Traveling to Xinjiang? Read This Book!
I have been to Xinjiang. I had three different travel guides at my disposal before I left on my trip (Fodor’s, Lonely Planet, and Frommer’s to be exact). I read them all thoroughly and took notes. I even tore the pages out of the Fodor’s guide and brought them with me from my 10-day adventure.
Sadly, all three of those books could not have prepared me nearly as well as Josh Summer’s Turpan: Exploring Xinjiang’s Ancient Ruins. It should be obvious by the title that his FREE (for now) eBook would not be much help anywhere else in Xinjiang beside Turpan. Nevertheless it is a great resource I so wish I had way back when I was there.
Frankly, I was a bit disappointed on my trip to Turpan and, while I disagree somewhat on Josh’s opinion on visit-worthy sites, I know his eBook would have been a great help in the enjoyment of my visit.
First off, I’ll never admit that the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves is worth visiting. That’s probably the biggest disagreement I have with Josh. Other than that it’s simply a matter of preference. I definitely agree that you should not pay any money whatsoever to view the Flaming Mountain. Just drive right by it, snap a picture, and buy a postcard. Much more effective.
I also completely agree that the Astana Tombs are a waste of time. I didn’t go to the Turpan Museum but if they have the mummies there then that’s good enough.
One more thing that I’ve never seen advertised and only inadvertently discovered: at the Turpan Hotel they do have some dorm rooms at a negotiable rate. I paid 50 RMB a night, while a group of people paid 40 RMB each for three-person rooms. The accommodations were not good by any stretch of the imagination, but I wasn’t about to complain considering I was paying one-third to one-fourth the regular price.
All said, I think Josh’s eBook is a fantastic resource and I really do wish I had it before my trip. His attention to history (which is paramount in Turpan) alone puts his book a cut above the rest of other guide books. And I would know, I read three of them.
Far West China is a great website that I have been an avid reader of for a long time, so I hope you all give Josh, his website, and his eBook the attention they all deserve.
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