If at some point in the future, I am given the opportunity to go back to Lanzhou, I think that I will politely decline.  Perhaps I was in a bad mood last night, but the “most polluted city in the world” did not leave me with pleasant memories.  The air gave me an asthma flair-up, and the night market was a complete disappointment.  However, I only spent one night there, and today was a great day.

I’m now in Zhangye (pronounced Jong-yeh), a much smaller city of about 300,000 people.  I took the train here this morning, and passed through some incredible landscape, including a section with towering snow-capped peaks in the distance, and rugged desert in the foreground.  Unfortunately, snapping photos out the window of a moving train does not yield good results, so you’ll have to use some imagination, and just believe me when I tell you that it was amazing.  While yesterday’s train was full of sleeper coaches, today’s only had Amtrak-style cars.  My car turned into a raucous get-together by the end of the trip.  There were kids running around, and climbing all over the seats, five different cell phones blasting Chinese pop music at full blast (competing with the traditional vocal music that was blasted over the loudspeakers), and even conductors who walked up and down the train trying to sell random goods (belts, toys, towels, and assorted other items).  I was also somewhat of an attraction and conversation piece in the crowded aisles.  Staring out the window when I could I was able to see my first camel of the trip (didn’t have the camera out), and caught a glimpse of the Great Wall (although as you’ll see in the image below, it didn’t look so great).

The weather upon arrival in Zhangye was absolutely perfect.  It’s dry here, and I’m able to sleep with the window open.  It’s the first time since arriving in China that I’ve felt smog-free.  I’m looking forward to getting out into the countryside to enjoy more of the weather tomorrow.  I’m planning on hiking around a Buddhist monastery that was built into the side of a cliff.  Then, I’ll spend one more night here before heading to jiayuguan, which is the next oasis along the Silk Road.  Marco Polo spent a year in Zhangye, but it looks like I’ll be out of here after two nights.

Here are a bunch of photos from the last two days (apologies for the blurry out-the-window shots):

Xi’an to Lanzhou:

The busy corridor in the sleeper coach to Lanzhou

The lush greenery outside the train window

A transition towards a more arid climate

Lanzhou to Zhangye:

My only glimpse of the Yellow River, although it looks more brown to me.

I made a few friends on the train today. This little lady was the youngest of them.

A happy camper on the train today, and not just because she made a new friend. She just got a new ball! It was sold to her parents by one of the infomercial conductors.

This fellow sat in the seat in front of me, and kept turning around to stare at the foreigner. At one point, he engaged me in a long one-sided conversation about the meaning of life, although i understood absolutely nothing of what he said, which didn't seem to bother him. He also had fun pulling the blond hair on my arm.

The Gobi looms near.

Believe it or not, this is the Great Wall of China, although it looks more like the Just OK Wall to me. That mound-like object is one of the guard towers. On the western fringes of the wall, they built it with rammed earth, and never got around to reinforcing it during the Ming period like they did with the more famous sections. I'll see more of this as I travel again on Saturday.

Zhangye:

The Great Buddha Temple. Inside is a giant reclining Buddha, 140-feet long. He looks like he might be napping, but his eyes are slightly open, as though he's in deep thought. You'll have to take my word for it, though, since no photography is allowed inside.

The only Buddha that I was able to photograph. This one's on the side of the temple.

The huge stupa at the temple complex.

Supposedly, Kublai Khan was born in the Great Buddha Temple.

Evidently, China never had the great polychromy debate that raged in Europe in the 19th Century.

My dinner. I asked the waitress what she would recommend, and I wonder if she recommended this because it's what westerners always order there. It looked good, but every other dish at the restaurant looked better. The tablecloths were greener on the other tables, too.

A snack. I don't know what the one on the left was, but it tasted pretty good. The little rollups were delicious. They were stuffed with cilantro and other greens. I don't know what the wrapper was, though. I'm assuming it was rice-based, but it didn't really have that consistency. Both were cooked over coals on the street, and were covered in a glorious mix of spices.

This post is actually from yesterday, but the internet cafe where I wrote it was using an outdated browser, and it would not let me hit the “post” button. Here it is, in case you were wondering what happened:

I have safely made it to Lanzhou, but, much to my dismay, I just discovered that my hotel does not have the internet access that I was promised.  I’m writing this from a smoke-filled internet cafe, trying to tune out the gaming teenagers and Tibetan monks.  As a result, I’m unable to post any photos, or post all the text that I wrote today on the train.

The landscape changed dramatically over the course of my journey today.  I am now decidedly in the desert.  I passed from fertile plain, through lush green hillsides, to the mountainous yellow-colored terrain from which I’m writing.  I spent most of the trip staring out the window.

For the first time today, I had a moment of panic, thinking that I am totally stupid to be attempting this trip with zero language skills.  Finding my hotel this evening was incredibly difficult, and once there, I had a very difficult time communicating with the staff.  Hand gestures can only get one so far.

I don’t know what my internet access will be like over the next several days, but I’m betting it won’t be good.  I’ll try to keep the posts coming if possible, but it looks like they’ll be missing photos, and will be pretty short.

Hopefully, I’ll be able to post a big batch of updates when I get to another major city (By the way, Lanzhou is no small town.  At 3 million people, it would be the third largest city in the US, ahead of Chicago.)

Today was another adventure-filled but exhausting day.  Unfortunately, I again lack the energy to post the enlightening text that I had hoped to write this evening.  So, I’ll do what I did yesterday, and post a bunch of photos to give you an idea of what I did today.

Tomorrow is a transit day.  I’ll be making my way to Lanzhou, which has been called the most polluted city in the world.  I should get there in the evening, just in time for its renowned night market, and leave the next morning.  I’m actually looking forward to the 9-hour train ride because it will give me a chance to catch up on some sleep, and give my feet a rest.  I should also have a chance to do the writing about the trip thus far.  Hopefully, tomorrow night, I’ll be able to give you some more details about what I’ve seen and done.  As a quick preview, today involved getting dropped off in the middle of nowhere in 100-degree heat, getting in an argument with an overzealous tour guide who was trying to convince me that I needed to hire her, and consuming the best meal so far.  Here are the photos:

Step 1: Take stock of the disk-shaped bread that is put in front of you, and look around the room to see what everyone else is doing. The are all staring at you. Now, let the old lady who handed you the bowl show you what you should really be doing.

Step 2: Peel the bread apart and tear it into little pieces. Look around the room again. They are still staring at you. Let the waitress take your bowl away from you.

Step 3: After waiting patiently for ten minutes, accept the bowl back from the waitress. Notice that your little bits of bread are now covered in soup, meat, noodles, tofu, spring onions, and mushrooms. Begin eating this soup with the chopsticks provided (to the delight of everyone who is still staring at you).

Blue eggs or brown eggs today?

A potentially refreshing drink with leechee, asian pear, and coconut that was surprisingly less refreshing than expected.

The bronze horses that were buried with the Emperor Qin 2200 years ago

A warrior captivates

The officers

To answer some questions from yesterday's post, this is the mascot of the 2011 Xian Horticultural Expo. It (he? she?) is everywhere. This one was found at the entrance to the Terracotta Warriors Museum.

My best meal so far: dumplings in a tangy and spicy broth with fresh cilantro, lemongrass, and hot peppers.

My dinner venue

The Muslim Quarter comes alive in the evening.

Dessert! This was made of rice, and, to my surprise, I really enjoyed it. It had a hint of orange, and a bunch of flavors that I couldn't quite identify.

Hundreds of swallows enjoy a hearty feast around the Drum Tower at dusk. One of them can be seen here.

I finally made it to Xi’an around noon today, and I tried to make the most of the rest of the day.  I’m posting a bunch of pictures as an appetizer right now.  Text will follow when I’m not falling asleep at the keyboard.

Cuttlefish on a stick. Delicious!

The view from the bell tower

Climbing the steps to the Drum Tower

A view back to the Bell Tower

Of course!

Purveyor of the best energy drinks in all of Shaanxi Province

The Muslim Quarter

I was afraid that I would miss cherry season this year

The Great Mosque: the uncanny combination of Chinese architecture, Islam, and exhausted Swedish tourists

Side gate - the Great Mosque

Xi'an's intact city walls

I wonder if the Chinese invented the Flemish bond, too.

The South Gate

The view from the ancient wall

The 3.8m-long noodle and its two soup accompaniments

I have absolutely no idea what this was, and I probably don't want to know. It was tasty, however, and my mouth is still burning. I think that the image is blurry because my hand was shaking with anticipation.

The woman who prepared the mystery skewer

Well, things have gotten off to a rather bumpy start.  My flight from San Francisco to Beijing was delayed over two hours, and as a consequence, I missed my connecting flight to Xi’an (the last one of the day).

Upon collecting my luggage, I was told to see the manager at the information counter “upstairs.”  After being sent back and forth three times between two different information counters (on floors 2 and 4) of the airport, and once my level of frustration had begun to peak, I was finally able to speak to an Air China manager.  When I gave him my boarding pass, he mysteriously ran away, shouting something over his shoulder.  Not quite sure what to do, I stayed put, and hoped that he would eventually return.  Finally, about fifteen minutes later, he returned with three friends in ties.  They, without saying anything, politely escorted me outside to a minibus with a hotel name on the side.  Before I knew it, about fifteen other passengers, and their luggage, had joined me in the 12 passenger bus.  About twenty minutes later, the bus pulled up at the hotel, from which I am writing this post.

Unfortunately, I don’t have much time to relax, because they are driving me back to the airport at 5:30 AM to catch my new flight.  Hopefully, I’ll be able to report on my first day in Xi’an tomorrow.

My hotel

My chariot, which arrived two hours late

By popular demand, I have added a page with maps.  I have started with my route marked on a map of the world and individual maps of my routes through China and Central Asia.  Check out the maps by clicking on the menu above, or by clicking here.

Finding decent and inexpensive lodgings in China can be challenging, especially since I can’t read the hotel reviews.  Google Translator keeps giving me translations like this:

“Even if the price is also reasonable for it, that parking should be charged, but also can not stop, allegedly because of rough pavement, and said only good things for a long time in the next underground stop. Restaurant breakfast 20 days did not change, two hot six cold dishes, milk, milk is water with a point, thin. Dinner waiter has been staring at you, like to see prisoners as they will from time to time whisper, Yunsi. They met over breakfast yesterday had the honor veterans, waiter shifts to his hold rice, and what a gracious. Check-out time is 14:00 another hotel, but they are 12:00.”

The big trip kicks off on Saturday, and there are only 109 hours to go before my flight to Xi’an.  Fortunately, I’ll have lots of time to plan how to get from the airport to my hotel during the three layovers over the course of the day and a half that it will take for me to get there.

Right now, I’m in the process of going over my packing list to make sure that I won’t be forgetting anything important. I just hope that I can find a way to carry the two bowling balls that I was hoping to bring as gifts.  Maybe I’ll have to pass on the live lobsters.

Welcome to my travel blog, where I will be posting updates from my architectural journey along the Silk Road in China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkey, finally ending up in Marco Polo’s home town, Venice.

This trip is made possible by the Howe Travelling Fellowship at Shepley Bulfinch.  I would also like to thank members of the Shepley Alumni Group for their generous support.