30 September 1999

        Arrived in Urumqi at 07:16 this morning. Last night was a nightmare as the train was packed all the way from Liuyuan, Gansu province. In between we stopped at Hami where the hordes climbed through the windows fighting for seats. Twice the broadcaster asked if there were any doctors on board, as there were 2 passengers who fell ill.

        Checked into the Asia European Hotel which is close to the railway station and signed up for a 1 day tour of Heaven Pool. According to my ticket the lake lies at an altitude of 1910 meters and covers an area of 3 square kilometers. I would have enjoyed it more if there were less tourists and other unsightly constructions. At any rate, the short hike in the area was enjoyable.

        1 October 1999

        Today’s Turpan tour started at 09:00 and ended at 19:00. Our itinerary included the wind powered electricity generators, Daban city, Grape Valley, Flaming Mountain, Sugong Tower, Jiaohe Ruins and Kaner Wells. Daban city was made famous by a folk song extolling the beauty of the girls from that region.

        Flaming Mountain is the setting, in Wu ChengEn's Journey to the West, where the Monkey King has to borrow a magical fan to put out the flames.  Journey to the West is the allegorical story about 4 adventurers who travel from Xian, China to the west in search of Buddhist scriptures.  The quartet endure hardship, fight demons, make friends and enemies and generally have a good time in their quest.

        The story was based on the true story of Tang dynasty monk Tang Xuan Zhang, who made the extraordinary journey on foot from Xian to India.  In his travels, he had seen the Bamiyan statues which had lasted to the present day but for the actions of the Taliban.  He spent time in India, learnt Sanskrit and eventually returned to China to continue his translation of Buddhist texts he had brought back from India.

        The Jiaohe Ruins are another mystery in China's west.  The site used to be the location of a thriving community that disappeared suddenly.  All that is left now are cave dwellings and one story earthen structures.

        Grape Valley and Flaming Mountain turned out to be a disappointment, because I had arrived at a rather late time of the year.  The  mountain wasn’t “glowing” red hot and the valley was almost devoid of grapes. The ruins and wells, though, did prove to be a bit more entertaining.

        Since National Day celebrations were going on, all trains leaving Urumqi were booked solid. I had no choice but to book a flight to Lanzhou.