Our Silk Road Adventure

October 1st is the celebration of National Day in China—in commemoration of the Communist Party defeating the Nationals in 1949--a Chinese version of our Fourth of July. What that meant to us is that we had a week’s holiday from classes. In China over the holiday nearly everyone goes traveling somewhere. We joined in and traveled with some 47 other CTP teachers who all flew from their home cities to meet up in the far west of China, in Urumqi (pronounced like Urumche), to begin our exploration of the Silk Road, a route that played such an important role in the history of the world. The Silk Road was important for cultural, commercial and technological exchange between traders, merchants, pilgrims, missionaries, soldiers, nomads and urban dwellers from Ancient China, Ancient India, Ancient Tibet, Persia and Mediterranean countries for almost 3,000 years. It gets its name from the lucrative Chinese silk trade, which began during the Han Dynasty starting in 206 BC. In Urumqi we felt a more European flavor mixed up with Chinese than we see in Xi’an. Signs were in Chinese, Arabic, and Russian! We enjoyed the flavor of the Muslim market but our favorite memories were the people, like this little family, all on the same motorbike. The Chinese love their children and out here in the far west you see minority families who aren't limited by the one-child policy required of the Han Chinese, especially in the cities.