Apparently this is the translation (from Uighur) of "Taklamakan", the desert which we crossed today travelling from Kuqa 库车 to Hetian 和田 in 11 hours. The Taklamakan desert is so known because of its almost complete lack of vegetation and animal life unlike other deserts in the world.
We left Kuqa at 9am, first fortified by fresh Kuqa flatbread straight from the oven (see photo of the bakery which we stopped by). Flatbread is fairly ubiquitous in Xinjiang but the kind sold in Kuqa is the largest and tastiest (so says my guide). Perhaps it is the combination of salt, onion and fennel that is sprinkled on the flatbread before baking.
There are two highways which cross the Taklamakan desert. The scenery changes gradually as one drives along. At the edge of the desert, there are still rows of trees and shrubs alongside mounds of yellow earth, but as the hours pass, the rows of planted vegetation give way to intermittent clusters of poplars 胡杨树 which I am told are the only trees that can survive in the Taklamakan. Poplars have adapted themselves to desert life in that the young leaves near the bottom of the tree are narrow and long (to reduce the surface area exposed to the sun) whereas the older leaves nearer the top of the tree are larger and rounder. The poplar's roots can reach as deep as 10km below the earth to find water but where that fails, the poplar conserves itself by first drying out at the top of the tree. Dying poplars are characterised by bare branches at the top of the tree. In addition to poplars, there are prickly greyish-green shrubs that dot the desert and reeds which are planted to stop the sand from encroaching the highway.
The sand in the Taklamakan desert is surprisingly fine. As fine and as pale as the sand to be found on any world-class beach. At one of our rest stops, to stretch my legs a bit, I took off my shoes to walk around the sand dunes. While the sand was fine and smooth, it was however very hot and one had to jump around or run to avoid prolonged contact of bare feet to the hot sand.
There was only one food stop in between Kuqa and Hetian and as could be expected, it was a market town for people crossing from all directions to congregate and rest. Just a small scrappy and dusty town. We had a chicken pilaf 鸡肉抓饭 (RMB18)and lamb pilaf 羊肉抓饭 (RMB22), each served with a bowl of yoghurt, before continuing on our way. No toilets at the restaurant though - which necessitated therefore a subsequent stop behind a sand dune...
Arrived in Hetian around 7:30pm and the Sunday Bazaar was still going strong! Hetian is a predominantly Uighur city and every sunday, farmers and villagers bring their produce and wares to town to sell and trade. Whilst it might not be as traditional as the Kashgar sunday bazaar which I will be visiting next sunday ("I give you 3 sheep for my one cow"), it was nonetheless quite a sight as the market took up a good 3-4 connected streets and seemed to be going strong late into the evening.
As it was quite late already when we arrived in Hetian, we ate close to the hotel at a street stall. More lamb skewers (so-so). What I want to however highlight is the pumpkin and corn soup (a lovely soothing soupy puree of pumpkin and corn with chunks of pumpkin and leafy greens at RMB 8 per bowl) and the grilled corn on the cob (slightly charred on the outside at RMB 3). When we sat down at the unprepossessing little lamb skewer shop (which didn't look particularly hygienic either), we saw many of the diners with the soup and when asked, they said we could just buy it from another street hawker down the road and bring it to the shop to eat. We managed to secure the two last bowls. (See photo) Great comfort food after a long trip.
Tomorrow is the last day of the China portion of my Silk Road journey. It will be Day 17. I head back to Kashgar and then Pakistan next Saturday.
