Jiayuguan – Dunhuang #5

(Im on a roll)

Dunhuang. Oh Dunhuang…a voice in my head said that I would’ve live here if I could. Lol that was how good the impression I get from this place. Everything was nice from the weather, people, the parks. Overall experience here was superb. We enjoyed it soo much. Easily because of the sand dunes! Ive never saw one in my life so that won me over fast. Lmao

We were at Dunhuang in the early morning. We creeped closer to Xinjiang by reaching Dunhuang. It was also one of the important Silk Road routes. We got a ride with a nice uncle who tried hard to understand us and translate app but he just couldnt get that we were asking about the attraction sites. He parked the cab at the front of the hotel and video called his English taught daughter to speak to us. We spent half an hour trying to get a ride with him to the sites in an agreement that he could understand…he apologized for language barrier and we were like nahhh we’re sorry too we are severely lacking by not learning at least conversational Mandarin before actually going to China without a travel guide 😂 we could understand simple sentences but couldnt reply back. With no local sim card to connect to Wifis…this would be the most important tip for a China trip when you’re not a Mandarin speaker. Get local sim card!! And install VPN (I have it) but without internet it’s kinda useless.

The empty boulevard in early morning

We checked in just for an hour of freshening up and wend out to get breakfast. The hotel was at walking distance to noodle places as well as nice looking restaurants. We decided to splurge a little by going inside this beautiful door to a fancily decorated dining area with uniformed waitress treating us to a welcome juice in tall glasses. Nice eh? The price werent too pricey and the food tastes good. A local guy who spoke fluent English greeted us while we were going out the building. He introduced himself as the owner’s son and wanted to know our thoughts about the place. He had with him a huge ass bike too. That was random, to notice he had a big bike but that amused me 😆 we walked out to the townspeople waking up and starting the day in full swing. There was a little traffic and there was a group of mixed age Tai Chi practitioners at one side of a busy street.

The cab uncle came by at the specified time to bring us to the Mogao Grottoes. We didnt know it was actually a 2 part trip through the museum where you will have a visual presentation of the history and parts of the Grottoes since it wasnt all preserved and opened to public. A large part was still in conservation, others were just too fragile to be exposed to the public. The modern looking museum also is where you take the shuttle bus to the actual site. As I said, these parks are just sooo huge.

The 1/4 chicken we ordered

The bus ride to the Grottoes

Mogao Grottoes are a network of underground Buddhist shrines built through 10 dynasties. The fact that it was quite recently discovered is mindblowing. It was there for a looong time buried under the desert. The arid weather preserves much of it that we can see today. The shrines are built individually with own styles. The decorations and the vanity of a shrine signify the owner’s wealth and prosperity at the time it was built. You can’t take photos inside so I have nothing to share but the outline of the caves.

One shrine that is set for public use unlike all the other shrines were the one by the only Chinese Empress Wu Zetian. She made her shrine for everyone to use regardless of their status in society. It was an impressive chamber to pray and offer offerings. The Grottoes are a strong example of the cultural and economic exchange of the East and West set by the Silk Road and even before it was recognized. The materials and technique used to build each shrine spanning 1000 years is a must see 😭😭

It was noon and we still have half a day to go for the sand dunes. I mean you can’t say you’ve been to western China and not see the sand dunes right?? We get a different driver for this trip because it’s farther away out from the city. We parted ways from the kind uncle. He was genuinely worried about how we, 2 women getting around by ourselves 😅

The moment we arrived at the sand dunes it was late, it was just so far and we were hoping to be lucky enough to arrive on time. The parking lot and the entrance werent close. We ran like crazy to see the ticket booth still opens. We get some of the last tickets because the place needed hours to ride the shuttles and trek the dunes. That’s why they will close around 5pm to avoid people getting lost inside when it’s dark.

I can’t tell you how mindblowing it was to me but I never thought about the scale of it. IT WAS LIKE A MOUNTAIN. Of cold prickly sand. There were camel rides as well but we decided to trek by foot.

The Crescent Lake!!

Sorry for the quality. Wish I brought myself an actual camera but I dont know if I could pack a heavy old Sony camera. I make a point to bring a camera next time…the amount of stuff I’d have taken from this place alone!! Spending 2 hours arent enough.

At 8pm we must get the ride to the train station which wasnt the one we were from when we arrived that morning (damn it was one of the best 12 hours of my life) it was at Liuyuan, another 2 hours ride out of the city. I researched the stations that were connected to Turpan / Tulufan in the type of coach that we booked. I couldn’t get through from other station. So we took a pricey and long ride into the night. Just pitch black one lane road…I still remember the numbing cold. After 2 hours, the sleepy Liuyuan, demolishing our need for a nice hot noodle bowls and little shopping before getting on the train. We felt unsafe staying outside the station. It was dark and empty. If you look around that area of the town was at the edge. There was nothing else.

Luckily the station had a number of people in the waiting room. We didnt feel so creeped out. A smiling female staff came to us to specifically explained the train numbers etc in English because obviously we looked like we didnt speak Mandarin. That lifted our spirit a bit. I dont know, the ride towards Liuyuan and the town itself were draining and it was nearing midnight. We boarded the train but found no available seats side by side. This was about a week doing this and it wasnt any surprise anymore. We took any barely empty seats we could find and said to each other, see you in the morning.

I forgot to tell you how it surprised me the first time I boarded the K train back in Jiayuguan. There were no assigned seats, people lie and sleep anywhere they could and their feet dangling in the aisle barricading you from walking through. And the smell? As expected, like feet 😂😂

Lanzhou – Jiayuguan #4

Aye 2 weeks has passed from my last post. April been thru sooo fast goddammit!! We’re all trying to take a breather here with everything that’s going on. Im also busy with work..I wish to continue this series as I only has the pictures to keep the memories. I do blogs just so I can go back and read it someday, again.

So, from our last stop at Lanzhou we took the train to Jiayuguan. I learned to live on instant noodles like the locals. Breakfast, snacktime, second breakfast, supper, you named it. As soon as the morning comes the next day in Jiayuguan we took the suggestions from the hotel’s front desk and book a private car all in with tickets to the 3 attraction sites; Jiayuguan Hanging Wall, First Fire Tower and Jiayuguan Pass. I like starting the trip early because we only have one day.

Arriving to the first site (First Fire Tower) around 8.30am with the reception being empty is so cool to me. Then I realized the whole area arent really where I thought it was..we stood at the entrance 2km of barren land until you can actually see the Towers (what was left of it from the 15th century anyway) it’s a Fire Tower. As in, the communication beacons of forts in those times. Seeing it now doesnt tell you its significance, it looks like a random manmade ruins in the desert. The Great Wall of China which generally described to be in Beijing, extends to Gansu as the westernmost part of it. Ive never been to Beijing though. The site includes a small underground showroom and glass floored deck looking out the cliffs. Pretty cool. There’s also an area of constructed barracks similar to what it’d looked like in the past.

Glass deck

Barracks

The second site was The Hanging Wall. It was built in a way that it will not show at all from the western side. The shape seen from a distance looks like it’s hanging.

All the parks so far were vastly walkable. As an unfit person this was quite a challenge 😅 but I enjoyed the work needed to get up for the views and the feeling of accomplishment. It was nearing 1pm and we still had one last place to go, it was the grandest and the most memorable of all; the Jiayuguan Great Wall. Remember that all these Great Walls were named according to the province it were situated. All of them connected to the Great Wall of China. This realization came to me again and Im still in awe.

The size of this fort is something you should feel by being there. It was amazeballs to see the inner and outer cities and the distance through it all. To get the views above the walls you need to climb a steep path used by the horses at the time. Lol you get the picture, a path without steps so you had to clamp your feet down when you wore bad shoes like me. There were a number of tourists groups by the time we arrive at the inner city. Luckily it wasnt the tourist season..and the place is huge you won’t feel the crowd that bad. I get to try the archery booth and walk the path they say trodden by banished people. To the west, there was nothing but endless desert. It was understood at the time it was a death sentence. Now? Through the westernmost Pass, they had go kart and camel rides 😆 however you can go up the walls and use the stationary binoculars to scale how lonely the desert has always looked like.

Bonus city – Linxia

The driver pulled up at a bus station and the kid and the old guy exit the car. We already accepted the fact that we’re here unplanned but there’s nothing we can do. Now the utmost priority is looking for something to eat. We were brought to a local noodle shop (of course) he ordered each of us a bowl. I was like oh no don’t tell me it’s that herbal soup again >.< I sat there trying to not be rude and finish it. This time it was served with  a cucumber relish and some chewy veggies. It really compliments the cold numbing feeling from that certain herb. I’d definitely ask for this together with the noodles if I get to go here again.

We were given a walking tour of the city’s many mosques. I learned later that Linxia is known as The Little Mecca of China, almost literally. The mosques spaced by rows of shophouses and medium rise residential areas, and came with individual designs. Almost none of it are identical with each other.

This is one picture that I found. I think the others were my friend’s. We saw around 3 mosques, all walkable distance 😂 you can google about Linxia and its historical significance to the ancient Silk Road (although not as the same city it was known in modern times) and is one of the two autonomous regions of Hui ethnicity. Our driver told us a lot about the attractions and we were able to pleasantly interact with each other. I think he did a great job and he was delighted about everything. When we reached Linxia in the first place we didn’t feel too bad about it. In the spirit of adventure 😂

We get back to Lanzhou train station well before 5.30pm! We paid 75cny/person for the whole 4 hours return trip Lanzhou – Linxia including the breakfast noodles and the little tour he gave us. Compare that to the airport lift we took upon arrival to Xi’an airport. We were glad we chose to rode with him and reached this remote city and saw all those beautiful mosques. But, by this time we don’t have the space to see Lanzhou like we planned. We filled the time with looking for more noodles bowls instead. Found a nice little pulled noodle shop just walking distance from the station (remember you can’t enter the building if your departure is hours ahead)

Dry noodles. Pulled fresh right in front of you. The chilli oil is sooo good

 

You can see from the picture the local women wears scarfs over their heads. Many Hui ethnicity resides here and the remote Linxia up above the mountain. There are no train nor airport connecting Lanzhou and Linxia. Thinking about how they build up these remote and huge cities just make you intrigued…I think anyone else coming from the US and Canada would get what it meant to live in such a huuuge country. It was mind boggling to me.

Anyway, the dry noodles were so tasty! After spending time walking around the vicinity we took toilet trips before entering the station. And I swear….I cried my eyes out having to use that horrible makeshift toilet!! I understand they limit the use of water around here (all public sinks are sensor automated) But it was pure trauma of sensory and sight. Lol. My friend could control herself but I couldnt, literally bawled my eyes out 😂

Lanzhou – Jiayuguan #3

From this post on I will put the places as titles (because Im bad at titles) I’ll put up pics when Im able to get on pc

 

In early morning Lanzhou, the train station was already flooded by people as we tried to find ourselves taxis to tour around the key attractions as we dont have much time until 5.30pm train to Jiayuguan. I picked Lanzhou because of its history and significance other than as the connecting city as we go westward. We found a pleasant guy from the many locals who promoted their services and decided to talk to him.

We entered his car together with a kid and an old guy crammed inside thinking we’re heading to the attractions we thought we made him understand from the phrases and translations. Alas, we realized he’s going farther out from town and climbed onto hilly zig zagging roads. Me and my friend knew we arent going to where we thought we agreed upon but it was already too far and long gone…partly from our impatience to not wait around at the train station in the cold. The penance for this is getting a ride to an unknown location in a foreign country with the inability to speak the language. Fuck I guess! I kept talking to my friend to be calm and we’ll figure this out once we arrive to where he was also bringing the other 2 passengers. Because there was NO WAY you could ask to be let out on that mountainous road man…and it was so.cold. Our enemy is the damn weather!!

Suddenly he asked us if we needed a toilet break. We’re like yeah sure but WHERE? In the middle of these endless barren mountains? Then he climbed a steep road and put a break on the car. He directs us to a (can you guess it) local’s house that is situated halfway below the ground level where the car was parked. We walked to the yard with the driver and he presumedly tell them abt us needing toilet. The house itself was unlike any Ive ever seen before online nor real life! I tried to act normal but inside I was so intrigued. The paintings on the tiles, the design of the yard, the outhouse as the toilet etc not to forget the intimidating guard dog.

We thanked them profusedly and hike back to the car. As we get in the other 2 passengers smiled and seemed didnt mind abt the time we spent there. It was about half an hour I think. I wonder how did they control their bladder in this cold 😂

It took is ~2hrs to arrive at a town here. It was dusty, a little hot from a 10am sun but prickly cold. Once we get telco lines back we looked up the gps. We’re in Linxia.

 

One time I was in China #2 Xi’an – Lanzhou

So Im updating the previous post. The next morning we checked out. The management allowed us to store our bags at the reception and came back in the evening to pick it up and find a taxi for the ride to the train station. Actually the city is well connected with a metro system but sincr we were noobs and dont want to walk too much we decided to flag a taxi. To get us out from the alleys we took a small trishaw like vehicle and found a taxi afterwards.

I was quite shocked to see the huge train hub. Even at night the place is packed and lines are long. In its proximity there were security gates and your stuff will get checked by uniformed forces. An officer asked me something in Mandarin but after 3 times he gave up and let me go lmao. It was dizzying to navigate for first timers but luckily diytravel.com website that we prebooked the tickets from had all the instructions to ease the whole process. To communicate I used translate app together with typed phrases on a piece of paper and plastered it wide on the surface of the glass interface lol the staff quickly get to business and we were done in about 15minutes from getting our tickets printed to queuing for entry to the waiting hall. Can you imagine only patrons with tickets get to enter the building. All the buzz we saw outside were people who had arrived early to wait for their entry when the time comes. The whole freaking building is ONLY for waiting! Then I remembered how huge this city is in itself. Couldnt be compared to where Im from lol!

As usual locals looked at you all the time when you’re around them. Walking through a super long horizontal seating area in like a huge ass hall to see the current trains docking and departing gets a lil overwhelming as we werent experienced travelers and never been to China. It was all very interesting and mind boggling at the same time just observing the way things are run and how the people acted around themselves. The walk to the underground railway was cold and unexpectedly long and rushed. I thought Im gonna miss it (I felt like this at every train stations on this trip 😂) we get to our 4people sleeper room. There was this old couple that stayed with us. Without understanding a word between us we all managed to somehow connect..idk how to explain it. But it was nice…I get to sleep the shit out of that 7hrs ride. On trips I tend to fully enjoy the act of sleep. In normal times this is unnatural to me. So anyway we arrived at 6.30am in Lanzhou. And omg it was so cold, to us, who are hot blooded creatures from the equator and it was 9c of the final tip of winter in central Asia.

Lanzhou Train Station