For the Taiwanese group, Dunhuang was the end of the line. From then on, I am on my own again, which is immediately noticeable in the brutal headwind. The desert town of Hami is famous for its melons. Especially the honey and net melons.  It rarely rains in this region and in the summer months &#8222;hot&#8220; is probably just a foreign word.  For me, this enormous heat means that I no longer drive during the day. With a temperature of 45 degrees, it is no longer bearable, despite the wind. Since the road quality is very good and I am even often allowed to ride on the motorway here with a hard shoulder, I see no problem cycling through the night. I still have some 400 km to Turpan, or three nights. This decision was exactly the right one. It goes very well. Difficulties arise again and again at the police checkpoints. Nevertheless, with a lot of patience and waiting, I manage to pass slowly through each checkpoint. It is important to cooperate with the officers, otherwise there will be a disaster.
The omnipresent police presence here in the autonomous province of Xinjiang is especially noticeable in and around the cities. Although I was able to reserve a hotel room in the village of Shanshan, it is a nightmare to check in when I arrive at 5.30 in the morning. First I wake up the receptionist, then I have to wait apparently for no reason. But at some point, the police arrive, ask me the usual questions and study my passport. Finally, they let me move into my room and I immediately go to sleep. I am barely in a deep sleep when there is a knock on my room door. I think it&#8217;s probably cleaning staff and ignore the knock. Shortly afterwards, the locked door opens and three uniformed men rush in. That has never happened to me before in my life. I am startled and immediately wide awake. The officers want to see and know everything about me. First I have to hand over my mobile phone, I am photographed and have to hand over my passport. Then they search my luggage thoroughly and ask me endless questions. I don&#8217;t know what the aim of this raid is. At some point the men think it&#8217;s about my safety. They say that I am in danger and wanted to protect me. What do they want to protect me from? It is dangerous in this area and their job is to protect me. Ok, I say. Then I would like to see your identity cards and I want to take some photos of them. They show me their identity cards, but I have to delete the photos immediately. OK they can be restored from the deleted status on the mobile phone. They probably don&#8217;t know that, or maybe they think I don&#8217;t know&#8230;. After an hour&#8217;s investigation, the state security officials let me continuing sleeping and I have to promise and assure them that I will leave Shanshan before midnight.  After a quiet and restful day, I enjoy &#8222;my&#8220; noodle soup in the restaurant in the evening and at about 23.00 I tackle the next night drive. I get out of the district without any problems and as soon as I&#8217;m on the highway, it feels really redeemed. Meanwhile, I see this surveillance as an opportunity. If I&#8216; m shadowed like this, I can move around safely without running or driving into danger.  Out in this darkness there is little traffic and at the moment the temperatures are really pleasant. The road is of very good quality and there are no vehicles coming towards me on the hard shoulder. I enjoy the ride through the night and here it is the FLOW!
Slowly but surely I am approaching my stage destination Turpan. It will hardly be warmer than here in the whole of China. This oasis town is the second lowest place in the world (154m below sea level) and the region is considered China&#8217;s Death Valley. In summer, the Uyghur-Chinese city gets hotter than 50 degrees at times.  This place on the northern Silk Road was the center of trade from west to east or east to west for many centuries.
It is remarkable that two languages are practised here. Mandarin by the Han Chinese and the Uyghur language by the Uyghurs, who use the Arabic alphabet.  Street signs are often bilingual. I feel a bit home because in the City of Biel/Bienne where I life we are bilingual too, however with the language German/French.
Turpan situated in the Taklamakan Desert is also known for its wine. At the end of my stage, I enjoy a few deciliters of the delicious drink with my dinner.
Time passes so quickly that the journey home is already imminent and my first stage of the Silk Route is complete.
Transporting my luggage to the airport is quite a hassle. Most taxis here are equipped with a gas tank, which quickly takes up half the boot. It&#8217;s hard to fit a bicycle box halfway in.
Impressed by the last two months, grateful and satisfied, I already hope that one day I will be able to continue the journey right here again. Maybe soon in 2019?

Xi’an

Xi’an – Baoji

Baoji – Tianshui

Tianshui – Lanzhou

Dunhuang – Hami – Turpan

36 Photos

More stories