On we went though, and after a flight and a bus ride we were then about 400km to the southeast of Kashgar and about 1,000m lower in Turpan. This is a small town of 200,000 and famous for the blue Ming porcelain dye, as well as for being the second lowest place on earth. Exploring the ruins of two ancient garrison cities, Jiaohe and Gaochang (both about 2nd century BCE) ensured some of us kept fit as we walked up to and through the ancient streets, whilst others, it must be said, rode donkey carts. It was easy to see what a strategic advantage the defendants had at Jiaohe, as it dominated the confluence of two rivers at the foot of its 30m high impressive cliffs. Sometimes though, buildings are clearly considered more important than people and worshippers at the architecturally interesting Ermine Pagoda (1777) with its round, brick built minaret have had to give way to tourism. The authorities have taken over and renovated the mosque for tourists and the worshippers have been moved elsewhere. Turpan today, however, is equally famous for its sweet grapes and raisins, the arid valley being fed by an ancient Persian underground watering system bringing melted snow from the surrounding mountains.

Whilst in Turpan we chanced upon a local Uighur wedding. Stopping to watch, we were warmly welcomed, as always, despite our large numbers in their small home. The bride sat in the corner of the living room crying under the heavy white veil (as is expected of her) and at her side was her bridesmaid in bright orange. The groom and best man shook hands with us at the entrance then danced to the rhythm of the drums under the courtyard vines. Fascinating.

But, back to the road. One occupation of rich or influential people in former times was to ensure their comfort after death by building their own tombs. The underground Astana tombs near Turpan are a good example. These were built in the Tang dynasty (618-907CE), and one still contained the corpses of a husband and wife. Similar, but much grander tombs, were those of the earlier Wei/Jin period, built around 400CE. Each one, some 10 metres below ground, consisted of three brick built rooms; a kitchen area, a living room and the chamber housing the bodies, usually a husband and wife and maybe a favourite concubine or two. On the walls were painted activities of the owner, mainly agricultural scenes but also some of military action. The brightness and overall quality of these 1600 year old paintings was startling.

Along the Silk Road, Buddhism has left its mark in so many places, not least of all in the many caves and grottoes built into the soft sandstone of the area. The first ones we visited were at Bezeklik, on a long ridge in the Flaming Mountains near Turpan. Hewn out of the hillside between 317 & 1368CE, these consisted of about a dozen caves in which early inhabitants of the area had carved Buddha images and painted frescoes. Unfortunately, many of the images were removed by European and American explorers and most of the frescoes have been defaced by subsequent Muslim converts. However, by far the most impressive of such caves are those at Magao near Dunhuang. Here some 492 caves had been carved in multi-storey fashion in a sheer cliff face. We actually visited 10 and were amazed at the grandeur and preservation of the Buddhist murals and sculptures. This was one of the great Buddhist centres between the 4th and 10th centuries and contains the world’s largest cave Buddha at 35.4m. The third set of caves on our route were the Binglingsi caves near Lanzhou, some 500km further east. These were constructed over a period of 1,500 years beginning in the Northern Wei dynasty (ca. 200 CE). To reach them now involves a forty-five minute speed boat ride across a newly formed reservoir on the Yellow River. The caves line the wall of a small inlet amid spectacular scenery and house many Buddha sculptures and frescoes. By journeying up the river-bed in Jeeps, we also visited a small lamasery where a solitary lama was reading the scriptures from a hand-made book. As the lamasery practised Tibetan Buddhism, we were surprised that the monk did not understand Kezang when she spoke in Tibetan to him, but he was very gracious and showed us around the small temples that formed his world.

By now, the reader can be forgiven for thinking ours was a very serious tour, so let me enlighten you otherwise. There was the evening in Turpan when we were entertained by Uighur dancers. It was fascinating until they asked Trisha, Sony, Peter and a few others to join in. We all agreed that Peter was the star (or maybe the clown?) with his Egyptian interpretation of Uighur arm movements, and for his efforts he was given the male dancer’s jacket & hat to wear and offered a free massage! Another day, near the Magao caves we visited some impressive sand dunes. While Colleen and Girl went for a ride round them on beautiful Bactrian camels, (they’re not at all like the grumpy old dromedaries of the Middle East) Wati, Bunny and I climbed 555 sort-of-steps up the dune and then one after the other hurtled down the slope at a fair rate of knots on polished bamboo sleds. Some while after, when everyone was waiting to leave, Colleen and Girl returned. Assuming they had been shopping we were surprised to hear that they had, in fact, gone much further on their camels than planned and finally had to slide down the dunes with their guides in order to catch us up.

However, the journey must continue and no trip to China would be complete without seeing the Great Wall. We were lucky enough to see and climb part of the western most point, that across the 15km wide Jiauyu Pass. This stretches between the Quilian and Mazong mountain ranges. Beyond the wall to the west lies the Gobi desert, which in those days meant “devils and western barbarians” and to the east is China. All travellers had to pass through the impressive fort with its 35ft high walls, on top of which were strategically placed watchtowers. Some of us tried our skill at archery here—Wati admitted she would have made a miserable combatant as her arrows fell listlessly at her feet, while China excelled at the sport. 

After an overnight train journey, we arrived in Lanzhou, the centre of China and about halfway between Kashgar and Beijing. This was a much busier town. Unfortunately Lanzhou is now the centre of China’s nuclear power and other heavy industries and pollution hangs heavily in the air, aggravated by being in the Yellow River valley. Mongolians originally populated the region although today the majority are Han Chinese. It was in the town’s Five Springs Mountain Park one morning when we were able to witness real community life—a funeral for a senior monk, old men carrying their song birds in cages and a medley of vendors plying their various trades. And there were also groups of friendly school children eager to try out their newly acquired English and who even sang to us. But, onward and upward, and it was only the faint-hearted who declined the cable car to visit the White Pagoda, a structure built in honour of a Tibetan lama. We also saw people exercising along the river bank—in a fog of pollution, sheepskin coracles for crossing the fast flowing Yellow River and trolley buses; we ate Muslim meals—a welcome relief from the twice daily Chinese fare and travelled along a fantastic (read modern & expensive) road all the way to the airport for the flight to Xi’an. 

And so we went from one ultra modern airport to another and this time to the eastern starting point for the trade caravans travelling the Silk Road. The Qin terracotta warriors have brought tourists in their millions to the area for the warriors are certainly worth a visit.

Each life size model has a distinct facial expression and is an integral part of a whole army unit. It is hard to believe that they are 2,200 years old. As always, tourism is a double-edged sword and the area now is just very commercial, with all that that implies. In Xi’an itself, the Muslim area with its Great Mosque and narrow streets is a throwback to an older lifestyle amidst a thoroughly modern city. We looked at the unusual food stalls (where Celeste and Nonoy were again seen sampling the local cuisine) and sampled a variety of teas in a lovely small tea-house. Also that day, we toured the wonderful Shaanxi Museum, which is beautifully laid out and where all exhibits are clearly labelled in English. The finale that day was to view the city from the ramparts at the top of the old, twelve metre high, city wall. Carol, Bunny, Peter and I did so from tandems while the rest walked sedately along it.

Finally, we were on our way back to Beijing to see the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven and an amazing acrobatic show. Despite the enormous area the Imperial Court occupies (1km x 750m), life in the Ming and Qing dynasties must have been quite claustrophobic there. It is not difficult to imagine the intrigues that went on among the hundreds of bored inhabitants. But even for the Emperor and Empress, life must have been difficult – there were so many rules to follow and superstitions to obey. At least the Emperor could while a way a few hours each evening with a different concubine although even then, his time was limited. A eunuch was always present at the end of the bed and would announce, ‘Time’s up’ (or the Chinese equivalent). And that was not a signal to ignore because at the third calling, the eunuch would just go behind the curtains, pick up the concubine and take her away! What a life! The whole area though is splendid and the buildings spectacular.

Finally, an unforgettable 16-day trip came to an end with some seriously overweight (luggage not body-wise) MVP passengers flying home. We had laughed a lot, shivered a little, eaten continuously and learned so much culturally, historically and geographically, which was, after all the main purpose of the tour. On behalf of everyone, China and Sonia, thank you both very, very much for organising such a great programme.

Although we did not go as far west as Samarkand, a city romanticised by many of the great poets, it was a junction where caravans carrying gems, spices and cotton from India met those carrying silk, tea and ceramics from China. Babur, who set up the Mughal dynasty in India, was from Samarkand,