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Bicycles, Beijing

I've been on the road, having spent the past week in Xinjiang, where internet is . . . hard to come by. We didn't travel much; we concentrated the time in and around Urumqi and Turpan. I'll have to come back another time to see the rest of the province (the largest in China, totaling 16% of its total land mass). On the train from Urumqi a man told us a saying, that you don't know how large China is until you've travelled to Xinjiang, and you don't know how large Xinjiang is until you've travelled to Kashgar.

The past week was one of deserts and fruits. The oasis town of Turpan, fed by underground irrigation channels first dug over 2000 years ago, is noted for its grapes, and we happened to arrive during the harvest season. Grapes were everywhere. Trellises shaded pedestrian malls in the center of town, tempting us with the ripe grapes overhead. Unfortunately, there's a fine for picking them that far outweighs the $.50US per kilo they cost in the market.

Near Turpan we visited ancient cities and minarets built in the Afghan style. Around Urumqi we saw alpine scenery near a heavily touristed lake. Later, we'd hear about another more beautiful and remote area some 15 hours away by bus. That's a trip for another time.

The above photo was taken in Beijing along one of the main north-south streets. I won't have photos from Xinjiang until I return. That said, I don't think I took many good photos over the past week (it's hard to shoot when you're waiking around with your parents), but we'll see when I get the negatives . . .