Stretching more than 800 miles from Kashgar in China’s western Xinjiang region to Abbottabad in Pakistan, the Karakoram Highway is the world’s highest transnational roadway and a testament to modern China’s determination to shape and contain nature’s most daunting obstacles. Completed in 1979, the roadway’s official objective was to foster trade between Beijing and Karachi, … Continue reading
This scene report may be a thousand years too late, but this is the action in Jiaohe right now… Said to be the largest, oldest and best-preserved earthen city in the world, the remains of the ancient city of Jiaohe are incorporated into an island in the middle of the confluence of two rivers near … Continue reading
Found deep within a canyon in the Flaming Mountains, the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves are a complex of Buddhist niches and caves that date back to the 5th century… Long-time readers will, I believe, find that the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves remind them very much of the Buddhist caves (and former site of the giant … Continue reading
Located on the outskirts of Turpan, the Emin Minaret and Mosque were constructed in 1777 to honor a military general from Turpan, Emin Khoja (which is where the name derives from). Designed by a Uighur architect, it was constructed using the local materials available at the time – brick and wood. The textured bricks were … Continue reading
Pressed up against the border with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, Kashgar – also known as Kashi – is the westernmost city in China. Frequently described as the best-preserved example of a traditional Islamic city to be found in Central Asia, it is hard not to like Kashgar: We’ve already covered the “Kashgar Night Market” and so … Continue reading
A beggar at the Kashgar Night Market: Yes, don’t fret, I gave the beggar some money… When approaching the area, one can usually hear Kashgar’s Night Market before they can see it. Granted, we were visiting during Ramadan and so activity was particularly boisterous at sunset when the fast was broken, but I have it … Continue reading
The overwhelming majority of these pictures below were taken through the dirty window of a moving vehicle, so cut me some slack on the image quality. I’m trying to show you what the countryside of North Korea looks like, not win any photography prizes. Contrary to the rumors, the only restrictions the North Koreans placed … Continue reading
The Velvet Rocket 