After an overnight train ride (remarkably comfortable), we arrived in the Xinjiang region. We were surprised to see snow covered peaks out the window... not quite what we expected of the Gobi Desert. Turpan (called Turfan by the Chinese), our first destination, definitely feels different than other parts of China with a strong influence of Islam and a majority of people ethnically Uygar (pronounced "wee gar"). This is the second lowest place on earth (after the Dead Sea) and the hotest in China. September is cool... at a mere 45 degrees C! Our first activity was to stroll through the bazaar which was rich with the smells of food and spices. We lunched on "roasted dumplings" which were filled will onions and mutton (see photo of the shop keeper selling roasted dumplings). For those of you from the central valley of California, they tasted a lot like beer rocks. Today, we got up early to see the ruins of the ancient city of Gaochang before the heat of the day. The donkey cart also provided some shade for our journey (see photo). There were 200,000 people living in Gaochang in the second century AD. We also visited Grape Valley... no less than 500 varieties of grapes are grown here... yes, in the middle of the Gobi.
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