I travel to China several times a year mainly for fun but also to check out hotels and new tourist attractions for my book. The following information is not in my 2002 book. 

The following items are dated with the month the information was obtained. Everything is subject to change but this should give you a good idea of what to expect. Please also look at our collection of photos from some of these places.

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The last time this page was updated was 03/23/08

Tianshui (Lanzhou)
Our train tickets were bought through China Merchants Travel Service in Xi'an. It was on Number 107 train soft class seat from Xi'an to Tianshui and cost Y115, leaving at 5:08pm and arriving at 11:17pm. (An express train takes five hours but tickets were harder to get.) We paid an extra Y2 and got on early. The food offered on the trip was not tempting; the water offered
for tea was not hot, even though the tank at one end of our car was steaming.

2100 year old Tianshui is a city of 400,000 urban, and 3.25 million total, and a civil airport was expected to open the end of 1999 with flights from Lanzhou, Dunhuang and Xi'an. It is the second largest city in Gansu province and the altitude ranges from 1000 to 2000 meters.

Our main objective in Tianshui was to see the Maiji Grottoes (page 479). The road from town passed terraced mountains, fields of corn, persimmon and walnut trees. The air was clean. The Grottos are open 9am-4pm daily, all year round with an entrance fee of Y51. Telephones 2816023 or 2816024. Even though the day was dark with rain, we found the site very exciting. We could not bring our purses into the cave area and could only photograph exteriors. If we wanted to photograph inside a cave, it was Y500 for only one shot. No video cameras allowed.  Twelve vicious dogs guard it at night.

The caves were in a 142 meter high mountain shaped like a local hay stack, and joined by elevated wooden walkways and metal steps. There are East and West sections. The Buddhist statues and many of the frescoes in the caves themselves were well preserved. The largest statue, in number 13 cave, is 15.8 meters high. The best is considered number 133. The most important are 127, 115, and 165 and 44. 135 is very special and from 386-534 AD. You have to pay an additional Y500 to enter. No English-speaking guides were available on site and it is full of beautiful statues. All are protected by wire mesh and you need a full day to see it all. A museum is near the parking lot but we didn't have time. We did see the Exhibition of Exquisite Coins onekilometer away on the road back to town, and found it interesting for collectors. Even though there are no titles in English, Maiji was one of the highlights of our whole trip especially with the view from the mountain of the rural valley, a bonus.

Tianshui also has the Fuxi Temple 20 km west of town on Fuxi Road, Xiguan. You go there west along the Wei River, which is a branch of the Yellow River. This is worth a trip if you have time and are interested in Chinese mythology. Fuxi, China's Adam, is considered the human ancestor of the Chinese people. He created marriage, invented nets, animal husbandry, and started Chinese tri-grams and simple writing. The temple is on a 6,000 square meter site, has Ming wood carvings in front, and a three-meter clay statue of Fuxi wearing bark. Murals show this hunter-gathering culture, a flood story, and the eight natural phenomena. Titles are not in English.

Five minutes away is the Jade Emperor Temple on National Highway 316. It is open 8am-6 or 7pm. This functioning Taoist temple is home to about 40 monks and two nuns, and some halls are open in the evening. Current buildings are Ming and Qing, deliciously gaudy in places and spread on a hillside. The God Lin has an eye in the middle of his forehead. Water at the temple is supposed to cure many illnesses. No photos are allowed inside but from here you can get a good view of the city.

A fortune telling monk here with one eye and silver teeth told my friend that something bad was going to happen to her and we'd have to change our travel plans. In a way this prediction did come true.

We stayed at the 114-room Yatai (Asia-Pacific) Hotel, Park Road, Beidao Development Area, 741020, Tel. 2727340, 2727355, fax 2727712. . This two-star hotel was opened in 1998, and takes no credit cards. It doesn't change money but a Bank of China is across the road, open 8am to 6pm and closed on Sundays. Rooms range from Y100-Y200 and are not for the fussy but the food was good. There are no menus in English. Typical dishes were the stir-fried bull frogs with greens, mountain bean curd, and cats ears noodles.

The best hotel is the Tianshui Guest House (Binguan) at 5 Yingbin Road, Tel. 938/8212611, fax 8212833. It has a very fancy new VIP section with 38 rooms and a presidential suite. Rooms cost Y386 and suites about Y800 and up. Suites have Jacuzzis. It takes credit cards, changes money and has a business center and pool.

The Tourism Bureau telephone is 2729661, fax 2731407. Our guide was Sheldon Chen Lin, Tel.8299433 and he was good. Their help was very much appreciated.

We left by train 107 for Lanzhou at 11:17pm, and arrived the next morning at 6:38pm. The 316 expressway to Lanzhou should open in 2000, and then a drive will be only four to five hours  RLM, August, 1999.

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Taiyuan
(See page 438) This is an industrial city with an illustrious past. Best known up to recently for its Jinci Temple and pilgrimages to nearby Wutai Mountain, Taiyuan is now known for its nearby Ancient Pingyao City.

Where to Stay:
The friendly Shanxi Grand Hotel (page 439) is still the best in town for English-speaking guests. Hotels add a 10 or 15% service charge.

The SHANXI GRAND HOTEL accepts credit cards. The e-mail is now: sales@shanxigrandhotel.com  . The web-site is www.shanxigrandhotel.com   (English). It is 16 km from the airport and can change travelers checks. Rooms range from $75 to $105 (March to December) and $70 to $95 (January and February). Suites range from $190 to $370 (March to December) and $170 to $350 in January and February. It has been giving a 20% discount to walk-in and repeat guests. Safes are in rooms on the 9th to 12th floors. It now has Shanghai instead of Russian food, and CNN. Renovations started in 2000 should be finished by March 2001.

The coffee shop here has etched glass windows and doors with Greek themes. Waitresses are in European peasant dress. Its spaghetti is reputed to be authentic but I had a toasted cheese sandwich and chips, neither of which were American style, but good nonetheless. Its ample breakfast was ready at 6am. Its business center is open 7:30am to 10:30pm and claims ISO90002 certified equipment. Its e-mail is very slow however. While some staff members speak good English, most of the staff do not. Rooms have lots of good lighting with an electrical outlet right on the desk.

YINGZE HOTEL's addresses remain the same. The hotel looks good. Rooms range from Y480 to Y580, and suites from Y970 to Y6800. It has been giving a 20% discount and accepts credit cards. It has a Y58 buffet dinner labeled only in Chinese. The two-star East Building built in 1945 has 163 rooms; the four star West Building built in 1976 has 294 rooms. It is putting in central air-conditioning. This hotel needs polishing. Some floors were recently renovated and there are non-smoking rooms. Rooms have hot and cold drinking water available. The grouting is moldy.

CITS HOTEL, is dirty, has peeling wall paper, and no in-room safes nor English. It has big rooms and was putting in new carpets. But if you're desperate for a cheap place to stay, it has 60 rooms ranging from Y280 to Y330 with 40% discounts. It's at 38 Pingyang Road, 030012. Tel. 7232188, or fax 7233624. There's a business center,

Where to Eat: It is best to eat in the main hotels. CITS Mansion has a modest noodle restaurant where you can watch the chef make noodles. It looks clean, and has red and white checked table cloths but at lunch I found it very noisy. 38 Pingyang Road, Tel. 7232188. Taiyuan noodles are made of rice flour, sorghum or buckwheat. The Xiangjiang Restaurant has Shanghai food and is still good but expensive. Forget about the Sanqiao Hotel Restaurant.

Excursions:
You can get to Pingyao southwest of Taiyuan by bus or train. I went on bus #96 for Y8.80. It was crowded, uncomfortable, and had a few smokers. 30 people crowded into a space meant for 19. It was a good way to meet the people and we had fun. These buses go when full. Better buses have reserved seats and charge more. It takes 1 1/4 hours depending on traffic and the number of stops.

We took the train back; it was more comfortable. Some trains only have hard seats and costs about Y14 each way. There are several trains a day. You can book the train two days ahead of time, but we had no problem booking our return upon our arrival in Pingyao. By the end of 2000, the reservation system should be computerized and service better. (Note: train times have changed since this was researched.) Locals said the best time to visit was late autumn. It can be windy and dusty in spring and autumn.

Pingyao is small walled town full of Ming and Qing architecture with a population of about 50,000 urban, has no major industries, and is extremely well preserved and internationally recognized. It was once a wealthy little town, the home of China's first bank. It does have a lacquer factory, and an hour by bus away, is the fengjiu wine factory. It is not as beautiful or developed for foreign tourists as Lijiang or Yangshuo. But it does have a lot of wonderful ancient buildings, multi-tiered gates, a 10 meter-high wall rebuilt in 1824, and a bank museum. The relics museum is in the Tianjixiang Shanghao, a former silk store, and streets are typically narrow with forbidding walls. Ask about the Wang Family residence and the Hou Family House.

If you are not on a hectic tour, I would suggest spending one night, a total of two full days here. This will give you time to walk along the top of its over six kilometer wall, and explore its streets and Christian churches. I didn't find an internet bar, nor a restaurant serving sizzlers or pizzas but these might exist by the time you get there. There are antique and curios shops. The food and language is only Chinese - which is something in its favor if you want to get away from foreign influences. There are a few signs in English and a lot to photograph.

We paid Y40 for a taxi to go six kilometers to the Shuanglin/Zhongdu Temple, wait half an hour for us, and return to Pingyao. Y40 entry fee. This temple is well worth a trip. It was founded at least 1500 years ago and has ten halls. It has several hundred Ming and Song Buddhist sculptures of wood and clay with titles in English. Look for the Qing fertility goddess with her babies and the thousand-armed Guan Yin.

Back in Pingyao, the Zhong Du Guest House (Binguan) had a western-type breakfast and is near the train station. It is at 1 Ping Yao Shun Cheng Road, Tel. (0354) 5626618, or fax 5625358. This hotel is more of a convenience because it's near the train station, but I wouldn't stay there. I would prefer staying with a local family or in one of the guest houses. Ask at restaurants or the travel agents below for a home stay.

We paid Y25 for a half-day tour on a bicycle rickshaw that took us to the charming main business street on the far side of town away from the railway station. It waited while we hiked on the wall. We also went to several of the other attractions: the Three-Jin Shop Owner Furniture Museum/Bai Chuan Tong (Y13, Tel.5684212 ), and Chun Huang Miao Temple. The governor's yamen/office, open 7am to 7pm (Y15), is on Zheng Fu Street. This has crude statues of how prisoners were punished by the authorities. (If a woman married two husbands simultaneously, they cut her in two. If a merchant cheated while weighing goods, they cut off his face, hands and tongue, and gouged out his eyes. Don't take young children there.) The governor's house also had decent models of scholars passing the official examinations, a model of the old city, and a display of official badges. Photographers can take your photo dressed up like a magistrate. "Guards" are dressed in Qing costumes. Cars are generally not allowed inside the wall.

We lunched at the De Ju Yuan restaurant at 82 Ming Qing Street, Tel. (0354) 5681453. We had two kinds of noodles (one known as cats' ears). The total cost for the two of us was Y25 including tea and it was good.

Across from the restaurant at 73 Ming Qing Street, 031100, is the Tian Yuan Kui Ke Zhan, Tel. (354) 5680069, fax 5683052. Its web-site: www.pytyk.com   is in English and has photos and a map of Pingyao and the hotel. Its e-mail is root@pytyk.com  . This guest house has several old renovated buildings with rooms ranging from Y160 to Y198. It also had dorms without air-conditioning for Y50. It takes no credit cards. While it's far from Holiday Inn standards, it's a charming little guest house with lots of old world atmosphere.

Another attractive old guest house is the Folkway Hotel (Minzu Binguan), Tel. 5680285 or fax 5681991. It has 40 beds.

Credit cards are accepted at the Xie Shunlong Hotel at 72 Ming Qing Street (Tel. (354) 5680824) where you can get a room with a carved bridal bed and two twins (suitable for four people) for Y268. The Folk Custom #2 Hotel had rooms for Y150, tatami for Y60, but no private baths. It was run down.

Practical Information:
--Shanxi CITS address remains the same. The telephone is now 7244126, fax 7244312. Ask for Hu Zhong You.

--Shan Xi China Travel Service (page 441) has 15 English-speaking guides. Its website: www.sxcts.com.cn  (English. This is a good site and worth visiting). CTS' telephone and address remain the same. E-mail: gcjia@public.ty.sx.cn  and ask for George Jia.

CTS charges for hotels (including breakfast)
Hotel Group Price(RMB) Individual Price(RMB)
Shanxi Grand Hotel 350 550
Yingze Hotel 420 540
Pacific Hotel 300 450

CTS can arrange for foreigners to stay with local families in Pingyao. The cost including meals is about Y100/per night per person. It charges Y30 to help an individual get to the right bus in Taiyuan.

--The ticket office of the Shanxi Grand Hotel charges for transportation to Beijing, Y225 for a soft sleeper, or Y150 for a hard sleeper. The night train leaves 9pm and arrives next day at 7am. The day train leaves at 11:30am and arrives between 7:30pm and 8pm. These times are approximate. It charges a Y10 service fee for booking the train. It charges Y470 for a flight to Beijing, Y1140 for Guangzhou, and Y960 for Shanghai.

The long distance bus leaves every 15 to 30 minutes between 7am and 3pm, and takes six hours to Beijing from the Jian Nan Chi Che Zhan bus station. Tel. 7074539. This is a new modern building with orange chairs. Touts tend to grab you and pull you to their buses.

Taiyuan airport offered a Y25 Chinese buffet breakfast from 6am to 8am. I heard no announcements in English.

An Internet Bar is across from the Kang Da Shopping Center and charges Y6 per hour.

My thanks to General Manager Zhang Jian Ping and Wang Yang of the Shanxi Grand Hotel, C.T.S. (Canada) of Vancouver, and Hu Zhong You (John) of Shanxi CITS for their help in my visit to Taiyuan. Thanks also to Jane Han who accompanied me to Pingyao. -- RLM: Date: September, 2000.

Other Opinions:
The best hotel here in the capital city of Shanxi province is the Yingze Hotel (four star). The room rate is US$95 including two breakfasts. The second best hotel is the Shanxi Grand Hotel (four star). It costs US$71 including two breakfasts. The third best hotel is the CITS Mansions Hotel (three star). The room rate is US$40 including two breakfasts.

We charge tourists US$10 per room for pre-booking service. -- Sales & Marketing Department, Shanxi International Travel Service, Floor 7, No. 38, Ping Yang Road,Taiyuan, 030012, telephone: 351/7238509; Fax: 351/7229416. Our website: http://www.shanxicits.com.cn  . Contact: John sxcits@public.ty.sx.cn  . DATE: September, 2000.

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Tianjin
This commercial and industrial city is going back to its Italian roots. In a couple of years, the 10- hectare former Italian concession should finish its renovations and look like something out of Italy. The area is bounded by Minzu, Tinbu, Boai, and Beian Road. 

Tianjin is also going back to its Chinese roots. At the end of 2001, the four blocks near the Drum Tower will have another pedestrian street, more cultural than Culture Street, said Mr. He Huan Zhen of the Tianjin Tourism Administration. It will have a theatre (Guangdong Hui Guan) with daily performances and martial arts demonstrations for tourists. New Years Pictures and clay figurines will be made here. 

Then to the west of the city, an ancient town (Gu Zhen) will be open for tourists in Xiqing District with demonstrations and craft sales. This is the area where the New Year's Pictures were first made, and where the Shi Family Mansion is already open as a folk arts museum. You'll also see how old wine and "tou fu" were made, and see exhibitions of Chinese medicine, tea ceremony and folk dances. You can expect rides of several kilometers long in old style boats, graced by the presence of Emperor Qian Long who arrived in the same way. 

In 2004, the Art Museum and the History Museum should be combined into a bigger museum in front of the Cultural Palace. And around Dong Li Lake with its underground hot springs, a huge 50,000 square meter swimming pool with waves, should be opened in 2002 along with the go-carting. The lake itself is currently open for swimming and water sports in warm weather, Tel. 24880668. Dong Li Lake is between Tianjin and Tanggu . 

The subway is currently 7.4 km long from the intersection of Nanjing and Xinhua Roads to Tianjin West Railway Station with trains every 15 minutes from 5:30am to 10:30pm. In about 2006, it should extend to 26 km. 

CITS Tianjin tours include the Museum of Premier Zhou En-lai, Ancient Cultural Street and Food Street. It also includes Da Bei Buddhist Monastery and He Ping Road, a village in Xiqing District with an ostrich farm, and Feng Shan Drug King Temple Dinner in a farm house. On a third day, it could go to the Shi Family Mansion and a children's palace. It also takes people to the Opera Museum, TV Tower, Antique Market, TEDA area, Tanggu Port, Chaoyin Yemple, Dagukou Fort and former residence of Huo Yuanjia. Then of course there's Beijing, and the Great Wall at Huangyaguan Pass and Panshan Mountain. See below. 

Where to Stay: 
The best is the Sheraton, the second the Hyatt, and the third is the Astor (one of my favorites because of the history and location). The Holiday Inn is good too but far from downtown. A new Renaissance is expected to open in April 2002 in city center. For information contact the Marriott Regional Office in Hong Kong, Tel : (852) 2192-6057 and Fax : (852) 2192-6030. Hotels in Tianjin add 15% service charge plus a small education tax. 

(page 420) Before going to Tianjin, I had a hard time deciding between the Sheraton and the Hyatt. The Hyatt won out this time because it was more convenient to the places I wanted to visit. But I also looked at the Sheraton. They are both very good hotels. The Hyatt is a four star, the Sheraton is a five. They both tried equally hard to help me get information for my book, and I am grateful to them both. 

Because I stayed at the HYATT TIANJIN, I had time to be picky but it had no serious problems. It did have a sumptuous buffet breakfast which included barbecued chicken, ox tripe, dried nuts and fruit, congee, cheeses, and crispy pastries in addition to sausages, bacon, eggs-made-to-order, hash browns, pickles, and fresh pear juice. I did have to ask for a napkin and a tea spoon. Buffet prices are breakfast US$10 and dinner US$13 or RMB108. 

The English in the business center was good, and it was open from 6:30am to 11pm. Rooms offered CNN, HBO, BBC, Star Sports, German, and Italian television. No hooks were on the inside bathroom door for hanging clothes, but I had a convenient data port and electrical outlet by the desk, easy-to-operate light switches by the bed, and a safe. 
All guestrooms have two phone lines. It had a small plunge pool and sauna and a 10 piece gym, some machines with heart monitors. It is very convenient to restaurants, and not too far from department stores.

The fax is now 23312757, 23311234. The e-mail is now: information@hyatt-tianjin.com  . The web-site is www.hyatt.com  (English). Rooms are $128, and suites $213 to $1200. (This winter it will have a Great Deal Promotion Nov. 1, 2001 until Feb. 28, 2002 with a rate of US$79. As for the high season, it normally offers the Worldwide Corporate Rate of about US$102 for a standard room). It now has 428 rooms. Not counting suites, its rooms range upward from 28 square meters. It should soon have two telephone lines each (with ADSL broadband.) It has ANA and Air China ticketing offices. 

The SHERATON TIANJIN HOTEL has been discounting 10 to 30% off its published rate and prices are on its web-site www.sheraton.com  . The Sheraton is in a residential neighborhood. It plans to have broadband internet access. It now has 300 rooms and 65 apartments and an executive floor. Rooms are 32 square meters, and have safes. Its pool is 15 meters by 10 meters and its gym, which has over 20 good machines, has a"treadwall". It also has blood pressure and heart monitors, and simulated golf. Its banquet hall seats 280 people at tables and a Filipino band. 

HOLIDAY INN TIANJIN The address is 288 Zhong Shan Road, 300141. Room prices haven't changed. It has been discounting 40% all year round on its standard rooms. The F.I.T. price is US$78 plus service charge and 1% education fee, including one breakfast. Rooms are 25 square meters. Its lunch buffet is Y32. Its coffee shop 24 hours. The pool is 12 meters long, and it has an eight-piece gym, some with heart monitors. 
Tracy's e-mail is: tracy@mail.hitianjin.com  . Web-site is: www.hitianjin.com  . 

Where to Eat: 
The Hyatt has a good dumpling restaurant on its second floor. Its Chinese restaurant has a great Sunday brunch. The Sheraton has an outstanding fine dining restaurant with American and European food. And I got very excited when I saw a sign that said it had Mongolian barbecue which everyone should like because you choose your own ingredients to be cooked for you. 

Good is the CHENG GUI RESTAURANT at 287 Hebei Road in an area with other restaurants. Tel. 23311702. It is open 11am to 2pm, and 5pm to 9:30pm. It accepts American Express and Visa. On its ground floor, salads cost Y6 to Y24, borsch with sour cream soup Y5, deep-fried breaded prawns Y20, fried fillet of fish Y14, chicken Kiev Y15, chicken curry Y15, spaghetti Y12 to Y15, ice cream Y6, and home-made pastry Y6 to Y10. 

On its classier second and third floors, there's caviar Y190, salads Y18 to Y23, borsch Y12, prawns Y30 to Y55, beef tenderloin Y30 to Y90, pork Y24 to Y38, chicken Kiev Y25, home made pastry Y10 and ice cream Y10.

Good for eating and sightseeing is the YUE WEI XIAN RESTAURANT at 283 Hebei Road, part of a chain. Tel. 2339888, 23309930. E-mail: ywx@ywxgroup.com  . Web-site: www.ywxgroup.com  . It takes credit cards and is open from 10am to the departure of the last guest. The restaurant is full of antiques, a painting by the last emperor's younger brother, Ming dynasty swords, an opium bed, live gold fish, and a squat toilet. The service is attentive, and the peanuts are good at Y6. Its menu says live shrimps Y168 for 500 gms, beef dishes Y22 to Y32, pork Y20 to Y28, vegetables Y12 to Y32, rice and noodles Y12 to Y28, steamed garoupa Y68, and steamed Mandarin fish 68 for 500 gms. It serves Canadian ice wine for Y128 a bottle, Dynasty Red for Y88, and beer for Y15 to Y20. Ask about a tour of the place. Waiters bow as guests leave.

Forget about the Broadway Caf‚. It has been taken over by the Gui Bin Lou Restaurant, and I found lots of roaches in its bathroom. 

Practical Information:
It is very convenient to take a train to Beijing. You don't need to book ahead and you buy your ticket almost on the platform under a big sign in English that says something like "Train to Beijing." You probably won't be caught in a Beijing traffic jam either, not at least until you get to the old east Beijing Station. Tourist trains have been leaving for Beijing at 6am, 7am, 9am, 10am, 11:13am, 1:05pm, 3pm, 4:15pm and 4:56pm. . Trains leave Beijing for Tianjin from Beijing Station at 7:50am, 9:02am, 11am, 1pm, 2:06pm, 3:11pm, 4:58pm, 6:12pm, 7pm, and 7:50pm. 

At Tianjin railway station, some taxis organize shared rides and ask about Y200 a seat to Beijing but you can probably negotiate a taxi of your own for Y350 to Y500. The Hyatt's limos cost about Y600 to Beijing's railway station. 

The main bus station is near the railway station. Buses leave Tianjin from a variety of terminals, but Volvo buses leave from the northwest corner of Luguan St., Nanshi. Buses from Beijing leave from the Zhagongkou bus terminal there and take about 100 minutes with departures during the day every 15 minutes.

Tianjin China International Travel Service/Tianjin Overseas Tourism Co., (see page 429). Tel.28350823, Fax 28352619, Hot Line: 28350104, 28138231, Fax 28358974. E-mail: citstj@public.tpt.tj.cn . Ask for Ms. Tang Feng Wei or Mr. Zheng Wei. It has study tours, home stays in farm houses, and traditional medicine tours. 

Tianjin China Travel Service, 16 Pingshan Avenue, Hexi Dist., 300074, Tel. 23523778, Fax 23537916.

China Youth Travel Service, 1 Tongle Road, Hexi Dist., 300050, Tel. 28221284, Fax 28257074. 

Kevin van der Laan publishes an on-line expatriate newsletter called the Tianjin Telegraph online at: www.tianjintelegraph.com  . He can be reached at: summitgraphics@bigfoot.com  . This newsletter gives images of Tianjin, reports of Hash House Harriers events, bus lines, postage prices, supermarkets and schools. -RLM, DATE, August, 2001.

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Turfan   "--see Urumqi."
Turpan was one of China's top ten tourist cities in a 1999 competition. The train to Urumqi takes two hours but the station is about 50 km. away so add another hour. By road is faster, and people warn about careless drivers, but I didn't see any accidents. This was my fourth trip to this very remarkable little city. It still has no airport and that's good and bad.

Where to Stay:
The Oasis and Turfan Hotels have only a bit of English but they have had years of experience dealing with foreigners. The Oasis Hotel is still the best here but it will soon have competition in the new three-star Turpan International Hotel. No hotels have CNN but you can get a bit of news in English from CCTV.

The Oasis Hotel is now three stars and has 156 rooms. It is spread out into several buildings in Muslim architecture each with a different theme, among them American west, Uighur, and Chinese. Quite fun. Its web-site is www.the-silk-road.com   . The fax is now 8523348. Its hot water is solar-heated. Prices are Y280 to Y680 for rooms, and Y980 for suites and it has been giving a 40% discount. It borders a residential area which was being constructed in 2001, but is only a couple of blocks from the main city square, shopping and a little further, the museum. It has a gym, beauty salon, and internet bar at Y30 an hour. It has western Chinese, Asian and Xinjiang food. Its western food is Hong Kong style. Its front building will be expanding in 2002. Silk Road Hotel Management Co. Hong Kong.

I stayed at the Turfan Guesthouse which was exotic and comfortable but I had to ask the attendant to open my door. Something was wrong with the key. The 2000 building (No. 3) to the left of Reception as you enter the courtyard is the newest and best. No. 1 was renovated in 1997, and No. 2 in 2000. Rooms are Y380 and suites Y680 and it's been giving a 20% to 40% discount off this price. Its dorms cost Y27 per bed and have air-conditioning but no telephone. Hot water is on from 7:30am to 2am. The lobby is in Muslim style and attractive.

It has a 50 meter indoor pool. It charges Y10 an hour for e-mail, and its buffet breakfast costs Y15, lunch Y45 and dinner Y45.

Laundry here costs Y30 for a two-piece safari suit, Y10 for a t-shirt, Y15 for trousers, and Y6 for underpants. It is also walking distance to the main shopping street, the Oasis Hotel and a colorful morning market at Laocheng Road and Xincheng Road.

The new 2001, three-star Folkway Hotel (Folk Custom Garden of Turpan Karez or Minzu Binguan) looks beautiful, but alas, no one speaks English. Rooms are 28 to 36 square meters and are Y260 to Y340 a room (no discount). It's at Xincheng Road, Ximen Cun village 888, 838000. Tel. 8534681.

This Japanese joint venture is a hotel for people who want to immerse themselves in the interesting Uighur culture: the food, dances, karez wells, and grape growing.

The new Turpan International Hotel (Guoji Dajiudian) is due to be open July-August, 2001. It is at 19 Wenhua Dong Road, 838000. Tel. 8578800, fax 8578882. It is expecting to be rated four stars, and if so, should be the best in town. It is owned by the Inland Revenue Tax Bureau, is 16 stories, and has a pool. It has 12 bowling lanes, sauna, and massage, and a gym. It has a night club, Muslim, Chinese and western restaurants, and 120 rooms from the 5th to 16th floors. Rooms should cost Y520 to Y620, and suites Y750 to Y6000. Discounts could be 20% to 40%.

Practical Information:
Backpackers hang out at John's Information Caf‚ on Qing Nan Road, opposite the Turpan Guesthouse. Tel. 8524237. It has good yogurt, sweet and sour meatball for Y20, Sichuan chicken for Y15, Kashgar pizza on Uighur nan Y10, local style fried noodles Y8, mineral water Y2.50, beer Y4.50 and Y8.

Freelance tour guides hang out here, and it's a good place to assess their competence and negotiate a price. (One of these told me he was married, and then later asked me to find him a Canadian wife so he could emigrate to Canada!)

CITS guides generally are better qualified, but if price is a consideration, you might want a freelancer. An air-conditioned taxi to Bazelik for three people should cost about Y400.

I tried freelancer Ablajan and he was knowledgeable and saved me money by taking me in one of those tiny cars instead of a regular taxi. It took me overnight to negotiate this price, mind you, from Y500 toY400.

Ablajan's family can lay on a Uighur meal for a tour group in his home. If there are 10 people, it's Y25 per person; if one person, it's Y50. Large groups eat in the courtyard. I ate on the gilam or sleeping platform. We sat on red carpets which also covered the walls and ate Sangza fried noodles, dumplings, raisins, dates and almonds. This home has 11 rooms, and can accommodate from three to 50 people.

CITS charges about US$5 for a meal in a Uighur home. If you have lots of people, it'll probably be less.

Among the new things to do here is to spend a night in the desert, leaving Turpan about 7pm so you can see the sunset as well as the sunrise. Sunset in June was at 9:40pm. It's a two hour drive on a bumpy road. For one person, it costs Y400 for the car, driver and guide. It's Y600 for a van, driver and guide. You sleep on the sand with no tents, just a thin blanket. In the summer the temperature goes down to 20C at night. You eat in a nearby small town, "Bread, bread, bread and melons," said Ablajan. Being alone and cautious and thinking it over-priced, I wasn't eager to try this.

CITS Turfan also arranges for people to sleep in the desert for the sunset and sunrise and provides sleeping bags and tents for about US$10 per person. Ask about transportation.

Another attraction new to me is a five-hour trip to visit Yuyoq (Tuyugou) an old village of earthen houses with Muslim and Buddhist relics on the other side of the Flaming Mountains. Ablajan said it is mentioned in the Koran, the story of the faithful men who slept in a cave and emerged years later. It is in Section 18 of the Koran, he said, but I could find no Section 18 in my Koran.

The trip was lovely. You get up close to the Flaming Mountains rather than seeing them from a distance. You can contact or leave a message for him at John's Caf‚ in Turpan.

CITS can arrange for visits to a vineyard from August to October. You can pick your own grapes and bottle wine with your own label, store the bottles here or take them with you. You can watch the bottling of mineral water from karez wells and drink it. You can also eat with a family for about US$5.

The Turpan Museum is open 9am to 8pm daily. It has 12 mummies, a couple of Manichaean pictures, and lots of ethnic boots. The entrance fee is Y20, the telephone 8522619. No explanations are in English, alas, but I found a helpful brochure in English there with photos of the collection, and for Y39 a helpful book with photos called A Collection of Important Historical Sites and Relics in the Western Regions.

Practical Information:
CITS' telephone is 8523215 or 8531311. Its fax is 8526878. Look for its sign beside the main gate of the Oasis Hotel. Ask for Ms. Li Qin (Mary) who speaks English. Her cell phone is 13999690909. Tell her I gave you her name. I've known her for over ten years.

"Rakh mut" means "thank you" in Uighur. -RLM, DATE, June 2001.

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Urumqi and Xinjiang
 We can offer camel or horse treks at Karakul Lake only in July and August. Camel riding tours are usually in the Yutian desert and only available in October and November. For these tours, we can provide tents, cooking facilities, yaks (for trekking) and camels.
The camel riding can be longer than a week as we have to add three or four days for travel to the desert from Urumqi.
-- Wang wanping , Xinjiang CITS (see below). DATE March, 2008.

I finally returned to Urumqi after six years away to find a changed city. Like most places in China, it has become very modern in a short period of time.  Because I spent most of my time in the old Uighur  section of town, I was particularly impressed with the new market buildings there. The International Grand Bazaar, Antique Market, Er Dao Qiao and other bazaars were all in one area and in new beautiful brick buildings decorated in   traditional old Middle Eastern architecture – lovely domes and arabesque arches. 

We spent a day based in a hotel there and felt we were in a hybrid of east and west Asia – more Middle Eastern than Chinese – a place to enjoy the rich diversity of China. Eighty per cent of Urumqi’s people are Han, said our guide, but the area around the markets and the Grand Mosque is 100% Uighur, and it’s exotic and wonderful.  Uighurs are one of China’s 56 nationalities.      

The streets were teeming with people.  Some visitors might find the crowds oppressive but I loved its liveliness, its color, and its exotic flavour. Photographers would thrive here. Sidewalk cooks send great clouds of spicy-smelling mutton kebobs everywhere – sometimes from very fancy barbeques with giant samovars. Spread out on tables everywhere were piles of textured circles of flat nan  bread, just out of tandoor ovens less than a meter away.  Their fragrance and that of the  perfumed pilaf rice outside of restaurants, made it difficult to resist buying – and eating. 

Motorcycles carried uncovered  fleeceless  sheep to restaurants while tiny stores, open to the street,  sold brass trays and long-necked tea pots, jewellery, jade, antiques, shoes,  dried fruit and fancy, embroidered caps. Stores offered beautiful long western-styled wedding dresses.  Some were in pure white but some were in the unique multi-coloured ikat weave unique to Uighurs.  The reds dazzled.  

Some women wore jeans while others  hid in burkahs or concealed their hair in head scarves. Some faces were Middle Eastern; some Chinese. Store signs and advertisements were in Uighur and Chinese.    Mosques here are not open to tourists.  But I must say that we liked Kashgar as an old historical and colourful area better.  It was less crowded and more traditional.      

The market here used to be dumpy.  I remember looking in vain years before for interesting local   handicrafts and walking in mud on a rainy night amidst the tables. Today, the markets are air-conditioned.  And the restaurants are better. We really liked the air-conditioned  Korgan Restaurant.  It’s international quality and its telephone number is 991-8558811.

We were in Urumqi to see the provincial museum, which was closed for renovations  during my last visit.  I collect textiles and footwear for Canadian museums and need to know what local museums are collecting. The Xinjiang Provincial Museum is rich with costumes of the various regional minorities, Tajik, Uighur, Mongol, Hui, Daur, and Xibe. But the highlight of course are the 3000 to 5800 year old mummies: the amazing Loulan Beauty with her long brown hair who  doesn’t look a day over 35; the man with the long felt stockings and European features;  the tattooed faces; the nine month old baby born 3800 years ago.  The state of preservation is amazing.  No photographing is allowed but you can buy a good DVD of the mummies there.     

We went to Nanshan Pasture, 75 kilometres south into the Tianshan Mountains, past fields of sunflowers, corn, soy, and cotton. The road was paved but in need of repair. Nanshan is a Kazakh minority area and Kazakh border guards stopped cars to look at permits--an assertion of sovereignty perhaps.

Six years ago, I considered Nanshan too touristy for foreign tourists to visit – but this time, I looked at it more as a domestic tourist attraction, a place where Chinese people can get away from the big city and  picnic in fresh air beside rushing mountain streams. Here is a place where they can hike in beautiful surroundings and sleep cheaply in the style of the Kazaks.  We did see real herdsmen moving a flock of sheep through a mountain stream but this area is mainly for local tourists.  It had at least a hundred horses to ride and a hundred yurts to sleep in. These circular felt tents were neatly lined up in tight rows and probably noisy at night. Three outdoor billiard tables were available to rent.  This is a new China where people have time and the means to relax.

There are other less crowded places for foreigners to ride horses and camels. 

We continued uphill and  saw an outdoor staircase covered with a red carpet.  Curious, we peeked into a group of yurts set up for a fancy banquet, white table cloths and delicate china,  wine goblets and tiny liqueur glasses on the tables. These were obviously for the rich and powerful and maybe even for foreigners. We didn’t stay to see the guests.  

The waterfall was about one kilometre’s hike from the parking lot. It was  past  pine trees and rocky crags and decent-looking resorts,  and within sight of the snows.  It was like the Rockies, and  I couldn’t resist getting a picture of myself in a cashmere goat cart, the first I’ve ever seen.  I wanted to encourage  such creativity. The goat was cashmere, not the cart, and there was no line-up.   But the brightly-painted rainbow painted on the bridge over a pristine mountain stream did spoil things, and the restaurant where we lunched was very  dumpy.  The public toilet across the road didn’t provide toilet paper even though we paid Y1 to use the facilities.  (Elsewhere it’s Y0.20 to Y0.50.)  So all was not perfect.  

In Urumqi, my friends happily stayed at the four-star Xinjiang Grand Hotel, which started out as the Holiday Inn about 15 years ago.  They said the breakfast, the English and the service were good.  Its web-site is: www.hotelxj.cn  . Tel. 991-2817422.  The Holiday Inn has trained a lot of young people in China’s hotel industry.

 I stayed at the five-star Sheraton Urumqi Hotel (Shi Lai Dun Jiudian) which guides said was the newest and best in town. Its rooms were  40 to 42 square meters.  The Grand and other hotels are more central, but the Sheraton  should have an attached cinema and a  shopping mall selling luxury brand like Gucci and Louis Vuitton soon.  It is only 10 minutes by taxi from the provincial museum and from the Xinjiang Grand.  It has the largest ballroom in the city, a column-free 800 square meters.  It offers  Western and Moslem food, with Japanese, Korean, Thai, Cantonese and Malaysian dishes. The breakfast buffet was good and included the usual eggs and toast, a good variety of congee, cold cereals, beans, fruits, salad, and carrots.  The Danish was crispy but there was no bacon or sausages and the eggs Benedict was served on toast, not English muffins. On its a la carte menu was roast pigeon for Y39 per piece and South African abalone at Y829 per person. 

The staff  appeared to be newly trained and tried hard to please, frequently with a   nervous giggle. Those serving the executive floor were university graduates and wore black ties and tails. They were  cheerful and eager to help but they did not take used  dishes away when  I got up to return to the buffet, nor did they bring milk for tea until asked.  They left heat-saving lids off the food at the buffet table even though I was the only guest at the time. 

The Sheraton has a modern, contemporary,  three-story lobby with curved staircase, which attracts a lot of bridal photos. It has a spa with steam bath,  sauna and Jacuzzi, Reiki shower and a super Caci Quantum  machine. Five of its 10 treatment rooms have  twin beds.   The swimming pool is  25 X 15 meters and sky lit.  The gym was open 24 hours and had over 20 machines. It charges Y230 for a foot massage   My room had a view of snow mountains.  And an ATM was  in the lobby. It’s at 9 Youhao Bei Road, tel. 991-699-9989. The web-site is  www.sheraton.com/urumqi.

Tired of greasy, spicy Uighur food, we were delighted to find Uncle Bob’s Café in Urumqi. I think Bob is a Brit. There we found quesadillas for Y20 and hot chocolate for Y18.  He also serves pizzas.  Our guide said there were two western restaurants in Urumqi (aside from the hotels) but the other one was closed for a private function and we couldn’t see it.  Uncle Bob’s is at 67 Min De Lu. This is off Heping Road and Zhongshan Road, near People’s Square.  Tel. 991-233-4303 and cell 136-1990-5525. 

Aside from the Sheraton Hotel, CITS made all travel arrangements for us. Mr. Wang Wanping who had organized my trip in 2001 did another great job.  I had queried four other Urumqi-based travel agencies because I was looking for traditional footwear again, and Mr. Wang’s willingness to answer my frequent e-mails with suggestions made me choose CITS again. Mr. Wang works for Xinjiang China International Travel Service, at 38 Xinhua South Road, Urumqi 830002. Tel. 991-2821426 or 135-7985-5204.  His e-mail is: wangwanping@xinjiangtour.com .  The Urumqi guides we had were very good. In Urumqi, our guide  was Rixat whose cell phone is 135-7985-5204 in case you need someone helpful and knowledgeable. – RLM, DATE July, 2007.

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China Southern Airlines will be resuming its service between Urumqi and Moscow with Boeing 737 or 757 aircraft. Flights from Urumqi to Moscow will be every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Return flights will be on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The five-hour flight between Urumqi and Moscow was suspended in 2003 amid the Asian financial crisis and affected by the epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) that hit China.

Currently, China Southern Airlines operates four air routes between China and Russia, namely Urumqi-Moscow; Urumqi-Novosibirsk; Harbin-Khabarovsk and Harbin-Valdivostok. -- China Southern,  DATE. April, 2006.

I've just been reading about the mummies who can be found at the museums in Urumqi and Korla. A recent book "The Mummy Congress" by Heather Pringle has 26 pages and three good photos of them. In "Invaders from the West," Ms. Pringle details Victor Mair's search for their origin, the politics of the mummy (Uighur nationalism and all that), and DNA tests that point to some European origin. This China scholar is from Austria and one of the mummies looked like his Austrian brother. He has also found some ancient manuscripts in Silk Road caves also of European origin. The publisher is Penguin/Viking, 2001. ISBN: 0-670-88802-8. Date: RLM - June, 2002.

 

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