新疆: Part 2

So where were we? The first day in Urumqi, I think. Before we move on from that, I'm just going to share a few scenes from the streets of the city.

1. Even if you're a Muslim woman who has to cover yourself from head to toe, you can still rock sparkly clothes, interesting skirts, and some pretty pointy heels.

2. The Bread Frisbee: A Xinjiang staple, but only good when straight out of the oven. However, if you're desperate, you can save one for later. It may be cold and hard (think tack), but in an airport with nothing besides dried camel meat it can be a life-saver.

3. Two guesses as to its gender. Note the head covering (even as a baby!)

We spent the next two days after our arrival visiting interesting (and distant) locations in the Urumqi area. Every day was filled with lots of quality time in our small tour bus. You would think that eight students and three teachers in a car would lead to bonding, but really all we did was sleep. Or eat. As a group we're very fond of eating, as in we would be sitting down to lunch and ask how soon we would be having dinner.

I ended up finishing yet another engrossing book, Empress Orchid. It wasn't quite the literary masterpiece that The Shadow of the Wind was, but it was still a fascinating glimpse into the life of one of China's most infamous historical figures. Empress Orchid tells the story of a young country girl named Orchid who ends up becoming the favorite concubine of the emperor, and eventually the de facto ruler of China, known as the notorious Empress Cixi. Even though it is a work of fiction, it's a great way to forge a connection with a place and time I had nothing to do with until beginning my study of Chinese.

The two travel-filled days allowed us to see so many sights, but there wasn't much by way of cultural experiences. So I'll just let the sights speak for themselves:

天池 Tiānchí

The Heavenly Lake

the impressive entrance to the road that leads to Tianchi

p.s. Tianchi is up in the mountains

our welcome to Tianchi Park, so to speak

chairlift - doesn't it look kind of Swiss?

who we share the road with

fresh sheep - literally everywhere sells some kind of sheep meat

Tianchi!

*note the glaciers in the distance

Green grass is afraid of your trample.

Tianchi again!

Temple of Harmony? Maybe?

possibly the biggest wok I've ever seen

coming back down the mountain

 so picturesque

Travels to Turpan

insert Don Quixote pun here

but actually Turpan is the windiest spot in China, which means lots of clean energy!

Local Tourist Spots

underground irrigation system, known as a karez

entrance to the museum part of the Flaming Mountains, reputed to be the hottest spot in China

the Monkey King using his power poll to take out the tiger 

(Dragonball reference? I think so.)

the biggest thermometer ever,

measures ground temperature in Celsius

me and... some important people

the famous grapes of Xinjiang

an old city center

Visiting a Local Mosque

the famous grapes of Xinjiang (again!)

the famous raisins from the famous grapes of Xinjiang

market right outside the mosque (it's not busy because it's not Friday afternoon)

the mosque

prayer space inside the mosque

The Ancient City of Jiaohe

literally carved into land between two rivers

Rosetta Stone, Part 2?

Casual Cultural Encounters 

sharing the road with basically everyone

being served grapes and raisins at a local home

fresh frisbee bread!

just guess who was sitting in the direction of the fish stares...

pile of chicken+chile+potato ≈ the size of my head

I apologize that everything leads back to food. I can't seem to help myself. But this food was one of the last components of our journey through the Urumqi area. After that we sped off to the airport to catch our second flight in three days. So moving on... next stop, Kashgar.