2013 China Silk Road Exploration...

"Though the journey is not easy, loved one's will take our hand, to guide us in life's journey, with our footprints in the sand..." - R N Cook

(The map of the Old Silk Road)

Xi’an, Lanzhou, Dun Huang, Hami, Turpan, Urumchi, Kashgar

(22 May -2 June 2013)

The Silk Road is a historical network of interlinking trade routes across the Afro-Eurasian landmass that connected East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean and European world, as well as parts of North and East Africa. Extending 6,500 km, the Silk Road gets its name from the lucrative Chinese silk trade along it, which began during the Han Dynasty.

The Silk Road is the world's most ancient commercial artery, and it ran across the countries of the known world. Today, oasis towns, tranquil lakes, snow capped mountains, Buddhist caves, and remnants of ancient cities add allure to this wilderness.

I have done my part in tracing the Ancient Silk Road. In 2009 - Bukhara, Samarkand and Tashkent, in 2011- Amman, Jerusalem and Damascus, and in 2013 - Kashgar, Turpan, Hami, Dun Huang, Lanzhou and Xi'an.

Alhamdulillah... Already, I am thinking of my next trip...

Next Trip: 2013 - Australia Family Winter Holidays...

     2013: KL/Guangzhou/Xian👉👉

2013 The China Silk Road: 01 Guangzhou/Xi’an

"It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop..." - Confucius

Day 1 – 22 May 2013

KL – GUANGZHOU – XI’AN

We were lucky that we booked the taxi the night before if not it would be difficult to get a taxi very early in the morning. As arranged, the taxi picked us up sharp at 05:00.

(A light traveller)

Our group of 25, led by Ustaz Mohd Abd Latif of Safir Travel and Imam Muda Ashraf, gathered at KLIA 3 hours before our 09:40 flight to Xi’an via Guangzhou. We arrived at Guangzhou around 14:00 and had to rechecked-in our luggage for domestic flight. We performed our prayers at the boarding gate before our onward flight to Xian at 16:25.

(A beautiful sunset at Xi'an Airport)

We arrived in Xi'an around 19:05 and were greeted by Kelvin, the tour guide in Xi'an. The journey from the airport took us almost two hours to reach the city centre because of a massive traffic jam. The first landmark we saw was the spectacular eye-catching Xi'an ancient City Wall by night which stretches around the old city. The City Wall is the most complete and well preserved wall in China and one of the largest ancient military defensive systems in the world.

(Our first Chinese set meal)

We had dinner at one of the many Muslim restaurants and later checked in the Grand New World Hotel for the night.

(The Grand New World Hotel...)

👈👈2013: China Ancient Silk Road

           2013: Xi'an, China 👉👉

2013 The China Silk Road: 02 Xi’an

"Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you..." - Lao Tzu

Day 02: 23 May 2013

XI’AN

(Terracotta Warriors)

Xi’an is the capital city of Shaanxi Province, the start point of the ancient Silk Road, most famed for its army of terracotta warriors and horses. Other attractions are the Ancient City Wall, the Drum and Bell Towers of Xi'an, the Great Mosque of Xi'an and the Stele Forest.

(View of Xi'an City from our hotel room)

Today’s excursion started with a 45-minutes bus ride to an archeology site of Terracotta Warriors of Emperor Qin Shihuang. This is the largest archaeological discoveries in the world where there are 3 exhibition halls, the largest is 10,800 square meters where Terracotta soldiers and horses were excavated.

(Chequered lawn outside The Terracotta Museum)

(Terracotta Workshop and Show room)

(Replicas of Terracotta soldiers in the factory)

The Terracotta Warriors represent only a small portion of the eight thousand strong underground army buried in front of the Emperor Qin shihuang's tomb to defend him in the afterlife. The craftsmanship attested by each of the statues is as stupendous as the scale of the project. 700,000 forced laborers were sacrificed to construct his tomb which begun as soon as he ascended the throne. The Terracotta Warriors form just one of the many barriers the ruthless Emperor employed to protect his tomb for eternity.

(The largest pit where terracotta warriors and horses were excavated)

(Complete terracotta warriors on display)

(Remnants yet to be restored)

From the Terracotta Museum we went back to the city to have a late lunch at one of the many Muslim restaurants in the Muslim quarters. After lunch we walked for a short distance to the most famous mosque in Xi’an and its nearby Muslim community and Bazaar. The Great Mosque of Xi'an, located near the Drum Tower is the oldest, well-preserved and one of the most renowned mosques in the country.

(The entrance of the Great Mosque of Xi’an)

(The entrance to the courtyards)

The mosque remains a popular tourist site of Xi'an, and is still used by Chinese Muslims mainly the Hui people. Unlike most mosques, the Great Mosque of Xi'an is completely Chinese in its construction and architectural style, except for some Arabic lettering and decorations, the mosque has neither domes nor traditional-style minarets.

(The main prayer hall)

(Intricate calligraphy around the Grand Mosque)

We performed our prayers in the mosque and later were given a few hours free time to shop in the Bazaar before we had dinner in the same restaurant. For tonight's dinner we had the famous pulled noodle soup with beef, a traditional local Chinese dish.

(In the Muslim Quarters, getting to know the locals)

(The famous pulled noodle dish and spicy chicken satay)

Tonight we stayed another night at The Grand New World Hotel.

👈👈2013: KL/Guangzhou/Xian, China

               2013:Xian/Lanzhou, China 👉👉

2013 The China Silk Road: 03 Xi’an/Lanzhou

"In such diffused changes of culture two factors are necessary: contact and understanding..." - Hu Shih

Day 03: 24 May 2013

XI’AN - LANZHOU

(Our reflections...)

After breakfast we checked out of the hotel and started the day tour at 09:00. It was raining quite heavily when we boarded our bus.

(The Bell Tower through the rain)
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(A visit to a Jade Shop)

Our first itinerary for today was a visit to a Jade shop. This visit was not even in our original itinerary but I was told that it was one of the many compulsory visits arranged by the travel agent to promote tourism in China. As most of us were not really interested in buying jade the visit was cut short.

(The Big Wild Goose Pagoda)

(Scenes around the Big Wild Goose Pagoda)

Later we went to visit The Big Wild Goose Pagoda, a Buddhist pagoda located in southern Xi'an. It is a square brick-laid construction with the height of 64 meters with seven stories of side length carrying 25 meters and it is also decorated with specially designed spiraling stairs and arch doors for four sides of the stories. The walls of the Big Wild Goose pagoda are well engraved with the statues of Buddha by the world most renowned artist Yan liben.

(Young lady scholars reciting al-Quran in the prayer hall)

Today the men decided to attend the Friday prayer in the Great Mosque of Xi'an. The ladies prayed in a separate prayer hall outside the mosque and had our lunch early while waiting for the men to perform their prayers. It was really fascinating to listen to their experience on how the Muslims here performed their Friday prayer which was quite interesting and different.

(The majestic City Wall)

(Standing by the wall among the ancient wheels)

(Busy scenes on the City Wall)

Lunch was at the Muslim quarters again today. In the itinerary the group was supposed to visit Xi'an Stone Tablets Museum which houses the largest collection of stone tablets and was named by UNESCO as one of the 50 famous museums in the world. After a group consensus, we decided to visit the city wall instead. As this was an optional tour, we paid for the entrance fee and had the opportunity to climb a short distance of the wall. On top, you have the choice of riding on a cart from one watch tower to another or rent a bike and cycle. Most of us decided to just walk around and visited the exhibition halls.

(The Drum Tower - brightly lit at night)

While driving around the Xi’an city we passed the Drum Tower of Xi'an, located in the heart of Xi'an and the Bell Tower. The Drum Tower is located northwest of the Bell Tower, across the Bell and Drum Tower Square. Both of them are called the 'sister buildings' or 'morning bell and dark drum'. There is no iron nail used anywhere in the Tower. There are twenty-four drums in its north and south sides. They stand for the Twenty-four Solar Terms which is a of weather calendar created by the Chinese ancients in order to guide the agricultural production. In ancient China, especially from the Yuan Dynasty, the drums were used to signal the running of time and on occasion were used as an alarm in emergency situations.

(The busy and crowded bazaar at the Muslim Quarters)

(Bright lanterns, dates and nuts)

After an early dinner we were transferred to the Airport for a domestic flight to Lanzhou.
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We arrived in Lanzhou around 22:30 and were greeted by Eric, our tour guide. The one-hour bus ride took us to the Sapphire Hotel where we stayed for the night.

(The Saphire Hotel, Lanzhou)

👈👈 2013:Xi'an, China

          2013: Lanzhou/Dun Huang, China 👉👉

2013 The China Silk Road: 04 Lanzhou/Dun Huang

“Seeing it once is better than being told 100 times…” - Zhou Chongguo'

Day 04: 25 May 2013

LANZHOU – DUN HUANG

(Old painting of Lanzhou city)

Lanzhou is the capital city of Northwest China's Gansu province with a large Muslim population. A prefecture-level city, it is a key regional transportation hub allowing areas further west to maintain railroad connections to the eastern half of the country.

(The Xiguan Mosque - modern and strategic) 

(A welcoming committee of Imams and scholars)

After breakfast we visited the largest mosque in Lanzhou, the Xiguan Mosque which was recently renovated according to traditional Arabic style. The Mosque was first built in Wanli Period, Ming Dynasty. The existing constructions were rebuilt in 1990. It is a domical architecture of Arabic Islam style, solemn and forceful, which is one of the grandest mosques in China.

(Praying behind a pillar)

(Photo shots around Xiguan Mosque)

The mosque covers an area of 467 square meters. The prayer hall is a building combining the Chinese classical and Arabic architectural style. Every year, the mosque will receive hundreds of foreign Muslim scholars. When we arrived we were greeted with a warm welcome by the imam and the young scholars. After a brief orientation, we performed our prayers in the mosque.

(The main prayer hall)

(Gentlemen group photo)

After lunch the group visited the Nanguan Mosque. Again we were given a warm welcome by the imam and the community there. It was recorded that the Nanguan Mosque is one of the six most famous mosques in Lanzhou. It was first built in the Hongwu Period of Ming Dynasty.

(The main entrance of Nanguan Mosque)

(Getting to know the muslim community)

(The intricate mimbar)

(An imam taking a rest after prayer)

The prayer hall is a four-floor building of Arabic architectural style. The first floor is used as the teaching room, show hall and living room. The second and the third floor are the prayer halls, which can hold thousands of jemaah. The fourth floor is the green onion dome with a 1.5 meters high crescent moon steel.

(A large clock structure) 

(A few of the many water wheels)

Visits to Lanzhou also include a visit to Water Wheels Park which stretches about 50 km along the Yellow River which runs across Lanzhou city. In the park, two huge waterwheels with striking appearances stand uprightly on the bank of the Yellow River. They are modeled on the antique waterwheel, having quadrate buckets and a diameter of 16.5 meters. In high water periods, they are driven by flowing water from the river; in low water periods, they are driven by water gathered by cofferdam.

(Two huge water wheels)

(Two tired cowboys taking a short rest)

Because of the the two waterwheels and an advantaged position, the Waterwheel Tea House attracts a lot of tourists. Tourists can experience crossing the river on a sheepskin raft, which is the most primeval ferrying tool in the northwest region of the Yellow River. A visit to the Waterwheel Garden will provide an insight into the irrigation tools of ancient times.

We had a very early dinner as we need to rush to Lanzhou Train Station to catch the 17.55 train to Dun Huang.

(My train ticket)

(Scenes in the train)

The overnight train has 6 berths per cabin and complete with toilets facilities at the end of each coach. The train journey took us almost 14 hours across barren desserts and Wind Farms.

(Wind farm in the desert).

👈👈 2013: Xian/Lanzhou, China

                    2013: Dun Huang/Hami, China 👉👉