Our transit through Xinjiang

Our transit through Xinjiang

We made it through! And I can finally tell you about it. How the people there are, what we experienced there, and how the police saved us from the rain I will try to tell you. What is it like in Xinjiang?

Honestly, I was just glad that we even got a visa. If you want to avoid Afghanistan, there is no road around China. So after our really beautiful time in Pakistan, we crossed the highest border crossing in the world (4560m!) and ventured into this adventure.

5 days in China. 5 days in Xinjiang.

We prepared ourselves for the worst.

We took the bus to the border fence, where there was not a single person in sight. The big metal gate opened as if by magic and we were allowed to enter. How should we behave? We were now being watched every step of the way. Everything was being examined, cameras everywhere, total surveillance, the state knows everything (even when I wanted to get bread!) - except our thoughts, luckily those are up to us.

Checkpoints with passport controls can be found every few kilometers, as well as black SUVs following you. If you follow all the rules, you will have absolutely no problems (except when you go to get bread and the bakery is obviously not listed on the Chinese map :D).

But I would like to emphasize: You are welcomed very warmly. Many people were helpful, English-speaking Chinese sometimes offered to interpret for us. Since GPS and Google Maps don't work, we often asked for directions and were very well helped. And the border guards invited us to eat watermelon (and asked for tips on how to learn English).

We were mainly in Kashgar, a historic city on the old Silk Road. It is known for its huge bazaar where you can buy everything, from bread, tea, fruits, nuts to carpets and furs. On our way, we saw huge snow-covered mountains again (over 7000m high!), and large glacial lakes. Later, when we were out of the mountains, there was mainly steppe. But with wild camels!

But now to our most memorable experience with the police, which I absolutely have to tell you about!
China was only supposed to be a transit country on our trip. We deliberately tried not to get involved in political matters. However, as described in the last article, we wanted to enter China one day earlier and leave one day earlier. Since everything was closed on Sunday (yes), we got stranded in the border town. The only hotel there wanted 100 dollars for the night, so we decided to sleep outside (which was a bit daring given the Chinese surveillance). However, before we had decided on a place to sleep, we wanted to explore the area a bit. We walked along a dirt road out of the border town. When the same green electric car drove past us for the third time, we became more alert. Coincidentally, it then parked 100m behind us and the distance did not seem to decrease. So far, so normal after 4 days of camera surveillance. But when our path finally led us to a fenced, somewhat creepy-looking building, we decided to turn back and ended up sleeping in a park. There, too, a black SUV parked nearby. No problem so far, we let our feet dangle in the river. Suddenly, however, it started pouring rain, hailing and thundering.. Soaked to the bone, we stood there under a few trees in the park - when out of nowhere a police car drove through the park straight towards us. A guard got out, set up an umbrella, and pointed to the dry car!

We were speechless and stammered 'Thank you' in our dripping clothes.

After we explained the 100 dollars per night to him, he took out his phone and arranged the same hotel for us for 8 dollars! Our personal police taxi took us there and we had a lot of fun with Kyrgyz truckers playing billiards and eating. Surveillance definitely has its positive effects too! :D

Before we could leave, we had to undergo a 6-hour interview. The bags were unpacked again and we were asked questions about the history of China, food, the Vigers (what the Uighurs are called in China), our job, and studies... everything possible! However, before that, we met three Spaniards at the border control, whom we fortunately saw multiple times in Kyrgyzstan!

As always in life, there is no black OR white. China is very diverse and our impression of China was surprisingly good. A strange feeling of being safe sets in due to the cameras - but probably only if you don't feel criminalized either. They have definitely made an effort to give tourists more freedom than we heard from pre-Corona times, and we encountered many friendly people until the end.

When we crossed the border at 10 p.m. Chinese time, we couldn't hold back a sigh of relief. We made it! Our journey now takes us to Kyrgyzstan. Fortunately, the first trucker has already stopped and is giving us a ride for the first leg. The mountains and horses are calling!