Hats on Heads

It is not strange to take pictures of yourself when you travel along. However, holding camera with a short arm, resulting in pictures with close-up heads is just another opportunity for self indulgence. During my trip to China, I had to remind myself to let someone take pictures of me in the environment so I could use the photos for publicity.  This group of head thumbnails is, in fact, thumbnails of me with famous landmarks. These heads also act as an reminder to me of  three weeks of intensely hot weather. There is one thing my son gave me before my trip to China saved my life. A pair of shoe laces. I used one for my hat and one for the belt. In Shanghai, I had to throw away a lot of my clothes to make room for books: I kept the shoelaces.

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Taking up the Silk Road Dream

Crescent spring, Dunhuang

7/5/2013 10:15 AM I walked into the Forbidden City - three days later I left the Great Wall, retracing an ancient path and uncovering stories of trade, power, beliefs, art, love and death on the Silk Road in China’s Xinjiang Autonomous region.  My travel group was made up of 21 fellow adventurers and educators from all over the United States. At the end of two weeks of breakneck trekking to the western border of China, from Beijing to Kashgar we finally arrived in Shanghai. We were lead by Karen Kane and Roberta Martin from Columbia University, Harold Tanner from the University of North Texas, and Jeff Kyong-McClain from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. In addition, in every city we visited, five national and regional professional tour guides would join our group.

The two-week journey was a discovery of visual and intellectual enlightenment. We combined the exploration of archaeological sites with historical points of interests, ancient ruins, and museum visits. At every destination there was in depth, site-specific, topics of discussion. For instance, we explored the excavation Museum of Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses, which was a stark contras to the pigs and dogs which depicted domestic life in Han Yang-ling’s tomb. I flew to Dunhuang, and saw Mogao Grottos with a pilgrimage to cave #17 – a Library Cave.  Here, I toured Bezeklik’s Thousand Buddha Cave as well.  I rode on donkey cart through the Gaochang Ruins where the monk Xuan Zhuang had lectured upon his return from India to Xi’an with the Buddhist scriptures.  I entered Kashgar and explored the great Id Kah Mosque and street markets.  My footsteps traced Heavenly Lake in Tianshan and down to the Turpan underground Karez.  I spent memorable days under the grape vines at private Uyghur houses and concluded the trip with an excursion to the fascinating Sunday Bazaar in the westernmost point of China.

At the conclusion of the course laid out by my traveling group, I continued my journey in Shanghai where I booked into a cheap hotel, my travel hut, and started a weeklong series of day trips to neighboring cities. These trips lead me to I.M. Pei’s Suzhou Museum, and a tour of West Lake and the China Academy of Art campus in Hangzhou.  I was so touched by the TV Show: “The Patriot of Fe Yue” that I sought out Yue Fe’s gravesite in record heat (42 C) on a Wednesday afternoon in Hangzhou.  I took many buses to many water towns, walked through many streets to see temples and gardens. Equipped with only a hat, an umbrella, and a towel on my neck, and several bottles of water in my backpack on these sightseeing escapade and somehow survived an unprecedented hot July in Shanghai.  Eventually, after visiting the Shanghai museum three times, I finally decided that I had seen all its collections and did my final purchases of books and souvenirs and left China to return to the USA.

Throughout the trip, I sketched on-site, and in the dark; collected tickets, maps, and booklets.  I snapped more than 4500 pictures (thank goodness for digital cameras and my Iphone).  My travel collections also include recorded videos with the Uyghur people singing and playing instruments. I purchased, in Kashgar, a Daira (a frame drum) and intend to practice it on my own.  Entering the Muslim world is an unbelievable experience, like exploring a distant continent.  I respect every aspect of the Uygur people’s life and await an opportunity to encounter China’s Central Asia.  There was so much all around me that I fear I missed many important historical sites by just an arm’s length.  Well, traveling in China, you’re bound to miss something and find something unexpected in return. 

Gaochang Ruins

Gaochang Ruins

desert ride on camel back, Dunhuang

Visiting the Great Id Kah Mosque, Kashgar