Hami, Turpan and Heaven Lake (From Messenger Newspapers)

Hami, Turpan and Heaven Lake

7:53am Monday 7th July 2008

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Hami was a short stop on the road to Turpan, but gave us a useful insight into life in Xinjiang, a huge autonomous region in the far west of China.

There is a very large Uyghur population here so many shish kebabs were to follow from the largely Muslim restaurants.

Turpan certainly had a more central asian feel to it and, due to its geographical location in a basin, was very hot. We saw ancient ruins on the bus journey in but couldn't get out to the more obscure ancient sites. We did, however, eat at an amazing restaurant - For 1 pound each we ate as much mutton as we could stomach in the plush Hazada.

We stayed in Urumqi, Qinjiang's capital, for one night (although we would return) before a trip out to Tian Chi, Heaven Lake.

Three hours later we were finally in rural parts and an hours walk up a mountain met with large waterfalls before reaching the idyllic lake.

We walked around the blue waters before settling at Rashit's Yurts where we stayed a night.

A Yurt is like a big tent though looks more like a mini marquee, but made of natural materials. There were other English people there as well as French, all of whom had been teaching in China.

Not only had we found fresh air but had also learnt a lot about Kazakh culture. And little did we know that this was only the beginning.

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