We should have come with a guide, we realized in hindsight. Nobody spoke English. We had been convinced our taxi driver had understood we wanted to visit a silk factory.
However, when we walked through the doorway we realized we had ended up at a carpet factory.
It took thirty hours to traverse the Taklaman, the world’s largest desert, by bus. I got off in the middle of nowhere, in a town called Turpan.
The region captivated me for two reasons
With over 50,000 people selling and buying, the Sunday Market in Kasghar is the biggest in China. Its origin goes back to the golden age of the Silk Route when delegations from all different empires came here to trade.
Our expectations were high.
They laugh when Coen sign languages if he can join them. Their faces are skeptical.
“A foreigner? Playing mahjong?”
There wasn’t just one stone – there were two.
Which one did the tiger jump on when crossing this gorge?
“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm, and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open”.
~Jawaharial Nehru
It is 2 am and we are about to climb a 3248-meter-high mountain: Jizu Shan.
Also known as: Chicken Foot Mountain.