This final reason to live or travel in Xinjiang is by far my favorite. Of course, some days it is also what I hate about Xinjiang…depends on my mood that day. It can be thrilling and depressing. Exciting and utterly boring. Encouraging as well as discouraging. Learning to survive in a place like Xinjiang is not only an adventure, it’s a necessity.

Sometimes this foreigner excitement leads to the annoying stares, unending questions, or greetings yelled from a mile away, but for the most part it just makes us feel special. It’s a taste of celebrity without the burden of keeping up appearances.

It would be useless to try to explain natural beauty with words, so I’ll just post a few pictures for you to enjoy. Just so you know, each one of these pictures you see below was taken by us using our inexpensive digital camera. Neither my wife or I are great photographers, but it’s difficult to mess up places which are inherently so beautiful.

*This post is part 4 in a series of posts entitled “Why It’s Good to Live in (and Travel to) Xinjiang”.  If you haven’t already, it might be a good idea to read over The Intro, Reason #1, and Reason #2 before continuing.*
Is Obscurity Interesting?
Obscurity, as defined by Webster’s Dictionary, is something that is “not readily understood” or “relatively unknown“, but just because something is obscure doesn’t mean it is interesting.  Burkina Faso is an obscure country, but that in itself is not enough of a reason to make …

Without a doubt, one of the most memorable parts of visiting Xinjiang is its food. It’s not just that it’s different, because every province has its own “special” foods. What makes Xinjiang food unique is that it represents flavors and tastes from all over the world.

Any traveler who has made their way around different parts of this country can tell you that although China is by no means boring, it is not well-known as a very ethnically diverse land. Once you cross the border into Xinjiang though, it doesn’t take a detective to see that things are very different here.