Qinghai Hu, Xining, China

Posted on May 21, 2012 by Sonya

Xining is located in the Qinghai province, a region on the north-eastern border of Tibet. Again we caught a train from Urumqi to Xining, this time though we had four people per room, but since we had the bottom bunks it wasn’t too bad.

We decided to spend some of our time in Qinghai exploring the outer areas, and I was drawn to the idea of visiting Qinghai Hu (Lake Kokonor) and in particular Niao Dao (or Bird Island), a breeding ground for wild geese, gulls and other birds. With an extra few days before our train to Lhasa, we decided to arrange a trip to Qinghai. I called China Travel Service (CTS) Xining and was fortunate to get through to a helpful English speaking man who helped us join a day tour (yes, another one!). It was to cost 120 Yuan for the over three-hundred kilometre trip to Qinghai Hu and included a visit to Niao Dao, tickets were extra.

The following morning our transport picked us up bright and early at 7am. Our group was a much younger group, and once again a young English speaking Chinese guy took us under his wing and translated where he could.

Dang’r, a traditional Chinese town

Our first stop was Dang’r, which was an old traditional Chinese town about seventy kilometres from Xining. The old city consisted of a Children’s school, government with court, and a Temple of Confucius. Dang’r is said to have been an important cultural city along the Tang-Tibet and Silk Road routes.

Zan Pu Linka (Royal Garden)

The second stop was a Tibetan temple (Zan Pu Linka, meaning Royal Garden) which had some beautiful murals. From what I could gather, the gist of the temple’s purpose was to unite Han Chinese and Tibetan culture.

Yaks and Pagodas

After the temple, we witnessed some amazing scenery. Snow capped mountains, against a clear blue sky, bright green grasslands scattered with yaks, goats and sheep. On the way to Qinghai Hu we drove through an elevated land which had a few picturesque pagodas located atop some hills (the twin pagodas of Sun Moon Pass). We stopped for some photos and a came across a Tibetan lady with a baby yak. She thrusted it into my arms and the next thing I knew we were paying 5 Yuan for photos with it. It was a simply adorable creature though!

Niao Dao (Bird Island)

Finally after many hours of travelling we reached Niao Dao. Also packed with Chinese tourists, we spent some time visiting the various attractions on the island. There were many birds as it is breeding season. Surprisingly one of the highlights were the hovering gulls, I’d never seen anything like it!

All in all it was a good day and restored our faith in day tours!

Tian Chi (Heavenly Lake), Urumqi, China

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Sonya

Tian Chi, also known as Heavenly Lake, is located about 150km away from Urumqi in the Tian Shan mountain range and is a popular a day trip from the city. Regular buses leave at 9am from the People’s Park in Urumqi so on our first evening we purchased some tickets for 150 Yuan each for the following day. We thought, through conversing with the bus operator in his basic English (and my rudimentary Mandarin) the fee would cover the transport to Tian Chi as well as an entrance ticket to the Heavenly Lake.

The following morning we arrived at the bus station to be hustled onto a bus with about ten or so local Chinese tourists. It turned out we’d somehow booked ourselves onto an actual day tour, conducted in Mandarin. We also found out that the 150 Yuan only covered transport to the Tian Chi complex and that we would need to fork out an additional 180 Yuan for the tour (totally about $50 each) which included a few other attractions, lunch and transport to the lake itself. Our outdated guidebook advised there was a 15 Yuan chairlift to the top of the mountains however we were informed this had been shut down. We caused quite a bit of commotion and amusement on our bus, being the only foreigners and also our adamant reluctance to pay the extra 180 Yuan to join the tour (after a few months of travel every penny counts!). Anyway, having no better option, in the end we joined the tour. Funnily enough, one of the highlights of the tour was one of the friendly Chinese tourists, Yu, she seemed to be the only person who spoke a bit of English and was helping us with some of the translation. The tour itself was quite a disappointment after having already visited Central Asia. The Tian Chi region is populated by local Kazakhs and as such the Kazakhstan culture was on show. There were a few yurts set up for tourists to take photos inside, a costume section where we could dress up in traditional wear, a Kazakh song and dance show, a traditional fighting event. Lunch was a merely a plate of plov which was disappointing. In general, the tour was rushed, the tour guides were super loud as each wore a speaker set trying to talk over one another and there were just so many tour groups. After travelling independently it was quite painful to be told “times up, next site”. It was, though, interesting to observe the local Chinese tourists enjoying their holidays. It is clear that a growing number of Chinese are enjoying higher levels of income and as such domestic tourism is booming.

Anyhow, the lovely blue lake itself is stunning, located over two thousand metres high in the mountains. A few yurts lie atop the hills, owned by Kazakhs. We had a pleasant chat to a local Kazakh man who told us that during peak season 20,000 Chinese tourists visit the site. We also visited a temple as part of the tour, which we found out, was built only last year.

In the spirit of organised tours, our last stop was a massive three-level handicraft shop selling everything from jade to perfumes.

Kashgar Livestock Market, Kashgar, China

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Sonya

It was Travis who was very keen on visiting Kashgar. When faced with our dilemma leaving Kyrgyzstan, I suggested travelling straight to Urumqi and perhaps giving the inconveniently located Kashgar a miss (I’d heard the city was no longer quite the Silk Road trading hub it used to be due to massive Chinese development). That would have been a mistake, and I’m glad my stubborn significant other insisted, one of the reasons being the livestock market (the others being the most enjoyable Uighur street food and fascinating night market).

Any traveller wishing to visit Kashgar should make sure their trip runs over a Sunday, as it is early morning on this day each week the local Kashgari men bundle their most valued livestock and display it for sale. The massive market, located about ten minutes from town comprises of sections for cows, sheep, goats (including a particularly favourite billy goat area), donkeys and horses. There were animals everywhere. I tried to avoid thinking about their fate. It was smelly, dirty and overwhelming, yet wonderfully intriguing to watch the interactions – a local Uighur man inspecting a potential purchase by squeezing the udders of a goat and finally, when the sale was made – the respectful handshakes between buyer and seller.

Altyn Arashan, Kyrgyzstan

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Sonya

We awoke early the next morning and set off on our hike, taking a mashrutka (number 305) as far as we could, to a place called Ak-Suu Sanatorium, where the mashrutka dropped us off on a track sixteen kilometres from Altyn Arashan. We had some gear with us, as we planned to stay overnight, so when a truck pulled over and offered us a lift about three kilometres into our trek, we took advantage of the offer (note, standing onto the back of a logging truck whilst on an offroad track is far more scarier than sitting on the back of a ute). The truck took us about another eight kilometres before its stop, upon which we then hiked another tough five kilometres to the valley. The trek followed a scenic route of tall sweet scented pine trees, a gushing mountain stream with rock pools of crystal clear water and occasionally, locals camping.

We arrived at Altyn Arashan valley around mid-afternoon and were immediately greeted by Valentino from Yak Tours (we heard he’d be the first to spot us). An elderly friendly Russian who had clearly been doing tours to the area for a very long time, he invited us in for chai and consequently ended up deciding to stay at his cabin (his is one of two accommodation on the mountain). One of the highlights of Altyn Arashan is the hot springs, and Valentino boasted his to be the loveliest, with ceramic tiles and perfect temperature. After our trek, we were quite sticky so after our chai we headed to the hot springs for some relaxation. As per tradition, after some time in the hot spring we jumped into the nearby stream (well I just stuck my toes in) to cool down (as the water was freezing). For dinner we had some delicious beetroot soup (borsch), chicken and potatoes. It was quite an experience when the sun had set – the whole valley was completely dark and empty, aside from a perhaps a handful of other people.

The following morning we headed out for some mountain climbing. Valentino had suggested a nearby mountain climb (relatively low, more a hill I guess) which supposedly provided spectacular views of the valley and some of the nearby high peaks, including Palatka (4260m). He and some Polish travellers (who left the night before) gave us some relatively complicated directions to the easiest route to climb the mountain. However, we ended up taking the steepest route (this happens when you climb mountains with two guys). The climb, though extremely steep, was pleasant for about the first hour and a half for me. It was so steep I was literally climbing, using my whole body, including hands. When we reached the snowy bits it got a bit tricky and I considered going down, however persisted and after about two-and-a-half hours we reached the peak. It did indeed provide worthwhile views and was also quite chilly (Travis’ GPS read elevation of 3200m at the peak). Descending down the mountain was tricky due to the slope of the mountain, Travis and I tried sliding down some parts whilst Andrew looked on quite amused. We ended up taking a less steep route down, passing through some pine trees. We arrived back at our cabin after about four-and-a-half hours, and headed straight to the hot springs for some well deserved relaxation. Had lunch, a delicious bowl of laghman, and it started raining (our trek was well timed!). Travis and I headed back to Karakol late afternoon (in dire need for proper running water) whilst our new friend decided to stay a little longer.