Sierra Blogging Post Archives

Sam and Erin are a newlywed couple taking an 18-month bicycle tour of Asia and Europe… and they’re bringing Sierra Blogging Post along for the ride.

We’re sending them Sierra Trading Post gear and they’re sending us great stories and photographs from their adventure. They just sent me their latest dispatch from China and Kyrgyzstan…


Leaving Pakistan, we entered China's far-western province of Xinjiang, homeland of the Uighur Muslims. Xinjiang is a region that, like Tibet, has a complicated relationship with the Beijing government, and we saw evidence of that with the many Chinese soldiers patrolling streets in armored vehicles. Despite these signs of tension, the area is safe for travel and we had a fantastic time exploring this scenic and historical province by bicycle.

We first entered a rural area of the province populated mainly by Kyrgyz nomads. They continue to follow a traditional herding way of life, living in yurts and living on a diet provided by their animals - meat, yogurt, milk and cheese, complimented of course, by many cups of salty, buttery tea.

While riding through the Kyrgyz area, we spent a couple nights with local families. Many local families open their homes to tourists for a small price, and the cost of accommodation includes both dinner and breakfast, the best way to get a hot meal in this area since restaurants are non-existent.

Leaving the Kyrgyz region, we crossed a pass and descended toward Kashgar, a city of several million people. Kashgar is a legendary Silk Road trading city and glimmers of its rich past are everywhere, most prominently in the Old Town, populated exclusively by Uighur families who have lived and traded here for two thousand years.

Ancient fountains form the center of neighborhoods, where women still gather to collect water, and mosques are everywhere. We particularly loved wandering around the bustling, gigantic markets and bazaars with traders hawking their wares, where it was easiest to imagine what Silk Road trading cities must have been like at the height of their power.

But change is coming: the Chinese government is systematically trying to upgrade the traditional mud brick houses because of earthquake safety concerns, although many Uighurs fear the government has ulterior motives and consider it an attempt to assimilate them into Han Chinese society. Understandably, locals don't talk much about current events given the risk of retaliation by the government, so most put on a happy face, especially with foreigners, and go about their business.

After a few days of rest and exploration in Kashgar, we hit the road again, heading west out of China towards Kyrgyzstan. It was a three-day ride from Kashgar to the border, rising in elevation with every pedal stroke toward the high mountains that form the border between China and the "Stans" - the exotic Central Asian republics whose names each end with -stan.

We had a quick ride through Kyrgyzstan, only spending two days there, en route to Tajikistan. Riding into Kyrgyzstan, we paralleled the massive mountainous ridge that forms the northern wall of the Pamiri Plateau.

We would miss the assurance of great food and a warm hotel room in China as we headed into the wilds of the Stans, where infrastructure is far behind China's superior road and hotel network, but where adventure and dramatic scenery abound.