After spending more than an hour waiting in line for train tickets in Kashgar, we arrived with time to spare at Kuche station. Two hours later we were allowed onto the platform, and as it started to rain, the guards moved everyone under cover (but still behind barricades) until everyone who wanted to get off the train had done so. Then the rush was on! Our carriage was probably the furthest and we boarded just as it was starting to pull out!

Arriving at Turpan Railway station, seven hours later, we were glad to see taxis, as the station is 50 kms out of town! Our hotel was advertised as luxury four star, but from the start it didn’t feel that way, and we were paying top dollar… so we only stayed one night and moved to another in town. Visited the museum today, walked about for a while, checked out the shopping plaza, managed to find a place for lunch with pics, before the temp reached sizzling and we headed back to aircon.

Around 5pm a driver took us out to Jiaohe Ruins. What a massive site. The mud brick remains of a city, perched on a hill, surrounded by water. Glad we waited until late to visit; there was a warm breeze, but the temperature was bearable…and there were only a few other tourists about.