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.
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