The Autonomous Region of Xinjiang Uygur has 16% of China's land surface, making it China's largest province. Being located at the extreme west of China, it is geopolitically strategic, and it shares an international border with 8 other nations. On the West is Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kashmir and Tajikistan. To the north is Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Russia. To the East is Mongolia and Gansu. And to the south is Tibet and Qinghai. Its capital is the Old Silk Road trading city of Urumqi. Most of Xinjiang Uygur is simply thousands of kilometers of desert and arid plains which end abruptly at the foot of towering mountain ranges. The ruins of ancient Buddhist cities pepper the deserts as a reminder of its past, while newer Islamic monuments confirms its position as Chinas leading Islamic province. Like in most of Chinas outlying provinces, Beijing is pouring much capital into infrastructure development, while at the same time encouraging migration of the Hans from the East to promote national integration. I entered Xinjiang Uygur from the west, through the 4500 meters Khunjerab Pass, on the deceptively named Karakoram Highway. Xinjiang Uygur is hauntingly beautiful, deliciously interesting, extremely rugged, treacherous, and quite unforgiving to those who are not careful. Coming down the knotted mountains of the Karakoram, the Hindu Kush, the Pamirs, and the Western Himalayas, we drove westwards along the legendary northern Old Silk Road, keeping close to the foothills of the Tian Shan Range. The temperature regime changed abruptly from sub zero in the mountains, to 50 Celsius in the desert. The ancient Silk Road Traders called this desert the Tak-li-ma-kan. Literally translated, it means, "if-you-go-in, you-wont-come-out"...

Breakfast at Lake Karakul

We stopped here at Lake Karakul for breakfast after coming down the Khunjerab Pass. It was below zero and freezing, and my four friends who were on bikes had to stop our convoy several times to ask for more warm clothing. Lake Karakul is green and blue. Apart from the 4000m white Mt Kongur, yellow hills also rise from its shore. In the west a grass plane slopes gently down. Several small streams wind their way across the slope to the lake. There were also several glaciers creeping down from Mt Kongur and Mt Mustag Ata towards Lake Karakul. Mt Muztag Ata is Father Ice Mountain in the Kirghiz language. It is hauntingly beautiful in these sacred hills.

     The Karakoram Highway

    The Karakoram Highway is a misnomer. THIS is the Karakoram Highway. In most places it is simply a narrow ledge hewn out of solid rock. Rockfalls are a constant threat and in winter, the track is closed and unpassable because of deep snow and avalanches. In several places, glaciers literally cross the track. More than 1200 Pakistanis and Chinese died while building the 300 km Karakoram Highway.

Uygur Girl

The Uygurs are a fair skinned muslim people. This is an Uygur girl dressed in her finest..

Muslim Man at Ermin Mosque

The Uygurs are Muslims and some of the oldest mosques in China can be found here in Xinjiang Uygur. In recent times however, the Uygur population has been noticeably diluted by the emigration of the Eastern Han Chinese, no doubt a deliberate strategic move on the part of the Beijing government to control this often fiercely independent region...

Urumqchi Bazaar

Urumchi lies at the northern foot of the snow-capped Tianshan Mountains. It is the capital of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and a trading town on the "Old Silk Road". Urumqi means "fine pasture" in Mongolian. The people here are a mixture of ethnic groups of Central Asian origins. Urumqchi was once a heavily guarded fort during the Han dynasty, and today the city has a huge bazaar and open market where people from the surrounding region come to trade and obtain supplies.

A Tajik Family

This Tajik family are farmers along the Old Silk Road. The Tajiks are a sedentary Caucasoid people who speak a form of Persian language. They are descended from Iranian stock. Over the centuries, the Tajiks migrated to Afghanistan, Turkistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. In Afghanistan the Tajiks constitute about one-fourth of the population while in Tajikistan they are a majority and they number more than 4 million. About 40,000 Tajiks like this family live in Xinjiang Uygur. Their language is almost similar to Persian. They plant wheat, barley, and millet and their farms are famous for melons and a variety of fruits. Most Tajiks are now Sunnite Muslims, but a few in remote mountain areas are still Shi'ite like the Iranians.

Uiger-Girl

Tian-Chi to Urumqchi Road.

The road from Urumqchi to Tien Chi skirts the foothills of the Tian Shan. Because of the availability of water from snow melt, there are many farms here.

Two Uygur Ladies of Turfan

They were dancers, resting in between performances which are held in a grove shaded by grape vines heavy with bunches of very sweet grapes. Uygur means "unity" or "alliance." The Uygurs are Muslims who are descendents of nomads from areas south of Lake Baikal and between the Irtish River and Lake Balkhash in the third century B.C. They are a fair skinned race more alike the Caucasians rather than the Hans. The Beijing government has always had difficulty in controlling these fiercely independent people. Today Xinjiang Uygur is an autonomous Chinese province - whatever that means. Speaking to some Uygurs, I got the impression that they are not very happy with the Chinese authorities and that there is quite an active dissident Uyger movement..

Two-Uyger-Ladies