That's the view from Daan's home. Beautiful.
These were all taken on the summer same day.
I hope to see the different views again in autumn, winter and spring :)
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| Rainbow after a shower |
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| Sunset |
Monday, December 26, 2011
View from Daan's family home
Well-paved roads, HUGE corn and sunflower plantations that stretch on and on, mountain ranges in the far background all around. Blue skies on clear days and looming clouds on rainy days.
That's the view from Daan's home. Beautiful.
These were all taken on the summer same day.
I hope to see the different views again in autumn, winter and spring :)
That's the view from Daan's home. Beautiful.
These were all taken on the summer same day.
I hope to see the different views again in autumn, winter and spring :)
Meet the family!
We drove for about an hour before reaching Daan's family home in the village.
It was a big relief for Daan when we reached, because it had been tiring for him bringing us across China all the way from Guangdong province to Xinjiang. It was about 2 years since he last visited his family. We received a very warm welcome.
The moment I stepped out of the car, someone came over to give me a big hug. I hadn't met Daan's family before, so my immediate reaction was "hug first, ask who later!"
It turned out that was my mother-in-law :)
Daan's homecoming was a BIG event!
Everyone was really happy to see him.
To celebrate, the family slaughtered a sheep.
I took a video of the sheep being slaughtered.
A lot of blood was involved, so I shan't post the video here.
The sheep was silent as it was slaughtered, it brought to mind Isaiah 53:5,7
Daan used to be a little shepherd-boy when he was about 4 years old.
Early in the morning, he would follow an old shepherd and take his family's sheep out to graze till evening.
What totally different childhood days we had!
When I was 4, I went to my baby-sitter's home, stayed indoors and watched Charlotte's Web on TV!
Later that evening, we had a little barbecue right outside the house.
In the picture are big sis-in-law, her son, 4th brother BBQ-ing and 4th sis-in-law.
Roasted Xinjiang lamb skewers (新疆羊肉串） are YUMMY and smell wonderful! The pieces of meat are alternated with huge chunks of fat on the skewers.
I love the word 串 (chuan), because it looks exactly like what it means, a skewer with chunks of food on it! :)
If you're wondering about the strange look on my face, it's because I was really full, too full, in fact.
As I ate, people kept passing me more skewers. "Eat more!", they kept saying.
The sparrows are usually caught during winter when they are not so active, then they are frozen till whenever you're ready to eat them.
Did the sparrows taste nice? A little too bony for my liking.
We e-mailed some photos to my brother some days later.
His reply: "They roasted a sheep, and there are only 3 left now? What? You guys ate 1/4 of the family's livestock? That's not good right?"
It was a big relief for Daan when we reached, because it had been tiring for him bringing us across China all the way from Guangdong province to Xinjiang. It was about 2 years since he last visited his family. We received a very warm welcome.
The moment I stepped out of the car, someone came over to give me a big hug. I hadn't met Daan's family before, so my immediate reaction was "hug first, ask who later!"
It turned out that was my mother-in-law :)
Daan's homecoming was a BIG event!
Everyone was really happy to see him.
To celebrate, the family slaughtered a sheep.
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| Posing with the sheep before it was slaughtered. |
A lot of blood was involved, so I shan't post the video here.
The sheep was silent as it was slaughtered, it brought to mind Isaiah 53:5,7
5 But he [was] wounded for our transgressions, [he was] bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace [was] upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
Daan used to be a little shepherd-boy when he was about 4 years old.
Early in the morning, he would follow an old shepherd and take his family's sheep out to graze till evening.
What totally different childhood days we had!
When I was 4, I went to my baby-sitter's home, stayed indoors and watched Charlotte's Web on TV!
Later that evening, we had a little barbecue right outside the house.
In the picture are big sis-in-law, her son, 4th brother BBQ-ing and 4th sis-in-law.
Roasted Xinjiang lamb skewers (新疆羊肉串） are YUMMY and smell wonderful! The pieces of meat are alternated with huge chunks of fat on the skewers.
I love the word 串 (chuan), because it looks exactly like what it means, a skewer with chunks of food on it! :)
 |
| Roasted sparrows and mutton |
As I ate, people kept passing me more skewers. "Eat more!", they kept saying.
The sparrows are usually caught during winter when they are not so active, then they are frozen till whenever you're ready to eat them.
Did the sparrows taste nice? A little too bony for my liking.
 |
| Father-in-law with 4-year-old niece |
We e-mailed some photos to my brother some days later.
His reply: "They roasted a sheep, and there are only 3 left now? What? You guys ate 1/4 of the family's livestock? That's not good right?"
博乐 (Bole) City
A look at some numbers...
Xinjiang is the biggest administrative division in China, covering 1,664,897 km², or 17.23% of China's land area.
Its population stands at 21.8 million, with a population density of 13/km².
Singapore:
Land area - 694 km².
Population - 5.18 million, with a population density of 7,315/km².
That makes Xinjiang about 2400 times as big as Singapore, but we have a population density 560 times that of Xinjiang!
Daan's big brother picked us up from Alatwa Pass Railway Station.
When we arrived, Daan pointed him out to me and said "that's big brother".
Out of respect, Daan often refers to people older than him, but in the same generation, as “哥” （older brother) or "姐" (older sister).
I called him big brother too, thinking he was one of Daan's good friends. It was only after we got into the car that I realised that was Daan's REAL older brother! Ha!
Big brother brought us to Alatwa Pass first, then to Bole City.
Bole (博乐 Bólè) or Bortala is a county-level city in Xinjiang.
Bortala means "brown grasslands/steppe" in Mongolian.
It covers an area of 7517 km² and the total population is 403,700 (2003).
After lunch, we were off to meet the rest of Daan's family!
Xinjiang is the biggest administrative division in China, covering 1,664,897 km², or 17.23% of China's land area.
Its population stands at 21.8 million, with a population density of 13/km².
Land area - 694 km².
Population - 5.18 million, with a population density of 7,315/km².
That makes Xinjiang about 2400 times as big as Singapore, but we have a population density 560 times that of Xinjiang!
Daan's big brother picked us up from Alatwa Pass Railway Station.
When we arrived, Daan pointed him out to me and said "that's big brother".
Out of respect, Daan often refers to people older than him, but in the same generation, as “哥” （older brother) or "姐" (older sister).
I called him big brother too, thinking he was one of Daan's good friends. It was only after we got into the car that I realised that was Daan's REAL older brother! Ha!
Big brother brought us to Alatwa Pass first, then to Bole City.
Bole (博乐 Bólè) or Bortala is a county-level city in Xinjiang.
Bortala means "brown grasslands/steppe" in Mongolian.
It covers an area of 7517 km² and the total population is 403,700 (2003).
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| Lunch at a Halal (清真）restaurant. There's big brother in the striped shirt. |
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| 杂烩汤 （zahuitang, don't know how to translate it to English!) is a yummy clear soup with rice noodles, mutton and meatballs. It's eaten with flat bread. |
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| One of the bigger shopping centres in Bole. We came here again 2 weeks later to buy things for our Chinese wedding. |
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Alashankou (Alataw Pass)
After 2 days in Urumqi, we took an 8hr train ride to 阿拉山口 (Alashankou), also known as Alataw Pass.
Alashankou railway station is the last train station on the Northern Xinjiang branch of the railway before entering Kazakhstan.
Some photos of photos, taken at a museum in Alashankou.
Alashankou railway station is the last train station on the Northern Xinjiang branch of the railway before entering Kazakhstan.
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| Going past that gate in the background will bring you out of China into Kazakhstan. |
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| Very windy! |
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| Kazakhstan is just beyond those mountains! |
Some photos of photos, taken at a museum in Alashankou.
Urumqi & 天池
A series of violent riots broke out in Urumqi on 5 July 2009.
It began as a protest by Uyghurs, but escalated into attacks that targeted Han Chinese.
Now, 2 years later, you can still see armed policemen patrolling around.
On our 2nd day in Urumqi, Daan's old friend from his wushu (martial arts) school brought us to 天池 (tianchi, Heavenly Lake), a lake nestled in the mountains. Melted snow water flows from the mountains down into the lake, which explains its crystal clear cold water.
I was told this lake was the foot-washing basin of the ancient Chinese godess, 西王母 or 王母娘娘 （West Queen）!
After breakfast, we headed up to the mountains.
It began as a protest by Uyghurs, but escalated into attacks that targeted Han Chinese.
Now, 2 years later, you can still see armed policemen patrolling around.
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| Photo taken near Urumqi Grand Bazaar |
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| A musician playing a horse-head fiddle, or morin khuur, a distinctively Mongolian instrument. |
On our 2nd day in Urumqi, Daan's old friend from his wushu (martial arts) school brought us to 天池 (tianchi, Heavenly Lake), a lake nestled in the mountains. Melted snow water flows from the mountains down into the lake, which explains its crystal clear cold water.
I was told this lake was the foot-washing basin of the ancient Chinese godess, 西王母 or 王母娘娘 （West Queen）!
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| Before the trip, breakfast at a Khazakh restaurant. |
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| Horse meat! |
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| Khazakh flat bread. |
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| Mumsy enjoying her milk tea. |
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| Fresh mutton at a 烤肉包 (roast meat bun) stall. |
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| Heavenly Lake! |
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| I can't quite remember if I saw that magic needle... |
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| It's a real lake, not man-made! |
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| Waterfall! |
Monday, December 12, 2011
Urumqi
We reached Urumqi 2 and a half days after leaving Guangzhou.
Daan's friend picked us up at the train station.
We stayed 1 night there.
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| View from the hotel room |
Daan's friends brought us to an Uyghur restaurant for lunch.
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| At a Uyghur restaurant. |
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| Uyghur musicians. |
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| 饺子(dumplings) and 拌面（dry handmade noodles mixed with meat and vegetables). Daan's favourites! |
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| 凉皮 (noodles). I was told women like to eat 凉皮 because it's good for their skin. |
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| Make a guess: did I put powdered sugar or cubed sugar in my tea? :) |
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| A short cheongsam we saw at a bridal salon. No, I didn't get this one. |
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| The first of many many watermelons we ate in Xinjiang. |
FOr dinner, Daan's friends brought us to a Khazakh restaurant, where there were ethnic dance performances.
Despite the mix of many different ethnic groups, each group's culture remains very strong.
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| Mongolian horse dance |
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| Khazakh eagle dance |
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