Right now I’m on a big trip out to the final frontier of
travel in China – Xinjiang province. Xinjiang is the new Tibet. It sounds douchey,
I’m well aware, but let me explain.
A few years before China hosted the Olympic games, coverage
of the Tibet controversies exploded around the world. People became aware of
the atrocities against the Tibetan people and the struggle of the regional
minorities in China. What happened then, which is possibly simultaneously the
best thing and the worst thing for the Tibetan region, was an explosion of
tourism. All tourists need proper permits and guides for a trip to Tibet (not
unlike my time in North Korea, really) and I have it on good account, that the
region is not what it used to be. A drastic increase in people-traffic changes
a place awfully quickly. Please don’t interpret this as a snide remark about
Tibet ‘selling out’ like your favourite indie band, and I am absolutely not
dissing the people that travel there. This boom in popularity has brought some huge
economic benefits and political stability to the region. All I mean, is that
the people who originally wanted to see Tibet in all of its pre-explosion glory
will not find what the image they harbor in their hearts and minds.
So where to go? You wanna see a part of China that not many
people see. You wanna feel as though you have travelled back in time. You wanna
get away from the hoardes? Xinjiang baby, Xinjiang. They’re calling it ‘The New
Frontier’.
 | |
| Top left. Well away from EVERYTHING else. |
Xinjiang also works if you want something a little high on
the political-interest side of things. This
trip to Sichuan earlier in the year made me realise that a lot of shit still
goes down, and goes down unnoticed, in regional China. At the moment, this
kind of thing is happening in Xinjiang province, and it is a direct result
of government policy. The Chinese government is keen to get rid of the
minorities and all their hassles, so the in-a-nutshell policy is that they give
financial incentive for the Han Chinese to move to these traditionally minority-inhabited
areas and provide them with money, accommodation and schooling. This means that
those recently migrated Han Chinese can work for extremely low wages, and the
minority Chinese lose their jobs and their children lose places in schools. The
in-a-nutshell result, is massive segregation between the ethnicities and, of
course, a ton of violence.
What doesn’t help this situation is that this province
borders on EIGHT other countries, and is vastly separate from the hub of the
east coast of China. The minorities speak a language that is not Mandarin. It
isn’t even a dialect – it’s a completely different linguistic family. The
province is the biggest in China, and holds 30% of China’s oil reserves, and the
capital Urumqi is the furthest place in the whole world from the ocean.
I digress. There is an infinite amount of easily accessible
information about the political turmoil in Xinjiang (you know, now that it’s
the new Tibet) but I really want to talk about the great things about it. The
reasons I am going.
Historically, Xinjiang province was the gate from Europe to
the East – one of the big stops along the famous “Silk Road”. Lonely Planet
China says –
“One short step away from the new
New Frontier, however, and you get back to the old – way back. Along the Silk
Road, the old towns, the camel trading, the blowing sands, the kebabs, the
lively and beautiful mosques, and the unsurpassed hospitality of the Uyghurs
are as timeless as ever.”
Couldn’t have said it
better myself. I mean, I haven’t been there yet, but that’s what I think it
should be like. The pictures of their famous deserts and mountain ranges and
vast grasslands evoke the most adventurous spirit in me. Truly. The whole
region is incredibly isolated, and yet represents the coming-together of so
many different peoples and cultures and religions and landscapes and cuisines.
Ok so now it has come out. The real reason I’m going to
Xinjiang. The food. ITS MY FAVOURITE!!! I talked about it here and did this
class to learn how to make it, and basically I eat it all the time whenever I can.
Xinjiang food is a marriage of Asian and Eastern-European cuisines. They can also
make it super great without meat which suits me just swell. The nighttime food
markets alone are enough to get me on the three-day train ride to Kashgar. The
tea houses that sell big bowls of steaming noodles make me squirm with longing.
Seeing massive chunks of dough being kneaded and then pulled and banged by the
side of the road – then flung into a boiling pot of water with such artistry.
It amazes me. Xinjiang food is an incredible thing.
I know, I know, you get it. It’s great. Move on. Ok fine.
But seriously, if you ever get the chance – OKAY ENOUGH.
Moving on.
Where exactly am I going in this massive province? I decided
to spend most of my time in and around a city called Kashgar. It is a full 24
hour train ride from the capital Urumqi, which immediately cuts down on the
number of tourists visiting, and I have no doubt in my mind that it’s well
worth it. Kashgar itself should be full of old streets in old towns, beautiful
mosques, night markets and great food. From Kashgar, we plan to take day trips
to get to the Karakoram Highway, the Karakul lake, and ride camels in the
Taklamakan desert to camp there overnight. Feel free to google-image those, or
wait till I get back and just see my pictures. Either way. This is gonna be so
epic. I’m talking Tolkien levels of epic.
I’m also very aware that this will be my last really
harcorebadass adventure in China. One trip to Yunnan before I leave, perhaps,
but nothing this hardcorebadasswicked. I am really pumped for this, as I’m sure
you can tell. It’s quite frustrating, not being able to real-time blog about it
(I can’t take my laptop on a desert trek on a camel) and these days I can’t
survive without writing, so I’m taking my good old long-hand Moleskine journal
and pencil case. I did the same thing when I couldn’t take my laptop to North
Korea and it worked out fine. I get back and have all the memories fresh
written daily, then I go through and pair them with the photos. At the same
time as blogging and being warm and comfy once more, I will eat a lot of
nutella sandwiches. That is the ideal end-of-tip debrief.
Until then, let the rough stuff begin!
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