Windmills and Aqueducts

          The sun had risen on our third day in northwest China when I opened my eyes and a quick look around reminded me that I had slept in my great aunt's home, a place where I had lived during my first two years of life. 

          The telephone was ringing, and it was my mother who said she'd come for my little brother and me in an hour.  We would be headed for Turpan, a city east of Urumchi.  Part of the Turpan basin is 159 meters below sea level.  That's the lowest place in China and the second lowest depression in the world.  It's also the hottest place in China, as there is practically no rain and the surrounding mountains reduce the convection.  My mother regards Turpan as her hometown, as she lived there for ten years during her childhood.

          While we were having breakfast, I heard the sound of an ambulance siren and it seemed close by.  I wondered what was happening, and then the phone rang.  It was my mother again, and she asked us to go downstairs, that she was outside waiting for us.

          As we were grabbing the things we'd need, we looked out the window to see where she was, and all we could see was an ambulance.  That was confusing, but we ran down the stairs together and then the most amazing thing happened; we saw mother sitting in the ambulance and beckoning to us.

          I wondered why she was in an ambulance.  Was she sick?

          What was happening?

          Then it became clear.  She was okay.  We were to get in the ambulance, too.  It was to be our car for the day.  We had a driver, mom had brought a friend, and our destination was still Turpan.

          With the siren sounding, we took off.  It was interesting that no other vehicles could overtake us.  We were the lords of all the roads.  When we came to a toll station, the attendant would just glance at the blue lights on the top of the ambulance and wave us through without a charge.  I had never before enjoyed such royal treatment.

          While I was enjoying that novelty, a large group of windmills came into view.  It was our first sight of Daban City, a very windy place, famous for generating power. 

          The Xinjiang government planned many years ago to build a big power plant there, but needed technology wasn't available, and so they invited a Dutch company to assist them.  As a result, the biggest power plant in Asia was constructed using the force of the wind as it blows in that area all year around.  Windmills now extend for 80 kilometers toward the east and west and 20 kilometers to the north and south.

          The windmills fascinated my little brother.  When he saw them come into view, he shouted, "Windmills....Windmills!"  Our driver, Mr. Du, parked the car so that we could get photographs of them and all of us.  

          That's my mother in the middle next to me with my little brother in front.  Our driver is on the left and the two women are my mother's friends from the hospital.  After the photo was taken, we continued on toward Turpan.  

          When we arrived, it was 10 a.m., and the thermometer in the ambulance had reached 39 degrees.  That's 102.2 degrees fahrenheit, and we all felt the heat.  The dry wind that blew on our faces seemed to be perfect weather for turning us into mummies, and it was only mid-morning.  

          Our first visit was to one of the culverts that had been built by hand over 2000 years ago utilizing the wisdom of the ancients.  The enormous project that extends for 3000 kilometers has been compared to two other projects done without machinery - the Great Wall of China and the Grand Canal.   

          As temperatures soar in that area, water soon evaporates.  In constructing culverts, they devised a way to transport water underground using gravity.  A total of 1000 wells are involved.  Mother told us that my grandfather had been involved in this project, as he was a civil engineer in Turpan 30 years ago.

          In recent years, plans were made to modernize the system, and conduits were constructed and installed.  Because of the extreme heat, however, the water evaporated before it had flowed halfway through.  Therefore the project was cancelled and the old culverts that had worked for so many years were reevaluated.  

          We were able to enter a culvert, and saw what is called a hidden aqueduct.  It's actually an underground water channel.  Over our heads there were many holes as the area we were walking in was used for the laborers that were digging the bed for the aqueduct.  The sign in Chinese characters above the entrance is translated as "Hidden Culvert".  Note that the same message is carried in arabic, as there are many Muslims in that part of China.

          There was light at the end of the aqueduct, and that reminded us that we had been underground and had finally reached the surface.  The aqueduct has been providing water a long time for the people in that area, and my brother was interested in knowing if he could drink it.  Mom said that he could, as it flows underground and is not polluted.  It tasted sweet.      

                                        Exploring an Ancient City

          After walking out of the coolness of the culvert, we found ourselves in very hot weather again and got in the ambulance quickly.  Our next destination was on the end of an island.  It was a city named Jiaohe. as that means the confluence of two rivers.  For many years it served as a major staging post on the Silk Road.

          Established during the Han Dynasty (206 BC - AD 220), it was once a very important Buddhist center before it was overwhelmed by Genghis Khan and his warriors.  As a result, Islam was brought to the area, but in the process, the city was destroyed and is now in ruins.

          I pressed our driver to get there as soon as possible, as I have a strong interest in archeology, and the ruins were a kind of holy land in my heart.  I could hardly contain myself when the entrance came into view.  The sign read "An Ancient City".

             It was noon, the thermometer registered 40 degrees when we arrived, and my mother recommended that we take plenty of water bottles with us. 

          As soon as the ambulance stopped, I climbed out quickly and entered the ruins.  My brother was with me, but couldn't bear the heat and returned to the car.   

          A main road cuts through the city, and has five main areas:  residential, military, industrial and commercial, governmental, and religious.  

          I began exploring from the south gate where there are two arrow towers that unfortunately have lost large portions of their exteriors.  The military area was adjacent, and I saw the ruins of several barracks there.  All the structures have been severely damaged by the sand that is blown about by heavy winds in that area.     

          When we walked along the main road that cuts through the city, we came to the governmental area.  That's the highest point, and one can view the entire city.  I couldn't help but think that the government had chosen that spot as an authoritative symbol of how they would control the city.  

          Next to the governmental area were the remains of residences that were obviously much simpler than the other buildings.  They were actually caves that had dug into the earth with walls of tamped earth.

          There was a large graveyard close by with a special area for the graves of infants.  Archeologists can only guess why they were buried separately.  Some theorize that the babies were used as religious sacrifices but others are of the opinion that perhaps the residents loved the children so much that a special graveyard was built for them.  

          The religious area is the most luxurious.  The monastery is large and impressive, and the arrangement of art objecs has been done with great care.  Four statues of Buiddha were originally in the tower at the entrance, but three of them were destroyed in the religious war.  

          While I was deeply touched by all I was seeing, my mother couldn't bear the heat and wanted to return to the ambulance.  I had almost forgotten how hot it was.  I raised my head to look at the blue sky, and not a cloud could be seen.  Everything around us was sand-colored.  It made us feel as if we were in a desert, and I suddenly became conscious of the fact that we were being burned by the hot sun.  Reluctantly, I returned to our starting point, as I felt that I could become a mummy in the ruins if I stayed.  An archeologist of the future would find me there and wonder what I was doing.   

                                   The Hottest Place and the Coldest Place

          It was time for lunch when we left the ancient city, and Mr. Du, our driver, suggested that we go to Red Rose, a good restaurant in Turpan.  It's run by Uigurs and specializes in Xinjiang food.

          Yogurt was our first course, and it was filled with nuts.  Although the taste was somewhat acidic, I thought it was delicious.  My family knows that I'm not fond of food made with milk products but I couldn't say enough about it.  I then ordered a dish of noodles called "la tiao zi".  It was much like spaghetti with mutton sauteed in the sauce that included capsicums, tomatoes, and onions.  My little brother had the same dish and others ordered roast mutton.  I was very interested in all the specialties and ate a lot.

          We walked part of the way to Flaming Mountain after lunch.  It's also  called Fire Mountain as they seem to be on fire when viewed in the mid-day sun.

          According to a Chinese fairy tale, a monkey named Sun Wukong lifted a big burner into the sky, and when it fell, it started an enormous fire for it ignited coat that was underground.  As a result, Fire Mountain was formed.  A more accurate version of how that area became the hottest place in China is that long, long ago, the area was covered with water, and deposits of coal underground caught fire, evaporated the water, and are still burning today.  The Chinese characters on the rock in the photo below can be translated to read "Flaming Mountain".

          We then drove the rest of the way toward the mountain, and a strange thing happened as we neared it.  The closer we got, the higher the temperature became.  When we arrived, it was 44 degrees centigrade.  That's 111 fahrenheit.  My brother became so tired that he fell asleep.  I got out of the vehicle, and a strong heat wave struck me in the face.  I felt that getting back in the car would be like entering heaven, but I had to investigatge and entered an underground museum.  Fortunately, we were cooler there and could read all the information for tourists.  There were some amazing numbers.  Surface temperatures there have been reported as high as 80 degrees and the average air temperature is 40.

          I wondered how the people of Turpan could live in such hot weather.  When we walked out of the museum, we found a large thermometer with a reading of 66.5 degrees.  That was much too hot for us so we quickly got back in our vehicle.

          On our way back, we visited a grape valley.  Strangely, the valley is the coolest place in Turpan.  The temperature there is only about 20 degrees.  It is also a very famous area for grapes, and you can sample many kinds of them.  I loved a long, green grape, as it had a very sweet taste.  That helped quench the thirst that had built up during our visit to Fire Mountain and was a pleasant end to a very interesting day.