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Crossroads
Monday, May 30, 2005-11:42 AM
Without a solid plan for next year and sick of teaching English, I can't decide in what direction to head next. Because of Natasha and because I like living in China, I haven't considered just packing up and heading back to the U.S.
Instead I'm gonna use this opportunity to be a "rolling stone" for a few months. Before I head back to the U.S., which I will inevitably do at some point in the near future, I'm gonna pack my bags (as light as I possibly can) and head out on a solo expedition with the far western reaches of China being my ultimate goal.
In the meantime, Natasha will stay here in Guangzhou. Since she graduated she's worked at a few places in Guangzhou, and she's most satisfied by far with the place she works at now. She has no intention of quitting any time soon and would enjoy a couple months of independence.
When I thought about where to travel this summer, I considered visiting some other Asian countries, but in the end settled on staying in China for two reasons. First, I'm a little put off at the prospect of crossing international borders. There are all sorts of hassles to deal with: getting visas, going through border crossings, converting money. I don't want to deal with that stuff.
Second, I hope the next time I visit another country, Natasha can come along. Natasha has never left China, and earlier this year she finally got her first passport with the intention of visiting Vietnam or Thailand sometime in the future. We still haven't went.
Knowing that I wanted to stay inside of China and that I had plenty of time, I took out a map and my guidebook and started plotting a course.
One of the first things I noticed was Kashgar in Xinjiang province. With a name as un-Chinese as Kashgar and a geographic location so close to Pakistan and Afghanistan, I thought this must be a good place to see.
I ran my finger from Guangzhou westward, avoiding places I've already visited. The first province I came across that I thought I might want to stop in was Guizhou. It is apparently a 33 hour train ride from Guangzhou to Guizhou's capital, Guiyang. Guizhou is known as the home of a large population of China's minority population, most notably the Miao. If I travel there, I'm determined to visit a minority village.
Moving westward, the next province I bumped into was Sichuan, home of Kung Pao Chicken. One of the city's names was familiar, Leshan.
The last time I saw the name Leshan was when I visited Chengdu, Sichuan's capital last year. Leshan is known for it's Big Buddha. Leshan's Big Buddha is the largest Buddha in the world (even before the Taliban blew apart the their Big Buddha in Afghanistan it was the world's largest Buddha).
I've seen pictures of this monument in lots of places, but the place that comes to mind first is the movie "King of Masks". Ever since I saw that movie, I've wanted to catch a glimpse of the Buddha myself.
Between Leshan and Kashgar sits the province of Qinghai. Historically the Eastern part of Tibet, Qinghai, or its capital city Golmud, doesn't receive much praise from the guidebook. However, it does have at least one thing worth seeing, Qinghai Lake, the largest lake in China.
Next, I want to take the long trip to Kashgar. And it is a long trip. The only land route I was able to put together from Golmud to Kashgar using the guidebook was around 50 hours, not including the time it'd take me switch buses and trains. Maybe I'll stop and see a few places on the way.
Kashgar is basically as far west in China as you can get. It's proximity to Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Kyrgystan and it's historical significance as a major point on the Silk Road guarantee a good time. Assuming, of course, I make it.
On my way back to Guangzhou, I plan to head through Urumqi. But judging from the guidebook, the most interesting thing about Urumqi might just be the umlauts over the u's.
Other potential cities I might visit on my return trip include Dunhuang in Gansu province, known for the Buddhist Mogao Grottoes as well as Dunhuang's "Ancient City", a movie set built in 1987; Yinchuan in Ningxia province; Hohhot nestled in Inner Mongolia's grasslands; Tianjin; Zhengzhou in Henan province near Kung Fu's famous Shaolin Temple; Hefei in Anhui province so I can see the Yellow Mountains; the "Venice of the East", Suzhou in Jiangsu province; Hangzhou in Zhejiang province; and Wuhan in Hubei province.
The final stop I plan to make before returning to Guangzhou to be reunited with Natasha is Changsha in Hunan.
From Changsha, I'll make a short trip to Shaoshan, birthplace of Mao Zedong, to complete my summer tour of China.
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