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 desert!

This is trip has been quite an opportunity to see deserts and sand dunes, oasis towns, major cities, and pasture lands.