Day 18, 7/22: Kashgar (4000 ft) - Xi'an (1000 ft)

Ah, it's the last day. In the morning, after finishing breakfast (had my last Xinjiang melons), we said good bye to our teammates. One of them was still in the hospital because three of his fingers were frostbitten. The doctors had already amputated the tips of the finger and was still observing whether or not they needed to cut more (I’ve looked at his fingers when he just came down. They were dark purple and swollen, and the condition looked very serious. He actually came to Kashgar the night we got down to BC to be treated). I really hope that he’s okay now.

Lake near sunrise.

I went to check out the “Ancient City of Kashgar.” Kashgar was originally a very underdeveloped city because of its remoteness in the very western part of China. At that time (8-10 years back), the government did not have enough funding to improve the infrastructure. However, a few years ago, the City of Kashgar was renovated, and skyscrapers started to become a common site. “The Ancient City of Kashgar” (ACK) was one of the only preserved locations of the “Old Kashgar.” This historical site is now a tourist attraction, but also home to many Uyghurs whose families lived there for generations.

City gate.

There was a gate that separated the “New Kashgar” from the “Old Kashgar.” When I walked into the ACK, the first thing that I saw was very modern restaurants and shops, which formed a drastic comparison with the ancient style of architecture.

I wanted to sign up for a car tour because I wanted to see the whole site in 2 hours (to catch my plane), but the reservations have already filled up long before I came. So the only option was walking, which, in my opinion now, was way better than taking a car tour.

I didn’t go to many shops because some of them aren’t selling anything special, and the good ones were not open (it was a Monday). The buildings in ACK formed a multi-story complex and are all connected to each other. So instead of surfing through shops, I decided to go upstairs and visit some locals.

Oh stairs... I hate going up...

In these complexes, the more stories the building have, the more generations of people there are living inside the buildings.

Lots of ivies around here.

You can also access the residential area via these gates.

Everyone there were super friendly, and the kids loved interacting with tourists. It was like another city, with its own council and schooling system.

I didn't make her cry. She was already crying when I got there.

After visiting the ACK neighborhoods, I went to get some premium-quality ice cream. The shop owner claimed that they were the “best ice cream shop in Kashgar.” To me, they were the best because the pineapple-flavored ice cream had the perfect consistency. It wasn’t too sweet, yet sweet enough to create a delicious blend with the sourness of pineapple. It was just really overpriced (30 yuan for one tiny scoop).

By noon, I realized that it’s time to say goodbye to Kashgar, Xinjiang. The trip was really coming to an end. Kashgar’s one last “gift” to me was a very awkward security check. Because of frequent terrorist attacks a couple years back, airport securities were extremely careful. One of our teammates’ luggage had to go through bag check four times because he forgot to take the batteries out from his headlight. Everyone took at least two minutes for a full-body security check. The lady even reached a little into my pants as I stood there holding in my laughter.

The flight back was very turbulent as well, but I was a bit more used to it. I was still scared regardless. When we arrived at Xi’an, there was a sense of relief because that’s when I had completed all the dangerous tasks. I had a large meal again: two bowls of noodles, many pastries, half a chicken, two “Hey Tea”s (喜茶, the best Boba ever), three scoops of ice cream.

These brushes are actually edible.

The ice cream had weird flavors that you might think taste disgusting at first, but was actually not bad at all. I tried one with salted duck egg yoke (咸鸭蛋), and one with “oily pepper” (油泼辣子).

I wished I could stay in Xi’an longer. It was such a beautiful city. The streets and buildings were Tang-dynasty themed, so we were walking along ancient palaces that light up colorfully at night (大唐不夜城). It was such a nice way to conclude the trip.

The next morning (7/23), after a 2-hour train ride I finally arrived at Luoyang, my home town. And that was the end of the journey.