Of my dozen and dozens of trips to China, this was the wildest of them all. Here is a little glimpse:
First stop Shanghai Film Fest. China Film Group had a very large event, featuring some of their top stars, such as Jackie Chan.
Then the bullet train to Beijing. Hadn’t taken before. Train station very modern.
I arrive in Beijing to transfer to Shanghai. On the plane, I read that the Silk Road is now one of Fodor’s favorite trips to take this year. Guess what? I’m taking it.
That night, we went to Urumqi, about four hours by plane, and our wildly colorful host, an amazing photographer in his own right, but also an extremely successful entrepreneur, hosted us in a villa built especially for us.
This is what my bed looked like when I walked in. Maybe the rose petals weren’t real, but the towel folded up was a nice touch!
We then toured Mr. Chen’s petrified forest of popular trees that are millions years old- brought in from other parts of Xinjiang.
Flight next morning to Grasslands, over snow-covered Tianshan Mountains.
Amazing spread in a yurt in the Narat Grasslands.
Catherine’s assistant Jeff was feted for his birthday. We think one host liked him so much, he married his daughter off to Jeff. We traded him mercilessly about this. He could be a lot worse off!
Many, many sheep!
Many, many yurts!
Though we got waylaid by military caravan.
More mountains and water of amazing turquoise color.
Next stop, the uppermost regions of Xinjiang. Lush valleys.
And almost daily, deep mist over the Kanas Lake
A lot of outdoor barbequing, and a stack of pails and shovels at each site to help with ashes.
Some beautiful old men outside their abode. Cowboys.
A few storefronts.
A few storefronts.
Catherine also taking it all in.
Catherine also taking it all in.
Back to Urumqi to catch the Archaeological Museum. Amazing artifacts.
And amazing vessels. From 2800 BC!
Killer boots from thousands of years ago!!
On to Turfan, the nearby desert region.
More food. By the way, Catherine being a vegetarian was the best thing that could have happened. They knocked themselves out with vegetables, wild mushrooms (no, not psychedelic), breads and tofu dishes of all kinds.
Fun-loving Muslim town with great nightlife.
Kids rollerblading in the town square.
Many beautiful melons! Fresh…
and dried.
Cool markets with assorted spices.
And painterly moments.
With families.
The desert there is vast. We pretended we were on a Desert Storm mission.
Back to Urumqi where a school full of students were waiting to meet Catherine. She was a superstar!!
Trip culminates in a press conference about our movie.
Read about it here:
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/06/25/world/asia/ap-as-china-film-loulan.html?_r=2
