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I spent most of the day traveling. First, I took a three and a half hour flight from Beijing to Urumqi. That's about the same distance as flying from New York to California.
China 2001 - Part Three: Kashgar
Dougburnett2003-11-24 10:03:29
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used for signing documents, like a Chinese chop. I had never seen anything like them, so I bought two - 40 Yuan each ($5). I then took a taxi back to the hotel for lunch.
In the afternoon I set out to see a couple of the tombs on the outskirts of Kashgar. First, I got a taxi and explained to the driver the two places I wanted to go. When we settled on a price for the whole trip, I got in.
The first stop was at the Abakh Hoja Tomb about 2km northeast of Kashgar. It was down a lovely tree-lined lane. As soon as I saw it, I decided that I wanted to walk back when I had seen the tomb. When we pulled into the parking lot I paid the taxi driver and got out. I could see that this confused him - he had expected to be continuing on with me.
The tomb was a humble dome-covered building that sat in a rose garden. The workmanship was rather shoddy and the tiles didn't match, but it still had a kind of simple charm. Inside there were 20 or so tombstones covered with dusty green or red shrouds.
When I got back to the parking lot the taxi driver was still sitting there. I just waved as I walked by. Outside there were several horse-carts for hire, but I passed them up too.
Tall poplars lined both sides of the road and behind them there were high mud walls enclosing residential compounds. Several of the gates to the compounds were open and I could glimpse the garden inside. It was a very refreshing walk back to the main road.
From there I got another taxi to the Tomb of Yusup Hazi Hajup on the south side of Kashgar. It was also sat in a rose garden. The dome was covered with pale blue tile. Looking at it against the blue sky I felt I was viewing the world through blue tinted glasses. The inside was quite plain. After that I took a taxi back to the hotel and had dinner.
Just as it was starting to get dark I went for
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See photographs from:
China Gallery
