<---The tall diversiform-leaved poplar tree is the hallmark of a deser oasis. It is able to grow and even floursh, with deep roots and luxurland leaves, as long as there is a little water in the sand.

The next leg of our journey is a long one,from Minfeng all the way across the desert to Dunhuang. Unfortunately, we were only able to follow in Marco Polo's footsteps as far as Ruoqiang, near to the ancient city of Lop (also known as Loulan, near Lop Nur), which is now buried deep beneath the sand.

Seven centuries ago, Marco Polo and many other travellers stopped over in Lop to stock up on supplies for the long and perilous journey through desert to Hami. Although it did not take him a year to get through the desert, he did spend at least  a month reaching Hami before continuing on to Dunhuang.

This is a type of large wheeled vechicle which one can use to cross the desert (if one dares), thus avoiding the 1,000-kilometre detour our authors had to make.

Nowadays it might not take that long, but in any case no one ventures any more into that vast, inhospitable desert wasteland. The desert has

encroached upon and engulfed more and more territory as time has gone by, making it virtually a no man's land. Both today and in Marco Polo's time, as he wrote, "one must go for a day and a night without finding water" and "there is nothing to eat at all". This, combined with his eerie tales of voices and apparitions, made us very happy indeed that there is now a state road that leads to Dunhuang,where we would be back in "civilization".

According to the Chinese classic tale Journey to the West,Tripkaku crossed this river on his way to India in search of Buddhist scriptures.

From Minfeng we continued our way eastward for 300 kilometres and arrived in Qiemo. Along the way the scenery was unexpectedly beautiful. Tall diversiformdeaved poplars and low reed clumps lined the road. Beyond, the land was covered with lush green grass on which cattle and sheep grazed leisurely. The Kunlun Mountains receded into the background until they finally disappeared, We stopped only for a short rest at Qiemo, and then resumed our journey. We had to drive another 371 kilometres before we reached Ruoqiang. Once out of Qiemo, the greenery was quickly replaced by yellow sand which stretched far into the distance. One long section of road ahead was completely covered by sand. Surrounding it were endless stretches of shifting sand dunes, moved about by the wind all year round.

When we arrived at Ruoqiang it was already midnight. After travelling 680 kilometres in one day we were totally exhausted and went to bed as soon as we checked into a guesthouse. When we woke up it was already past 10:00 in the morning.It was a sunny day, and outside the summer heat was suffocating.

Ruoqiang is a small county seat with streets - not very long, but neat and tidy and few passers-by.