Jiauguan is sometimes translated as “nice valley,” and really is. Our hotel was the four-star, Chang Cheng Hotel, located very near the rail station and has some very nice rooms . . . and internet! Jiauguan is located on the great “Silk Road, located in a desert valley, forcing caravans to stop there, en route to, or from the east. The westernmost fortress of the Great Wall was built here, as well as the wall’s oldest signal tower.

After leaving Jiayuguan, we are traveled west and climbed to an elevation 1948 meters. We were greeted by a rare summer thunderstorm and the desert was flowing with water, an event I’m sure, that would have given the caravans that traveled this route between 1 AD and the 15th century a reason to smile.

Caravans traveling the Silk Road virtually disappeared as the sea routes from the Far East were established in the 15th century. Today the Caravans consisted mostly of trucks transporting goods all over China; and us today as we head west in search of more great driving roads.

We are now 3100 km west of Shanghai in “Yumen,” which between the 6th and 10 century was the western boundary of China. The roads continue to be great and the traffic has become sparse, compared to eastern China. We continue to explore for the road less traveled route but have had the expressway at our disposal should we need it, as we head deeper into the Gobi desert.

One thing that you cannot imagine is the amount of farmland that you pass through on these first 9 days. Did you know that 70% of the Chinese population is involved in farming? That’s 900 million farmers!

Tonight, we are spending the night in a great hotel at the edge of the sand dunes in the Gobi. The hotel blends into the surrounding desert and is fashioned after a frontier fort. Dunhuang is one of the key oases along the Silk Road.

Before arriving at our fort we visited the Mogao cave or grottos, containing 491 individual caves. The caves are a treasure trove of Buddhist statues and paintings and are really a delight.

Lunch was again great! In fact you will get a chance to enjoy it, if you join us for Great Race China or for New York to Paris next summer.

Gotta go, dinner is on the way. We are going to sit in the bar on the rooftop deck and watch the sun set over the Gobi desert. (jealous?)

On the road,

Wayne

BTW, the phrase of the day; Qing lai yi ping pijiu! (Ching lie ee ping peejeeo) Or, please bring me one bottle of beer!

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