Here is the second part of the story about my trip along the Chinese Silk Road. If you missed the first part you can read it here. Also, check out the small gallery at the end of the post.

After visiting Beijing and its surroundings, I started heading west and experienced the first of a long series of travels by train which characterized the whole trip. Traveling by train in China is horrible and at the same time fascinating. It all begins entering a wonderfully crowded station in which about one thousand men, women and children of all kinds and with all sort of luggage want to get on the train… your train! When the gates open and the guards let people through, this human wave starts moving faster and faster and in no time you find yourself running (carrying your backpack, hugging your camera and with the ticket in your mouth) in desperate search of your car.

Once you get in and settle down (after deciphering the ideograms locating your compartment obviously) the real experience begins: an up close and personal journey with about a hundred fellow travelers, all crowded in the same car of six bunks compartments. However, I can only consider myself privileged since, even if not first class, the sleeping-cars I traveled in were definitely better than what most people were in. Initially I was rather troubled by all the cooking going on and the horrible state bathrooms get after just one hour of travel, but in the end I got perfectly accustomed to the way of things and comfortably started cooking and making tea myself. Also, I have to say that not even in Europe there are trains that punctual and the stewards on the train can only be praised for their efforts in keeping each car tidy and orderly (including banging their wood notebook on your head at 6 a.m. if you’re late preparing to get off the car!).

The first train brought me to Datong, a highly industrial and polluted city that still feels very much communist (including the smell of coal in the air once typical of eastern Europe). The Shanxi province where Datong is has several nice attractions: from Yungang Caves just outside town (with probably the best carved buddhas I’ve seen during the whole trip), to the impressive Hanging Monastery (for sure too crowded and touristic), to the Wooden Pagoda in Yingxian. However, the one place you can’t miss is Pingyao: a very characteristic small town, surrounded by ancient walls, that has remained untouched by modernization and presents itself with old houses, small alleys, colorful shops and a number of historical buildings and temples. I wish I could have remained there more to visit all the hidden spots I discovered too late or simply walking around and enjoying the nice shops and booths…

After the province of Shanxi, I moved to Xi’an: an important historical town now transformed into a modern and efficient city with a population of more than 6 millions. Along with the skyscrapers and glittering shopping centers there are several monuments that are worth a visit and the very characteristic Muslim district with a huge market and plenty to see. Xi’an however is famous around the world mainly for the spectacular Terracotta Warriors located just outside town. The site has become a huge touristic attraction with concrete industrial-age pavilions covering the ancient remains and a growing circus of shops, restaurants and shows just outside. Nonetheless, when you enter the main pavilion you can’t be anything but breathless in front of the long rows of statues staring at you. I got totally absorbed and it took me a while to get hold of myself and… start shooting photos like a mad man! Definitely worth the trip.

My voyage then continued in the province of Gansu, one of the poorest but probably also more authentic regions of China. The biggest city is Lanzhou, since ancient times the starting point of all travels to Tibet and central Asia and a strategic military stronghold. If it was for the reviews on western tourist guides (describing it as meaningless and one of the most polluted places on the planet) I wouldn’t have spent a minute there, however I found the stay in Lanzhou extremely interesting. Maybe because there were no westerners whatsoever around and for the first time I found the real China, maybe because along the banks of the impressive (and filthy) Yellow River people gather in parks to sing, play, act improvised performances, maybe because most of the people still behave like countrymen with simple expectations and are genuinely intrigued by strangers. I feel I was really able to connect with the place.

Just outside town, along the Yellow River, you can reach by boat the Buddhist caves of Bingling Si. The boat trip alone is worth it and gives you the opportunity to discover the canyons bordering the Yellow River but also the devastation of the countryside happened since the cultural revolution. The caves are well preserved and feature a huge Buddha overlooking a nice canyon but maybe more interesting is the four-wheel drive to the deeper part of the canyon where a lonely monk keeps a small temple and offers you tea.

Gansu extends to the northern limits of Tibet and I got a glimpse of it visiting the Labrang Monastery in Xiahe. An impressive layout of temples, stupas and other religious buildings surrounded by a typical prayer path where pilgrims spin beautifully decorated prayer wheels. You can admire the monastery and the surrounding valley from above by hiking the ridge to the north: there you’ll find several prayer flags and for sure breathe some of the cleanest air in China. However, the best memories in my case are the ones of the morning prayer of the monks I had the privilege to watch the second day I was there. I woke up at 5 a.m. and, after a short walk from my hostel, I was able to enter the main temple and sit in the back while the monks prayed with their guttural voices and had breakfast. All around only perfect silence and the strong smell of yak butter… a magic moment!

Around Xiahe you also have the opportunity to visit some beautiful grasslands. Forget the ones nearest town and head straight to Ganjia grasslands and the small farmers’ village of Bajiao. The trip can be a bit tricky to organize (I had to negotiate and trust some crazy local drivers) but after an hour and a half of uncomfortable dirt tracks you find yourself in the middle of nowhere with stunning mountains all around and a countryside almost untouched by modernization.

The final part of the trip, in the more remote and wild Xinjiang, in the next post…