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.
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