Weekend Getaway – Turpan

Last weekend we had the privilege to finally get out of U-town and explore the countryside.  The weather was fantastic!  Josh put his new Chinese driver’s license to use and we rented a car for the trip.  We had another family of four (parents and two girls ages – 1 1/2 and 3 years) join us which made the adventure a lot of fun.

I had agreed that Josh could get a license here if he promised not to use it for inner-city driving.  He was all for that considering how crazy the traffic is here.  But as we headed out for our trip we realized that in order to pick up our friends we had to drive through the middle of town!  We were all a little tense but Josh navigated the city and traffic beautifully and we got to the apartment without a hitch.

It took us about 2 1/2 hrs. to drive from U-town to Turpan.  Other than numerous toll booths it was pretty uneventful.  Once we got to Turpan we found our hotel but could not figure out where to park.  Our friend had to jump out of the car and walk behind the hotel and find various streets/alleys that led to the main road working backwards.  Once we saw him on the side of the road he jumped back into the car and guided us to the parking lot.  It ended up being a great place to stay and we felt like the parking lot was safe and secure.

After getting settled we headed out to walk the town with the kids in tow.  We found a hole-in-the-wall restaurant and had dinner outside.  It was great to be out of our long-johns and heavy jackets and enjoy the warmer evening.

Jaden slept great considering we were in a new place and so we were excited to start the next day running.  We had breakfast at the hotel which consisted of steamed bread, boiled eggs and spicy chicken (most of us stayed away from the chicken ;o) ).  We then loaded the car with bottled water, snacks, and toys for the kids.  Our first stop was the ancient city remains called “Jiaohe” (gee-ow huh).

Jiaohe was a city built thousands of years ago that the desert did a remarkable job at preserving.  To a casual observer it looks like crazy rock formations in the desert but they’ve built paths through it and labeled the different parts of the city (such as the housing district, govt. buildings, wells, etc) that as you walk through you can imagine life there.  We spent a few hours exploring.  Jaden and the girls loved the sand and decided to contribute to the erosion of the ruins.  Then as they need breaks Jaden would ask to be held/carried for a little while therefore covering me in sand as well!  Thankfully, it wasn’t too hot but the sun was very bright.

Josh was able to get some shots for his site and did some videos of the area as well.  So it was nice to have another woman there to walk with and watch the kids explore.  The family we went with are with our company and arrived in U-town the same time we did.  It was nice to chat and see how they are doing with the adjustment and just share in our struggles.

After sufficient time in the desert we headed back to grab lunch.  We made another stop on the way so that we could see the Karez.  In order to have sufficient water in the city of Turpan, centuries ago, they built a series of underground canals.  They realized that the water would evaporate before it reached the city if it wasn’t underground.  So with picks, string, sticks and wooden buckets they made canals underground that brought water from the mountains to the city of Turpan.  Above ground you can see what looks like oversized anthills.  These are the holes they dug in order to have enough air for the diggers.  Pretty amazing!

After lunch, we made it back to the hotel so that the kids could take their naps.  While the moms stayed with the kids/read a vacation book, the guys headed out to take further notes on the city.  Josh wanted to up-date his information on the current hotels and sites so this provided a great opportunity to drive all over town without little ones slowing him down.

We then headed to the Emin Mineret to catch a few pictures of it in the sunset.  On our way back we found a new bed and breakfast.  Josh had heard about it but hadn’t seen it first-hand so we all stopped to have a look.  At $100 a night, it is quite expensive but it is in the middle of a grape orchard and the home has 5 bedrooms with a garden and rooftop porch.  We could all picture it as a great retreat setting.

Surprisingly, we ran into some tourists from Shanghai a few times.  We first saw them at Jiaohe and they recognized Josh from his site.  They commented on how they used his website to plan their trip all over XJ.  We saw them a few more times as we kept going to the same tourist sites around Turpan.  We are realizing more and more how Josh is quite famous in this part of the world.  ;o)

We spent the evening at a U restaurant where we had a mixture of local and western cuisine.  And then headed back to the hotel for bed.

Sunday morning we checked out of the hotel and packed up the car.  We decided to hit one more tourist attraction before heading back and drove to the “Flaming Mountains” and the “Bezeklik Caves”.  Jaden enjoyed running in and out of the caves, dancing to a local man playing on a guitar-like instrument and being blissfully unaware of the history around him.

As we headed back to U-town we were all pretty exhausted but thankful for the change in scenery.