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After breakfast I asked at the travel desk about getting a car and driver to Turpan, a nearby town that had a few mosques I wanted to visit.

China 2001 - Part Four: Urumqi & Turpan

Dougburnett
2003-11-24 10:12:13

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Urumqi, Monday, September 10

After breakfast I asked at the travel desk about getting a car and driver to Turpan, a nearby town that had a few mosques I wanted to visit. The guy wanted 700 Yuan ($85), which seemed high, so I decide to shop around a little.

Much to my surprise it was cool and rainy outside. I had thought that rain was rare in these dry parts of China. Anyway, I put on my raincoat and got a taxi to the XinJiang Airline office. From what I had seen of Urumqi so far, I had decided I wanted to go back to Beijing a day early.

We drove down wide, busy avenues past drab high-rise buildings. Urumqi was much like all the other Chinese cities I had visited. At the airline office I was told there was no flight tomorrow and that the one today was booked solid. Well ok, I was stuck in Urumqi until Wednesday.

I decided to take a taxi to the Xinjiang Autonomous Region Museum. The taxi lady had a tape of old American tunes playing. I listened to her sing along with the Platters' Great Pretender, while we drove north on a wide, busy expressway.

There were major renovations going on at the museum and the collection had been moved to a much smaller building. Most of the stuff was from ancient settlements in the area. It didn't hold my attention long and I was soon back out in the rain.

By the time I got back to the hotel the rain had stopped, so I walked over to the Uighur part of town. Here I entered an area more to my liking. There were lots of stands selling fruits, vegetables and clothing. Down one lane I saw a man baking nang - a flat bread much like India nan.

He was standing at a round tandoori-style oven. He put a ball of dough on a padded mitt and flattened it against the side of the oven. When it was done he used a rod with a hook to retrieve it. I took several pictures of him working ...