 Background
and Summary: This is a 22 day adventure tour visiting Xinjiang,
China. 13 of the 22 days are spent trekking. 8 days will be
spent hiking in the vicinity of Mt Mustagh Ata (7546 m) and
Mt Kongur (7719 m). 5 days will be used in completing a south
to north traverse in Tianshan Moutnains. Trekking distance each
day are fairly minimal due to the need to compensate for altitude
(on the first trek) and to allow time to soak in the sights
and cultures. On each trek there will be free exploration days
so that participants may go more at their own pace or rest.
The
approach to the first trek is via a part of the Karakoram Highway
passing through the incredible mountain scenery of Chinese Pamir.
It has only been in recent years that foreigners have been allowed
to travel in all the areas that this trip covers. In Western China,
isolation combined with a lack of modern development has preserved
many of the Central Asian cultures. A particular emphasis on this
trip will be experiencing the distinct cultures of the Central
Asian Turkic-Mongol peoples who live here. These include: the
Uighur (pronounced "wei-wu-er"), Kazak (not to be confused
with the Cossacks of the Russian Steppe), the Kirgiz, and the
Aryan Tajik peoples. Their languages and cultures are very different
from their Chinese overlords as will be witnessed by their distinctive
music, dance, religion, art, and architecture. These peoples are
all Islamic, though for the most part, in practice are nominal.
While trekking, we will have opportunity to experience Kirgiz
and Kazak culture in a way that few foreigners are able to do.
Both Kirgiz and Kazaks are still nomadic shepherds - at least,
in the spring and summer. During these times they travel and live
in felt yurts. The Kirgiz tend camels and yaks. The Kazaks tend
sheep, goats and horses.
 After
the first trek and on the way to Kashgar we will taste Uighur
culture, stopping in several oasis towns to explore, eat, and
visit with locals. Our arrival in Kashgar is timed so that we
will arrive Saturday evening. Sunday is bazaar day in Kashgar,
site of perhaps the largest and longest running bazaar in Central
Asia. As many as 100,000 people come in from surrounding areas
to buy and sell animals and goods. Early in the morning you can
see streams of people in donkey carts coming in to market. There
are separate areas for animals, furniture, fabric, clothing, shish
kebobs, shaves with a straight razor (including scalp), fruits
and vegetables, and much more. In the animal bazaar care needs
to be exhibited as horses and donkeys are being "test-driven".
Also in the animal bazaar you can find cattle, sheep, goats, and
camels - all in a fairly small, walled-in area. When you are in
the midst of all this, you may feel like you have stepped back
in time several hundred years. After breakfast you will be free
to roam the bazaar or to go along with a guide who will translate
Uighur for you.
After
our Sunday in Kashgar experiencing primarily Uighur culture, we
fly to Urumqi, the provincial capital. Urumqi is a typical Chinese
city with its own distinctive features. On Monday after arriving
in Urumqi, we drive to the take-off point for our second trek,
a Kazak village on the south slope of the central Tian Shan. On
this trek we spend five days traversing the range, beginning at
a relatively low elevation of around 5,000ft.
and proceeding up to a pass (in two days) at around 11,000ft.
In addition to seeing Kazaks, we may also see evidence of previous
inhabitants in the way of wildlife carvings on rocks, as well
as stone ruins. Wildlife has been severely hunted in the area,
but it is possible that we will see deer, elk, ovis poli (Marco
Polo sheep), and ibex¡.. This trip concludes as we fly to Bishkek
by flight XO717. Our best partner, ITMC Tien-Shan will take a
good care of you there. Here is their address: itmc@elcat.kg.
Please go and read their web site: www.itmc.centralasia.kg. I
am sure ITMC Tien-Shan, best agency in Kyrgyzstan, will offer
you something special which can make you surprised and exciting,
too.
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