Finally, after a long delay (sorry for that!), here is the third and last part of the story about my trip along the Chinese Silk Road. If you missed the previous two parts you can read them here and here. Like for the other parts, be sure to have a look at the small gallery at the end of the post.

After Lanzhou and a glimpse of Tibet in Xiahe, the trip continued through the Hexi Corridor: historically, the strategic passage to get into China from central Asia. In Jiayuguan I visited the renovated fort that once was one of the main outposts of the eastern part of the Great Wall. Then, with a detour to Dunhuang, I got a look at the Taklimakan Desert and visited the famous Mogao Caves with yet again numerous carved and painted buddhas. If the caves and the sand dunes did not impress me much, I was amazed by the huge cemetery at the south-east of Dunhuang (nearby the dunes): an immense piece of land scattered with all sorts of tombs, built with bricks and mud, each with an offering ranging from flowers to bottles of cola.

The Hexi Corridor leads to the remote province of Xinjiang, inhabited by Uighur Muslims. I started out heading to Tian Chi, a beautiful deep blue lake at 2000 meters o.s.l. surrounded by breathtaking mountains covered with pines, green meadows and snowy peaks. The area is full of local Chinese tourists and is said to become a big ski domain but, once left the head of the lake and its tourist attractions, you can enjoy pristine valleys and breathe some fresh and cool air. Apart from some nice hikes and panoramas I enjoyed staying overnight at one of the Kazakh settlements: you sleep in authentic yurts and get to eat some tasty lamb cooked in mud ovens.

Next, a plane brought to me to Kashgar, which I soon recognized as the most fascinating part of the trip. Once the main market and crossroads of central Asia, in latest years it’s changing fast under the influence of Chinese Han which nowadays dominate all administrative and business affairs. The old town is being little by little dismantled or transformed into a tourist attraction and Chinese-style blocks and condominiums are progressively taking over the city layout (I’ve been impressed when comparing my photos with those in National Geographic’s Journey into China published two decades ago). Nonetheless, Kashgar still remains a city full of charm, life and interesting people. With a little effort you can access deep into the remaining part of the old town and savor the small alleys and houses that once extended in all the central part of the city. Outside the old town, Kashgar’s colorful streets and squares are full of people day and night: the Uighur population, differing from Chinese Han, is generally very warm, helpful and eager to get in touch with you. The city also offers a wide selection of tasty Uighur cuisine: lamb, chicken, potatoes, rice, noodles all cooked with a variety of spices and served with the typical Muslim bread.

However, what really made my trip and fascinated me the most were Kasghar’s markets. I have a thing for markets and spend a lot of time during my travels simply strolling about the colorful, noisy and scented alleys. It’s where you get in touch with the local population and really understand the culture. That’s why I enjoyed so much the Sunday visiting Kashgar’s two main markets. I woke up before sunrise and headed straight to the Livestock Market (Mal Bazaar) near the town outskirts. Around five, while having breakfast with noodles and steamed ravioli at a local stall, herds, cattlemen and farmers started flooding from all parts in a fascinating confusion of colors, smells, cries and clouds of dust. Camera at hand, shooting photo after photo, I slowly entered with them the market grounds and soon found myself surrounded by horses, donkeys, lambs, cows with rugged farmers showing off and trading their animals. All around, stands and booths sell all kinds of food: in one of them I watched in awe while a cook made spaghetti from flour and water in a matter of minutes only with expert acrobatic movements. I liked all this so much that even now I feel an emotion thinking back at the joyful confusion and charged atmosphere of the bazaar. Late in the morning, while other tourists started arriving (having traded the most intimate moments of the bazaar for a few hours of sleep), I moved to the Sunday market (Yam Bazaar). There you can find everything from food to spices, clothes, bags, jewelry, spare parts and obviously tissues (even if I soon found out that silk has given the way to nylon products). Less fascinating than Mal Bazaar, the Sunday market is where locals do their everyday shopping and thus you I was exposed to local costumes and ways of living. I finished this perfect day sipping tea at an old Uighur tea house just behind the central mosque.

A few hours from Kashgar you have the occasion to have a glimpse of the Pamirs by covering the first part of the Karakoram Highway to Karakul Lake. As I watched in awe at the steep mountain sides and the unreachable and shiny snowy peaks some 5000 meters above the road, I promised myself to dedicate one of my future trips only to this incredible part of the world.

Instead of going further east a couple of trains brought me back to Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang back in the eastern part of the region. Along the way I stopped at Kuqa to visit Kizil Caves: while the caves are nothing special, the difficult road to reach them passes through a landscape of crumbling mountains with impossible shapes I had never seen before. More interesting is Turpan, 2 hours and a half from Urumqi, featuring a nice minaret and a number of interesting sites in its surroundings. Jiaohé and Gaochang are two ancient cities now in ruin eaten by the desert: with some imagination, the old rocks give an idea of the power and wealth that once existed along the Silk Road. To the east of Turpan you can also find the impressive Flaming Mountains and within them Tuyoq, a small village of wine growers in a patch of green enclosed by the desert. Tuyoq is a Muslim enclave where tourists aren’t particularly welcome and few drivers bring you there since the road is in rather bad conditions. However the architecture and people are extremely quaint with mud houses, small alleys and a nice mosque complex on its outskirts.

My trip finished in Urumqi. It’s a large and modern town with good shopping centers and markets to leave with plenty of souvenirs. It also has one of the best night markets I’ve come around with plenty of food for the joy of your eyes and taste.

I hope you enjoyed my story and was able to feel some of the many emotions I felt during this fascinating trip.