A Trip to Kumul (Hami)

In January we went to Kumul (Hami in Chinese pronunciation) for a short vacation. We had a great time in this city in Eastern Xinjiang. Below are a few pictures from our trip:















A Kumul hand embroidered traditional hat.















The sun sets over the snow-covered Gbbi Dessert.















These cute girls helped us tour some of the famouse sites. It was so cute when they posed for this photo, each choosing an outfit that fits their unique personalities.















We went to Ghost City, a series of hills with strange rock formations in the Gobi Dessert. There were also some ancient cliff dwellings that give signs that this desert must have been fertile at one time.

Above is a glorious sunny winter day in Urumqi! These are very rare, but can occur once every two weeks or so if the wind is blowing the smoke out of the city to the north. The depressing picture below it is, unfortunately, a normal afternoon in January. This picture was taken on a cloudless, "sunny" day, at the same time and location as the one above it. But those beautiful mountains and most of the buildings have disappeared! Then there are days when it starts out nice like the first picture, then suddenly the wind shifts and within 10 minutes the smoke has enveloped the city and it looks like the picture on the bottom. Indeed, Urumqi would be a beautiful winter city if it weren't for the coal smoke!

Happy New Year

For the Korban Festival, we visited our friend who lives near Turpan. There they have raised plaftforms where they sit, eat, and sleep. The platform is nice and warm because it is heated by the smoke from the stove in the room.


This is the traditional Uyghur holiday treat called Sangza. It is made from dough by hand. The one on top is called "Leaf Sangza" because it is flat.


A new year is here. We got to see a firework show in Pichan (Shan-Shan), a town near Turpan, about four hours from our home in Urumqi. We got some good pictures. Here is the best one (notice the moon in the background).