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Mourning Old Kashgar

In recent weeks a number of articles have appeared in the international press, warning us about the imminent destruction of the old historic quarter of the city of Kashgar. Kashgar is an oasis town in the Western province of Xinjiang, inhabited by Uyghurs, Muslims of Turkic origin. Historically, it was one of the most important stops for the caravans on the Silk Route, and its Sunday Market was, and is, renowned.

According to these articles, the Chinese Authorities’ pretext for demolishing Old Kashgar is to protect the residents from the risk of earthquakes and generally improve their living conditions. The mayor of Kashgar has deemed the old buildings to be unsafe and decided that the residents should now live in new ones. The New York Times sums it up perfectly with the title ‘To Protect an Ancient City, China Moves to Raze It’.


My reaction is one of horror, [Read more →]

Tags: Xinjiang Province by Adam
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ON THE RAILROAD: Lhasa拉萨-Beijing北京

ON THE RAILROAD: Lhasa 拉萨 – Beijing 北京

Thursday, September 20, 2007, on the famous train at last!

5.45: Our alarm goes off at this barbaric hour, so that we can finish our monster packing, trying to stuff all our Tibet souvenirs into our backpacks, which are straining at the seams.

6.50: Since Lhasa, like the whole of China, is run on Beijing time, it’s still dark when we leave the hotel and go looking for a taxi. Even so, we can dimly make out the silhouettes of the pilgrims, as they quietly make their way past us, turning their prayer wheels and softly murmuring sacred mantras, headed for the Barkhor Circuit.

7.15: The mammoth station is virtually deserted at this time, as the first passengers are only just beginning to arrive. We are let into a huge marble hall with shiny floors and high ceilings, but nothing inside: no shops, no cafeteria or restaurants. There is nothing to do but sit in the waiting room, instructed and lectured by uniformed staff with megaphones who tell us not to put luggage on the seats, not to smoke, to fill in our boarding cards, etc. etc.

7.50: We are told to line up and marched onto the train. [Read more →]

Tags: Tibet, Travel, technology by Adam
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All http://holachina.com/ Routes 1990-2008

2008

Just a quick visit this time, to keep withdrawal symptoms at bay. We entered China from Thailand by boat, floating along the Mekong River between Myanmar and Laos. Basing ourselves in Jinghong, we set out to explore the area of Xishuangbanna in more depth than we had done in 1991. Unfortunately, some of our plans to venture further along the Burmese border were dashed by torrential rains and collapsing roads. We left China via Menglun and Mengla and entered Laos, for a five-week, North-to-South crossing of that charming country.

2007

Starting from Nanchang and the white lovely villages of nearby Wuyuan we embarked on a cross- China route to Tibet. On the way, we took in the Holy mountain of Heng Shan in Hunan, the fascinating Longhorn Miao people and the impressive Maling Gorge in Guizhou, as well as the Tibetan villages of Zhongdian and Deqin in Yunnan, in the area known as Shangri-La. We then spent three amazing weeks in Tibet, visiting innumerable monasteries in and around Lhasa, such as Sera, Samye or Ganden, before taking the famous new, high-altitude train back to Beijing. Still not tired, we made a final excursion to the town of Zhending, renowned for its temples and pagodas, and the magnificent Cangyan Shan, both in nearby Hebei province. [Read more →]

Tags: Routes & Maps by Adam
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Music Scene

The World Music Magazine Songlines has been focusing on Chinese Music in recent issues. Here below is an example of some of the groups and musicians they have recommended.

The first is Hanggai. A Beijing based Mongolian group that plays traditional Mongolian music. Great party and drinking music as you will see from the Videos.

YouTube – INTRODUCING HANGGAI PROMO VIDEO

YouTube – inner mongolian band playing folk music in bar

The second recommendation is Mamer. [Read more →]

Tags: Culture by Adam
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Hengshan & Nanyue 南岳衡山旅游区

We hadn’t seen anything like these people before in China: dressed in loose black clothes covered by red aprons, and carrying little wooden blocks decorated with dragon heads, these old men and women circumambulated and filed into every temple they passed. They were followed all the time by three young boys bearing colourful banners and carrying boxes full of religious regalia.  When I asked them: “您们是什么民族?” (What minority are you?), they cheerfully replied: “汉族” (Hanzu), in other words, ordinary Chinese, from Hunan, the province where we found ourselves in. “您们为什么穿这秧的衣服” (And the clothes, why are you dressed like this?), I asked. “我们是道教人”(We are Taoists), an elderly man answered. I smiled, slightly embarrassed at my ignorance.

Hengshan is one of China’s most sacred mountains and receives hundreds of thousands of pilgrims every year. [Read more →]

Tags: Hunan Province, Travel by Adam
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