Beijing has had a chequered history since its first settling in 1045 BC. The Mongol warrior Ghengis Khan destroyed the city in 1215 but by the 15th century the basic grid of the present day city was established. Modern Beijing came of age when in January 1949 the People’s Liberation Army entered the city and …
We left Xi’an just after 7:00 a.m. in heavy rain that was predicted on Chinese TV as likely to be prolonged and severe. It certainly was. Upon arrival at the new Xi’an North railway station we converted our e-ticket into paper ones. Following two layers of security we were in another massive and spotless departure …
This morning we left the old city at the South Gate and upon crossing the moat we entered the very modern high rise section of Xi’an. It was interesting that within a kilometre the shiny granite and glass towers selling Prada and other named clothing brands changed to multi-storey apartments and old single unit shops …
Xi’an was the political heart of China until the 10th century, but long before this it was the beginning/end of the Silk and Spice Routes, meaning that the city became a mix of cultures and religions as well as the home to poets, monks, merchants and warriors. Today’s city walls date from the Ming dynasty …
We awoke just before 8:00 a.m. to see mountains still to our left and still of the old, red sandstone. The railway line, although improved for high speed running was still faced with the same geographical challenges of the old route, namely the Gansu Corridor, which narrows as the mountains come together some 300km south …
Today we catch the overnight train to Xi’an. For the moment we are waiting in the hotel for the appropriate departure time. The sun is beginning to break through now (11:00 a.m.) but when we awoke at 8:30 a.m. it was another smoggy day with very little visible and light similar to that of first …
We woke just before 9:00 a.m. to find it barely daylight and still covered in freezing fog and the morning ‘musak’ led by ‘O come all ye faithful’! As we write in the massive lobby of the hotel whilst awaiting delivery of the next set of train tickets for Xi’an, the sun is burning off …
We travelled though Xinjiang Province, which is sparcely populated, and has been under Chinese rule since the time of the early Silk Road. We awoke at 9:00 a.m. to a snow covered scene with cloud to the ground and temperatures around -5 C. Soon we were in Urumqi, a large and expanding city and a …
It was another crisp and snow covered night when our train left Almaty. We had been able to board more than an hour before departure and, as other long distance trains left before ours, the waiting room was virtually deserted. We realised why when our empty carriages were brought into the station. There were only …
Today we are based in Almaty at the centrally located Hotel Otrar. It is a modernised Soviet-era building and it is facing Panfilov Park, in fact we can see this from our room. It was -5 C with light snow when we set off to explore the Zhibek Zholy, a pedestrianised part of the city …