A lot more places to visit in the area

We visited many places in the area on this trip. You can see more pictures at our webpage.(http://jat.esmartweb.com/china-1985/china_1985.htm)  In addition to the Monkey King's Famous Flaming Mountains, we went to the Nanshan area where there were many different kinds of animals and where we could rent horses. We  had a great time riding on the backs of these Mongolian horses  - they are smaller and love to run! We also walked to the beautiful water falls:

Small Part of the Silk Road

We got a glimpse of the old Silk Road this time, during our visit to Xinjiang. The University arranged a very nice small building in the Tianshan (Heavenly Mountains) area where we could stay. It was not very far from where we could see the beautiful Tianchi (Heavenly Lake). The following picture was taken in front of this building. Steven was playing a game with Professor Liu to see who could stand without moving longer than the other:

Of course, we took a cruise in the lake. As you can see from the pictures below, it was truly a very beautiful place!

We visited  Hami in the Turban area, where the famous sweet Hami melons are grown and sold. We were very lucky to be there during the right season and were able to taste some every day!

 The famous place called JiaoHe (or old city) (交河故城), was originally on the Silk Road but was destroyed by the invading muslims during the Tang dynasty. Unfortunately, our two young  children did not know enough Chinese history to appreciate any of the stories.