Digital Photo Gallery(China)

Silkroad2-2 Across Taklamakan Desert
-Taklamakan, Kuqa, Korla-

Click on a thumbnail to enlarge the photo. Another window opens.
Click NEXT button to go on. Click CLOSE button to close second window.


(pic76)Jpeg169K


(pic77)Jpeg119K


(pic78)Jpeg178K


(pic79)Jpeg186K


(pic80)Jpeg181K


(pic81)Jpeg167K


(pic82)Jpeg157K

(pic76-84) We went to the bazaar of Hotan in the afternoon. All children were friendly and they pestered to be taken the photograph. Of course, they did'nt say give me money here. Any food(raw, drying up fruit, vegetable, meat, Nan, and goose's eggs) was sold in the bazaar. Other than those, all general merchandises like clothes, futons, large oblong chests, and the gold works, etc. was sold. Nans are put and burned with the inner wall of big cooking stove.
(pic85) The job offer vote projected to the bulletin board.
(pic86) It was donky carts seen while we aiming at Yutian. They are hard workers though they are obstinate. To tell the truth, the driver of the bus at this time overlooked the sign of 40km speed restrictions of the school road, and we were stopped by the traffic cops. Penalties were 200 yuan(28dollers).
(pic87) When arriving at Yutian the tour conductor said that there was an unusual hat and we were taken to bazaar. However, the sold place was not found out. We were told by this girl that it is also in her house and having been shown is a small hat which the grandmother has put on. We entered the private house in the back of the alley after this, and clan's hat has been bought up.
(pic88) It was a day nursery in the back of the alley. The childs were purposely arranged when we pointing our camera at.
(pic89) It is a start of running through the Taklamakan desert really. It is a travel the length of desert on the map, but it is said the length of it is 2,000km as for east and west and 600km as for the south and north. Isn't it a correct answer the crossing of the short side? We left the hotel of Yutian at 8 AM. The morning sun rose when we had run for about 30 minutes.
(pic90) The bus entered the road toward the desert after it had run to Minfeng. Running for a while in gobitan turnning our back to Kunlun Mountains, it was at ten o'clock when we reached the first gate of the public road in the desert at last.
(pic91-95) The desert looked black with a long expansion of the shadow of the dune when the sun did not rise high enough.
(pic96) We took Rag noodle for lunch at the restaurant beside the Taozhong second gate. It's an indelicate matter to mention, but I had a hard time to walk without stepping on predecessors drivers' souvenirs when relieving myself in the shadow of planting the road sideward.
(pic97-98) The road was defended from the quicksand as the tamarisk, suosuo, etc. were planted in the double-triple inside the reeds were spread over the square on the road sideward.
(pic99) A moment or so we set foot on the desert. It was not as hot as we thought. I was surprised at the size of an individual dune though it did not understand easily because the sun broke out in overhead. I stuffed the sand in the bag only a little, because the guide said you could take it home even very much to commemoration.
(pic100) As we approached the vicinity of the north in the desert the tree of Populus euphratica showed the appearance. It is said that it is a cause of the desert expansion that the residents has made this strong trees against sand firewood.
(pic101) The colorful building of 114 households scattered a public road sideward are pump chambers to water planting drawing up underground water. Married couples live in for management it.
(pic102) The dune disappeared and it had begun to gobitanized we saw people who did picking cotton.
(pic103) Tarim river is the longest inland rivers in China. To often change the flow though it has a considerable volume of water, wandering lake Lop Nor was produced in the desert. The water supply from other rivers are being done now.
(pic104) I hear that Jiang Zemin also took the souvenir picture in front of the large tree of Populus euphratica aged of many hundreds of year or more.
(pic105) The desert is a treasure house of natural resources, too. Especially, in the vicinity of the north, the appearance of the natural gas that burns above the chimney and the oil excavators are seen.
(pic106-107) The monument of the Tarim desert public road had been built at the third gate sideward. This road is a private road that the oil development company has constructed. (Or rather say if the managed company made it then still a national road?)


(pic83)Jpeg85K


(pic84)Jpeg163K


(pic85)Jpeg151K


(pic86)Jpeg219K


(pic87)Jpeg127K


(pic88)Jpeg177K


(pic89)Jpeg111K


(pic90)Jpeg159K


(pic91)Jpeg114K


(pic92)Jpeg138K


(pic93)Jpeg120K


(pic94)Jpeg143K


(pic95)Jpeg104K


(pic96)Jpeg165K


(pic97)Jpeg169K


(pic98)Jpeg115K


(pic99)Jpeg78K


(pic100)Jpeg188K


(pic101)Jpeg171K


(pic102)Jpeg194K


(pic103)Jpeg98K


(pic104)Jpeg106K


(pic105)Jpeg164K


(pic106)Jpeg58K


(pic107)Jpeg156K


(pic108)Jpeg101K


(pic109)Jpeg111K


(pic110)Jpeg104K

(pic108-110) We ran toward the evening sun for Kuqa when the petroleum product illegal taking out inspection was done by the clerk in charge of the oil company. The sun set at a few minutes past eight. There was the crescent moon in the sky. We arrived at Kuqa at a half past eight. The mileage during the day was 866km.
(pic111-113) We left the hotel just before nine o'clock. The blowout tire was repaired in the Shamalpac village with the meaning of the garden of the wind. I heard it costed 60 yuan(8dollers) that tubes were exchanged, the patch was pasted to the tire. It was just going to school time of the school child. There seemed to be domestic animal's bazaar, and a man who was the dispossession of the crowd of the sheep was seen on this day. The sheep was dismantled in front of the door from the morning for the shish kebab.
(pic114) It was a exchange station of Han Dynasty, beacon tower of Czlgaha of 13.5m in height.
(pic115-116) The bus entered the arduous pass before long. The name is a salt water valley. The swept away rock salt has piled up in the river beach.
(pic117-119) We got out from the valley and run for some time in addition, there Kizil Thousand Buddha Caves broke out in the cliff by the river beach was. All luggage such as cameras were put in the locker for the taking a picture prohibition. The statue built in front is Kumaraju who took the Buddhism sutras home from India. The story of the karma of the Buddhism, the performance of traditional court music and the appearance of the gods etc. were drawn on the wall in the caves. It is said that most faces are scrape away when Islam invades and a part of wall painting were taken away by the expedition team in Europe. Mr. guid's expression was very complex when he said they were lucky being preserved in the museum carefully now.
(pic120-126) We visited the ruins of Subashi ancient town. The east Temple district looked far when going up to west Temple ruin. It is said that it was divided into parts because of the deluge in 1950 though it was one connection before. The hole in the back of the temple was where king's daughter and her child's mummy were found.
(pic127-128) We ran aiming at Korla while seeing the oil freight train of the Nanjiang railway in the left hand. The sunset became before eight o'clock. We were moving east little by little.
(pic129-130) We arrived at the hotel of Korla at nine o'clock at last, and supper was taken at the restaurant. The five-star hotel is a metropolitan level because of the town gets excited over the oil development. The food range has extended, too.
(pic131-133) The street is beautifully maintained and looks like Qindao. The light is improved to the Peacock river at nighttime. It is said that it dries up in the desert now though this river had been poured into Lop Nor former lake before.
(pic134-136) From Korla to Urumqi is less than one hour. We moved by the propeller aeroplane of Southern Airlines.
(pic137) Lunch was taken at a restaurant beside the airport. On the chair in front of the restaurant, there were cookies, scissors and the kitchen knife. I wander what charm it is, but told that it is a exorcize of the guest who return from the funeral.
(pic138-139) The Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Museum where beautiful woman of Rouran and six other mummies, various excavated articles and the ethnic costumes etc. was exhibited had been rebuilt beautifully.
(pic140) We looked for the last souvenir at the Erdaoqiao Bazaar. In various places here China, Carrefour that has already withdrawn in Japan is fighting bravely.
(pic141-144) The day was the final traveling day. Changing the plane from Urumqi at Xi'an, we've got the way of the homecoming. A little trouble came in the Urumqi airport. I and another tourist were made to open the suitcase. The sand of the desert that was transferred to the PET bottle as being safe even if the suitcase was thrown away was caught by the X-ray check. I put out the PET bottle which is wrapped round and round under the nose of the clerk in charge. Putting it through X rays again, and he said OK at last. When I came home I examined all the luggage but there were no little moon rice cakes that had been bought in Carrefour the day before. Perhaps, it was likely to have forgotten to return them at the time. From Urumqi to Xi'an is still a silk road. It flew while seeing the snow mountain in a right and left distance and the moorland that turned reddish-brown before our eyes. I was said to take off jacket and hat at the Xi'an airport and passed them all to X rays.
Leaving at Urumqi 9:45 and arrival at Narita 20:20.
A total mileage in the bus of seven days was 2530km-the city sightseeings are excluded-. It was continuous of the forced march.
                (September, 2006)


(pic111)Jpeg182K


(pic112)Jpeg162K


(pic113)Jpeg175K


(pic114)Jpeg99K


(pic115)Jpeg151K


(pic116)Jpeg165K


(pic117)Jpeg165K


(pic118)Jpeg148K


(pic119)Jpeg165K


(pic120)Jpeg119K


(pic121)Jpeg156K


(pic122)Jpeg172K


(pic123)Jpeg168K


(pic124)Jpeg182K


(pic125)Jpeg154K


(pic126)Jpeg134K


(pic127)Jpeg73K


(pic128)Jpeg103K


(pic129)Jpeg193K


(pic130)Jpeg206K


(pic131)Jpeg128K


(pic132)Jpeg154K


(pic133)Jpeg130K


(pic134)Jpeg118K


(pic135)Jpeg179K


(pic136)Jpeg152K


(pic137)Jpeg61K


(pic138)Jpeg158K


(pic139)Jpeg122K


(pic140)Jpeg158K


(pic141)Jpeg128K


(pic142)Jpeg134K


(pic143)Jpeg147K


(pic144)Jpeg167K

Photo by INO, Shohta with NIKON D70 & RICOH Caplio R4.
      Arranged with Photoshop CS2.

to topto the Top to Chinato China to HomePageto HomePage