It’s easy to run through an exhaustive list of all the big things that China has done.  To call out all of the sweeping expanses, the seemingly unending mountain ranges, and raging rivers that run for thousands of miles.

One thing China does really well is big.  There’s no doubt about that.  But over the course of my one year stay, I have come to realize that there’s more to it than that.

I try to notice all of the little things, the minor details that are not immediately obvious.  It must be the engineer, or the obsessive compulsive, in me.  With that in mind, I’ve compiled this photo essay that portrays some of the little details you may not notice but are beautiful nonetheless.

I’ve tried my best to go for a diversity of subjects as well as locations.  It would be easy to fill this essay with close-up pictures of urns and wall carvings from Beijing.  To be honest, some of these pictures are not my favorites.  I really did want to include a lot more pictures from Beijing.  But I think that no matter where you go in China, there is a certain beauty you can find in the little things.  And I wanted to maintain the theme I was going for.

With that in mind, I give you my first ever photo essay.  Enjoy!

Backdrop Buddhist carvings at Leshan, Sichuan.

Little red people stapled to a tree at Fuxi Temple, Tianshui.

My guess is these are "good luck" or "good fortune" prayer squares. They are tied to one of those giant urns at a small temple in Beihai (North Lake) Park, Beijing.

Columns supporting the roof of the High Mosque at the Aba Khoja Mausoleum, Kashgar, Xinjiang. With over 100 columns, each one is topped by a completely unique muqarna.

A large door at the Daxingshan Temple, Xi'an. I've never seen another door with a chain on it like this one.

A dragon (or is it emperor?) run at a temple near Lingyin Temple, Hangzhou. I found the blue accents particularly striking.

Usually the immediate impression you get upon seeing temple buildings is the sheer size. But sometimes you need to stop and appreciate the intricate woodwork that is going on under the eaves of the roofs. This one is from Heavenly Lake, Xinjiang.

The top of a wall inside the Yu gardens, Shanghai

Some kind of prayer charms at a temple (the name escapes me) in Lijiang, Yunnan. The lot of them made a beautiful noise when blowing in the wind.

I imagine that this dragon is breathing fire. Taken at another small temple at Beihai Park, Beijing.

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Unfortunately, Urumqi is much like any other cookie-cutter city in China. It has very little character; it has no soul. What uniqueness it does get is from the resident Uyghur population. In my opinion, the Uyghur culture present in Urumqi is the only reason to actually visit this city. Otherwise it seems lifeless and boring without much to hold one’s attention.

My reason for stopping in Urumqi was for something far outside the city. About 110 km outside, in fact. That reason was Heavenly Lake.  At an elevation of 2000 m, the lake covers an area of 4.9 km².  It is, simply put, an amazing sight to behold.

The weather was much better during my visit to Heavenly Lake than my stay at Karakul. I would have to say that Heavenly Lake is much more beautiful. However it is also much more touristy. It is a large tourist draw for the region and the government has built up the area a lot (an $100 million project) to accommodate the people.

This resulted, for me at least, in a much more inauthentic, plastic experience. In comparison, my night at Karakul Lake was exhilarating. We were way up in the mountains, completely isolated and so far from civilization.  It was amazing. While Heavenly Lake is incredibly beautiful, the overall experience paled in comparison.

A lot of the information and guidebooks that I’ve read bill Heavenly Lake as the place to spend a night in a yurt.  I say screw that.  Obviously I don’t know what it’s like there, but judging from the kitschy feel of all the other tourist crap I assume you would have an infinitely better experience staying up on Karakul Lake.  That’s just me, though.

There are a few other tourist attractions around the lake, like this small temple going up the side of the mountain. I believe it is called the Temple of Maternal Grace, but I can’t remember for sure. From the main tourist area it’s about 1 km walking around the edge of the lake. Of course, they don’t tell you until you’ve walked all the way there and climbed half-way up the mountain that you have to pay an extra 20 RMB to visit the temple. A very common, very annoying trick to bleed tourists for money in China.

There’s not much to look at in the temple; it’s much like any other one I’ve seen in China (but I’m not going to get into that again). However, one bonus is a great view of the lake from high up on the mountain.

Well, there’s not much else I can say. In summary: Heavenly Lake is gorgeous but it is chock full of tourists (I was there during the off-season and there was still a ton of people). It really is an amazing sight, though, and I’m very glad I made the trip out. If you only have one day to spend in Urumqi, as I did, I strongly suggest you use that day to visit this lake.  Oh yeah, and don’t waste your time visiting any of the other “tourist sites” in the area.

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2. My Last Stop in Xinjiang: Turpan
3. A Few Days On the Lake