Returning to Hong Kong tomorrow after 17 days on the road. I will have travelled all the way from the historical capital of Tang dynasty China (Xian, then known as Chang An) in central/eastern China to almost the western border of China.
This last day was spent exploring Hetian 和田 culture. Hetian does not have any historical remains of note but it is a culturally interesting town with an approximate 97% Uighur population like Turpan (Urumqi and Kuqa are more equal in terms of the number of Han chinese and minority peoples). Notably, most of the Uighur peoples in Hetian do not seem to speak much putonghua notwithstanding the efforts of the Chinese government to unify the country under a homogenous "Han" culture. One thing I found interesting is the imposition of Beijing standard time on the entire country east to west - which means that in the western part of China, it is still pitch black at 7:30 in the morning even if the sun is up in Beijing. Standardization into one time zone is one attempt to "unify" but even so, life goes on as it should practically, and the peoples of Xinjiang merely organise their lives by a different "real time clock" which runs two hours behind BST, so for example, people eat at 9pm BST which is merely 7pm in "real time". I am also reminded of Indian standard time which (I am told) was artifically set to be 30 minutes ahead of Pakistan standard time.
Hetian is known for its carpet-weaving, silk-weaving and jade quarrying activities. In addition, walnuts, dates and figs are plentiful in Hetian. We visited an ancient walnut tree that is almost 1380 years old! And stopped by the roadside to watch walnut peeling and cracking by groups of ladies sitting by the roadside under the leafy shade, with their young children close to them. (See pic of the walnut pickers' "creche"). Obviously, there was a stop at the famous jade market where sellers and buyers of "white jade" congregate to trade and shoot the breeze. Hetian white jade 和田白玉 is not of the same variety as nephrite (翡翠 the green jade that is more well known) but the best of Hetian white jade is known as "lamb fat" 羊脂白玉 and has a slightly creamy semi-translucent subtle beauty. But it is hard to tell the difference between true Hetian white jade and ordinary white stone.
In the evening, I wandered out to a food market - not unlike the fresh produce markets that I have known when I was young (and not like the antiseptic organised stalls one sees today in Hong Kong's wet markets). A wave of nolstagia indeed and a Proustian remembrance of things past. We bought local dried chilies and bee pollen and tasted Hetian "bagels" and "savory baklava" (see photos).
It's a cliche, but this trip has been an extraordinary intellectual, cultural and sensory exploration. To think that in ancient times, this journey probably took the silk road traders months if not years to accomplish, with no certainty that they would reach their destination. Today, with a private driver, scheduled flights and guides, I crossed cultures and geography in 17 days, every day experiencing changes in language, faces, architecture, religion and cuisine; in the end, I suspect the silk road traders would have found many of my reactions and thoughts familiar.
Part Two - 22 September - back to the western border of China (between China and Pakistan) and crossing the Karakoram Highway.
