|
|
Noey Does Some Research
- Older in Altai Bike Expedition, 2006: Not there YET - Newer in Altai Bike Expedition, 2006: Noey and Jon in Almaty
Still waiting for our trip to begin, I went googling for information on where we are going in China.
I learned that Xinjiang is one sixth of China’s landmass. It is the hottest and coldest place in China, has China’s largest desert and longest inland river. It has the second lowest and second highest points on earth - the Turpan basin and K2 (Qogir)respectively. There are 20 million people of which one fourth are Uygur, a distinct ethnic minority. There is no Uygur- English dictionary. The region shares borders with Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Tajikistan, Afganistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, (pretty much all the ‘stans) India, Tibet,and the Quinghai and Gansu districts of China. It is a farming region, known for melons and fruits. Jon knows that there are melons here because when he and Chris were adjacent to this region on the Mongolian side of the border, they found a melon transfer station at a lonely crossroads in the desert where melons from China were taken to parts unknown. He reports that it was a memorable experience, arriving hot, thirsty, and strung-out, to find a mud hut, housing 20 tons of watermelons. According to the Chinese government website, Xinjiang has “enchanting spectacles of nature.” We look forward to being lost in this unique place.
Dated: 06/27/2006
|
|
