In the hotel room, I sleep most of the afternoon as just about everyone else here does. We first stop at the Emin Minaret, which is a tower and mosque. It rises to 2,800 feet, totally barren of plants with summer temperatures reaching 176 . Then, we are off to the Astana Graves which contain tombs from Gaochang and a couple of corpses under glass. We then go to the Gaochang Ruins which was the Uighur capital when they moved here from Mongolia.
Lunch is in lush Grape Valley in the middle of the desert.
Underground Irrigation Channels, which collects glacier water from wells then brings it via underground ditches which prevent evaporation. Back at seven p.m., drenched and drained, I take advantage of the mountain water slightly heated in the hotel's shower. At dinner, I open my bottle of wine. Climbing to the provincial capital at three-thousand feet, we pass a large reservoir in the desert and a windmill farm. I do some evening shopping in the bazaars, and ship another box home.