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Cracked mudflats on
the banks of the Keriya River |
Entrance to
Keriya's (Yutian's)
main mosque |
9th Century
crampons on
display at
Balasagun |
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Camel caravan in
the distance |
Raw silk being
removed from silkworm cocoons |
En route to
Mazartagh |
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New buildings in
what was part of Kashgar's old town |
Grapes on sale at
Kashgar Market |
Khotan River (formed by
the confluence of the White Jade and Black Jade Rivers) source
of high quality jade for millennia is now being dredged on an
industrial scale |
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The small dots in
the middle are men working precariously on telephone wires |
Ancient poplar
trees |
Dramatic geological
formations north of
Korla |
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| Crossing the Tourgut Pass |
Hoarding exhorting the
virtues of the paramilitary police |
Han Chinese tourists
touring one of the last remaining parts of fabled old Kashgar, preserved
for touristic purposes |
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The road to Tongguzbasti |
Main street in new Kashgar |
A fierce sandstorm blew up the night before our departure
but fortunately was the last we would meet |
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Preparing to cross
the Keriya river at the beginning of the trek. Quicksand was an
ever present danger near the water's edge. |
Campaign poster in
Bishkek for the Kyrgyz elections that took place on the 10th
October 2010 |
The official home
of rice! Kashgar |
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Poplar shadows in
the backstreets of Keriya's old town |
Traditional Uighur
hat |
Hong Ta Shan (Red
Pagoda Mountain) in Urumqi |
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Tongguzbasti main
street |
Early morning by
the fire |
Early morning
desert scene |
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Tongguzbasti |
Baying Bactrian |
Karadong |
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The red flag of
China flies over Tongguzbasti |
Gnarled trees en
route to Karadong |
Pensive camel
contemplating the day ahead |
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Early start in
eager anticipation of more dunes |
Loading up in the
morning |
Unexpectedly high
river hinders progress to Mazartagh |
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Dunes, dunes, |
En route to
Karadong |
and more dunes! |
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Same white rainbow
with camels in the foreground |
Praying towards
Mecca |
Approaching the
Keriya River |
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The road to
Tongguzbasti |
Camel in the sunlit
morning mist |
Tienshan mountains
seen form Bishkek |
