Building Bridges between East and West through Education and Cultural Exchange
Xinjiang Roadsides 1 — The Old Silk Road
Views of the natural landscape along the modern road that follows one of the major routes of the Old Silk Road in Xinjiang. Photos were mostly shot through the windows of a moving bus in early October, 2007.
The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in northwest China. Old caravan routes traversed Xinjiang to Persia (Iran) and Europe. (Map from Encarta.)
The Silk Road was a network of roads. One route was through Xinjiang between the TianShan mountains and the Taklamakan Desert to the south. This was our route.
Key sites here include Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang, and Turpan, a famous oasis city. Hoxud, the subject of other photos, is just northeast of Korla (or, Kurle on this map).
Our route, marked in red, started in the capital city, Urumqi, then visited major oasis towns of Turpan and Hoxud. (Map from Encarta.)
This expressway has only been recently completed and follows closely the caravan route close to Tianshan (the Heavenly Mountains).
We travelled in a modern coach, with comforts that caravan trekkers would have never dreamed of.
Lucky to be seated close to the front of the bus, I shot most most of these photos through the bus windows.
The expressway has two lanes each way. Traffic was light. This road links the far western border of China with Shanghai.
The TianShan mountains are rugged, dry, and typically devoid of trees or grass.
From time to time we came upon a green patch. This would either be a small flood plain, or more often, evidence of the surfacing of underground springs.
While most of the mountains were solid rock, for some stretches the monotony was broken by drifts (dunes) of sand.
Here the dunes are encroaching upon, and overflowing into, the mountain valley.
The few green trees invited photographs and, again, gave evidence of some water seepage (or minor springs).
Here the desert sand is almost covering the mountain range and is flowing into the valley below.
My professor friend, whose hometown is not far from here, expressed surprise that there was no snow on the mountains this year. Global warming?
Most of these photos are in sequence, and trace our journey into some of the mountain passes.
When not in the mountains, the road still hugs the mountain range. To the south, the harsh Taklamakan Desert which means… “If one goes in, one does not come out (alive).”
Early October is long past any spring run-off, but somehow livestock on the mountainside find something on which to nibble.
The rough terrain might be inviting to hikers but is hot and dry. Robbers here always a threat to caravans through this area.
The foreground, washed and windblown, is very rocky and is called “goby.”
More evidence in this valley of spring run-off.
We approach an oasis area here. Horses once were central to the lifestyle of Xinjiang people. The name for horse is a common family name of the Uyghur people.
Agricultural produce here includes cotton in the foreground and maize (corn) interspersed in this field.
Sheep and goats thrive on this flood plain. While this is a desert area, there is much evidence of flooding from the spring runoff.
Approaching Turpan, we see a land depression in the distance. Known as the Tarim Depression, it is 150m below sea level and is one of the hottest places on earth.
Evidence here of a much earlier roadway, or is it a railway line?
A water reservoir located closer to the provincial capital of Urumqi.
