Silk Road in China

I was up on the Silk Road last year and found it to be extremely historical and interesting. The desert areas were fantastic. Don't miss Turpan if you go. It is the second lowest spot on earth. They grow Hami mellons there in the desert and are so sweet they melt in your mouth. They also grow grapes up on arbors because of the heat and can pick them from below. It gets to 130 degrees in the summer and down to -40 degrees in the winter. They dry grapes to make raisens and only takes 10 days. There is one winery there. I bought a bottle of their best wine called "Scent of a Woman". Haven't opened it yet. They live in clay brick houses with many having a second floor to dry their grapes with one out of four bricks being left out. The grapes are very sweet and when combined with Goat Ice Cream, can't be beat anywhere. There are deserted and destroyed villages around this area from the old days when the Mongolians came down and invaded this area. You can visit them by donkey cart and walk around. The Flaming Mountians here are really beautiful and you will see very large wind mills that generate power for the area. This is just one part of the Silk Road that you will enjoy. ChinaDave