Eastern Xinjiang : the road to Turpan The road from Dunhuang in western Oansu as far as Hami and then Turpan - the easternmost part of Xinjiang, east of the central area dominated by the Tian Shan- comprises some of the harshest terrain in the whole of China. Little water ever reaches this area of scorching depressions - geographically an extension of the Tarim Basin - which in summer is the hottest part ofthe country, and which was dreaded by the Silk Road traders as one of the most hazardous sections of the entire cross-Asia trip. Even today, crossing the area is most memorable for its suffocating heat and monotonous gravel and dune landscapes, though ironically Turpan - despite the heat - can be one 0fthe most relaxing and enjoyable places in all China.

The Northern Silk Road

Korla to Kashgar: the Northern Silk Road Some 300km southwest of Orfimqi, and 400km southwest of Turpan, the wealthy but dull town of Korla marks the start of the most direct route to Kashgar, which follows the ancient Northern Silk Road . Having crossed the Tian Shan and entered the Tarim Basin, this route skirts round the northern rim of the Taklamakan Desert for more than a thousand kilometres, flanked by snowy peaks. The country is largely a barren wilderness, though there are occasional transitions from parched desert to green pasture in the rare places where water from the Tian Shan has found its way down to the plain. The small oasis towns west of Korla usually comprise brown mud-built houses, perhaps a few vine trellises, and thick muddy water running in trenches beside the streets; Kuqa, about a third of the way to Kashgar, is worth a stopover for its Old Town’s traditional feel, and a couple of low-key Silk Road relics in the surrounding deserts. The road is for the most part in fairly good condition, though given the vast distances involved, it makes much more sense to use the parallel railway, with two services daily running the full distance from Urumqi, via Korla and Kuqa, to Kashgar. The line, completed in 2000, has completely transformed the journey; Urumqi to Kashgar now takes 24 hours in an air-conditioned carriage, instead of at least 36 hours of dust, baking heat, and scenic vacuum in a bus seat. While epic bus journeys do have their attractions, diehards will find more of interest in the three-day trip to Kashgar via the Southern Silk Road

The Southern Silk Road

Originally, the Southern Silk Road split off from the northern route near Dunhuang in Gansu province, crossed to Ruoqiang on the eastern edge of the Taldamakan, then skirted the southern rim of the desert before rejoining the northern road at Kashgar. In modern times this route has fallen into almost total obscurity, lacking as it does any major city and connected by poor roads and minimal transport. Of the two branches, however, this route is actually the older and historically more important of the two. The most famous Silk Road travellers used it, including the Chinese Buddhist pilgrims Fa Xian and Xuanzang , as well as Marco Polo and, in the 1930s, the British journalist and adventurer Peter Fleming. The ancient settlements along the way were oases in the desert, kept alive by streams flowing down from the snowy peaks of the Kunlun Shan, which constitute the outer rim of the Tibetan plateau to the south. Following what remains of this southern route opens up the prospect of travelling overland from Turpan to Kashgar one way, and returning another way, thus circumnavigating the entire Taklamakan Desert. The southern route is not to everyone’s taste, in that it chiefly comprises desert interspersed by extremely dusty oasis towns, with none of the green or tourist facilities of the northern route; nor is there a rail line to fall back on if bus travel loses its appeal. Nevertheless, it represents the chance to visit an extremely little-known corner of China, where foreigners are still a rare sight.