. These pagodas were then built in honour of her.




Trekking to the foot of the pagodas.



At the top of the pagodas lies one temple. A scene from the top..





A short digress.... Here's the local beef noodle...




And... mutton steamboat!