It’s been a very long year, filled with lots of studying and lots of hiking!  I am so grateful that I was able to study abroad for a year and explore almost every region of China.  From the bustling cities of Beijing and Shanghai to the lush green regions of Guangzhou and Guilin to the…

Xi’an is famous for the Terracotta Warriors but also the Wild Goose Pagoda.  When Buddhism first reached China, a few people were intrigued.  So intrigued, they went to India to learn more about the religion and collect valuable sutras.  Xuan Zang was the most famous for the journey and stored all the Buddhist relics in…

On the final day of our Silk Road trip, we traveled back to Urumqi to visit the Grand Bazaar.  I did some light shopping but the highlight of the trip was finding this succulent watermelon and cantaloupe. What a wonderful way to end our adventure!  Maybe one day I’ll be able to return to Xinjiang…

We next traveled to another small town in Xinjiang called Aksu. (Just another hop, skip, and a jump over some more of the Tian Shan mountains!)  After looking at the desert landscape for the past few days, it was nice to see some lush green trees in a botanical garden.  Some of the trees were…

These are 1st century ruins located in the middle of nowhere, Kuqa.  It was an amazing site to see pulling off a lonely highway and exploring the ruins.  However, the day we visited was windy.  Extremely windy.  I think like ‘a massive sandstorm is coming right now’ windy! My friend Justine and I were freezing…

A long, long time ago when the sub-continent of India slammed into the Asia region, really massive mountains formed.  As you probably know, the Himalayas (and obviously Mt. Everest) are the most known.  However, these mountains also extend up into Central Asia along the Tarim Basin to form Tian Shan.  Tian Shan means Heavenly Mountain. …

Our Kuqa tour guide took us into the heart of the town.  We visited the most popular mosque which was also built in the 15th century. We even got to enter the prayer hall between prayer sessions. We found this little girl wandering around the mosque.  She was very cute but shy! Just outside of…

Inside of the Taklamakan Desert is one of the few places in which China has access to oil.  We had to ride through a check point to enter the Taklamakan Desert but it was a beautiful drive and we enjoyed lunch by a small river. There is even a 1,000 year old forest within the…

After a quick flight over the Tian Shan (a mountain range), we arrived in Kuqa.  This little town in tucked between the mountains and a desert.  In Kuqa, we first visited a music village.  I noticed how expressive their doors were.  No two doors were alike! Most families in the village made and sold traditional…

In the afternoon, we traveled to a pasture land to explore.  On the drive up we got to see beautiful rivers and mountainsides.   This region was at such a high elevation, we began to feel freezing rain.  However, the landscape was just too beautiful so I didn’t care. The rest of the group decided…