Remote China – The North and West of China

Inner Mongolia

Two-thirds of Inner Mongolia consists of the broad grasslands from which the Mongol hordes of Genghiz Khan sprang forth to rampage across China, the Middle East and Europe in the 13th century. The remainder is desert and mountain. Today, Inner Mongolia (as distinct from the independent Republic of Mongolia to the north) is an autonomous region of China. The horsemen of the grasslands still exist and some still live in compressed sheep's wool tents called gher (or yurts), but nowadays these symbols of the ancient way of life survive largely as part of a burgeoning tourism industry. Most Mongolians, who are outnumbered five-to-one by Han Chinese and other nationalities, prefer to ride motorbikes and live in ordinary houses.

 

Hohhot

Capital of Inner Mongolia, Hohhot is a base for organised tours of the grasslands, which means visiting a rural community and sleeping in a yurt. The Inner Mongolia Museum (Nei Menggu Bowuguan) has notable displays depicting the traditional lifestyle of the Mongolian people. Other points of interest in the city are the Great Mosque (Qingzhen Da Si) dating from the Ming dynasty and the Five Pagoda Temple (WutaSi).

At Ejin Horo Qi, southwest of Hohhot near Dongsheng, the Genghis Khan Mausoleum (Chengji Sihan Lingyuan) is a modern building that also manages to be quite beautiful, with its elegant domed-roof pavilions. Whether or not it is really Genghis Khan who lies beneath, who can say?

Qinghai

A huge province in the centre of western China, Qinghai forms part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. With an average altitude of 4,000m, this is the highest plateau in the world, and so it is known as 'the roof of the world' (it is getting higher at the rate of 10mm per year). Qinghai is hemmed in by mountains: the Qilian Shan range to the north, the Kunlun Shan to the west, the Tanggula Shan to the south, and the Hengduan Shan to the east. The Yangtze (Chang Jiang) and Yellow (Huang He) rivers both have their sources here.

Qinghai Lake (Qinghai Hu)

Situated 300km west of Xining, this is China's largest saltwater lake, and an important bird sanctuary. About 100km long, the lake is far from easy to see in its entirety, but the most important bird-spotting sight is Bird Island in its northwestern quadrant. Thousands of migrating and breeding birds, including bar-headed geese and black-necked cranes, can be seen here between March and June.

Xining

This provincial capital marks the starting point of the highway to Lhasa, in Tibet, the highest highway in the world. The railway through Xining does not yet make it this far, but is being pushed southwards to Lhasa from Golmud (centre of the province), and will be an advantage to tourism.

The city has some notable sights, such as the Great Mosque (Qingzhen Da Si) and the North Mountain Temple (Beishan Si). The Ta'er Lamasery (Ta'er Si), 40km to the south, dates from 1397 and was built over the birthplace of Tsong Kapa, founder of the Tibetan Buddhist Yellow Hat sect.

 

Tibet

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, with an average height of 4,000m, and the Himalayan mountains, rising to 8,848m at the summit of Everest, are the defining physical characteristics of Tibet. A distinctive Buddhist tradition, with the priest-ruler Dalai Lama at its head, and a society that, until recently, was rooted in the medieval world, are its defining social characteristics.

Unfortunately, Tibet's tranquil and ordered existence has been disrupted since 1951, when the once independent country was occupied by Chinese forces and subjected to a massive influx of ethnic Chinese. Periodic bouts of rebellion are ruthlessly suppressed.

Despite this sombre political background, Tibet exercises an almost talismanic effect on foreign tourists, even allowing for the difficulties of getting there and the physical difficulties involved in simply getting around on the 'roof of the world'.

Lhasa

The capital city's altitude of 3,700m above sea level can make it forbidden territory for those prone to suffer from altitude sickness. The old Tibetan quarter of the city is an atmospheric, if somewhat odiferous, warren of narrow streets and alleys where you may see people spinning prayer wheels as commonly as they talk or walk in the street.

The highlight of any visit is the stunning 17th-century Potala Palace (Budala Gong), formerly the seat of government and residence of the Dalai Lama, before which pilgrims prostrate themselves. Almost as impressive is the Jokhang Temple (Dazhao Si), Tibet's most important religious building, dating from the 7th century ad, and containing a statue of the child Sakyamuni which the faithful believe was carved by the Buddha himself.

 

Xinjiang

The Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China's largest and most westerly region, has a population of about 13 million, and shares borders with several former Soviet republics, as well as Mongolia.

The Uygurs are one of China's national minorities, a people of Turkic origin, mostly settled in Xinjiang, a territory that they share with 12 other minorities, including the Daur, Tajiks, Mongols, and Kazakhs. Anyone who really wants to 'get away from it all' might try hiking in the trackless Taklamakan Desert that occupies the region's southwest - not many do!

Kashgar

A fabled city on the Silk Route, this is about as far west, and as isolated, as you can get in China. A three-day bus-ride from Urumqi leads to Kashgar's Sunday Market (Jiari Jishi), and the Islamic-looking Id Kah Mosque (Qingzhen Si).

Turpan

This former oasis city on the Silk Road, 200km southeast of Urumqi, is best known for the nearby Turpan Depression, 154m below sea level.

Urumqi

The capital of Xinjiang, this city of one million people can be reached by train from Beijing - a distance of nearly 4,000km. An undistinguished city set in the fabulously wild terrain along which the Silk Route once wound its way, Urumqi has a good museum, the Xinjiang Autonomous Region Museum (Xinjiang Weiwuer Zizhiqu Bowuguan), with displays on the local minorities.

The Heavenly Mountain (Tianshan) and Heaven Lake (Tianchi) are 115km east of the city. The lake is perched at an altitude of 2,000m and the weather can be bitterly cold, even in summer.