Urumuqi is the capital city of the Xinjiang province in China, where Han Chinese are minorities in this area. It's a place where the sun sets at an ungodly hour of 10.30pm. Because of the long hours of sunlight which it receives, locals tend to use little electricity. There's no need for light bulbs if the sunsets around one's bedtime isn't it?
Here, we made a stop to have a glimpse of the tents of the locals.
The tents which are permanent homes to these people resemble mongolians tents at first glance. However, it turns out that there are still some subtle differences. For one, it's much bigger as they are not nomads and thus, need not move their tents as they herd their cattle around. Also, the 'roof' of the tent is squarish instead of being rounded (a distinct characteristic in mongolian tents) .
Their little door which leads into the tent... Surprisingly, there's a label indicating the tent number and the area which it's supposed to reside in.
The local baby boy practicing writing!!! isn't he just adorable???? (photo credits from yanyan @ http://yy-xw.spaces.live.com)
Heavenly Lake, 天池
天池, also known as the Heavenly Lake is well-known for its nice scenery with the snow-capped mountains standing in the backgrounds.
On our short trek up to the Heavenly Lake...
Ever heard of the chinese swordfighting drama, 七剑下天山? This drama is named after the Heavenly Mountain, 天山, as seen in the background. There are a total of 3 Heavenly lakes here, at which the largest is the main attraction. The water in these lakes originates from the snow which melts from the Heavenly Moutain. During winter, the water freezes and the Heavenly lake doubles as a ice-rink for the locals.
