Xinjiang

Lamp seller

will — Sun, 14 May 2006 11:53:01 GMT

Lamp seller

A lamp and lightbulb seller in Urumqi's night market.

A beggar in the hubbub

will — Sun, 14 May 2006 11:49:41 GMT

A beggar in the hubbub

A beggar occupies the center of the road in Urumqi's night market. There was a chain of them arranged along the north-south axis of the cross-shaped market.

Night market

will — Sun, 14 May 2006 11:47:43 GMT

Night market

The night market in Urumqi. The setup is part of the show. The stalls are prepared and fires are lit before all the merchants barrel out of a warehouse, roll their carts down a short hill and set-up on the street. The entire conversion of the street from thoroughfare to market takes about ninety hair raising seconds.

Bang, bang!

will — Sun, 14 May 2006 11:43:47 GMT

Bang, bang!

Would you like to come try my shooting game? It's hard to resist the smile of a woman with a pistol.

Three companions

will — Sun, 14 May 2006 11:41:12 GMT

Three companions

Three young men who engaged me in conversation for the entire three hour bus ride from Turpan back to Urumqi. From left, Ayer Shiding (a teacher), Abdul and Mainike. "What do you think of Osama bin Laden," Abdul asked? Answering took more nuance than my Mandarin supports.

On the bus

will — Sun, 14 May 2006 11:35:38 GMT

On the bus

A fellow passenger on a municipal bus in Turpan. He engaged Wai Fong, one of our traveling companions, in conversation for the entire ride. Later she confessed that she only understood about half of it.

Emin Minaret

will — Sun, 14 May 2006 11:28:56 GMT

Emin Minaret

The Emin Minaret at the Sugong Ta mosque in Turpan. It's nice and slightly surreal, but a tourist spot now. The working mosque is up the hill behind it.

Fresh bread

will — Sun, 14 May 2006 11:24:28 GMT

Fresh bread

In Turpan, a woman pulls fresh bread from her tandoor-style oven while her husband looks on. Moments later she gave us one of the loaves. Like all fresh-baked bread, it was delicious.

I have no money...

will — Sun, 14 May 2006 10:47:10 GMT

I have no money...

"I have no money, don't take my picture," said this Han-looking gentleman pulling his handcart through a traditional, Uighur neighborhood in Turpan. He might not have had money, but he had plenty of dignity and stayed for a friendly chat.

Rope games

will — Sun, 14 May 2006 10:10:03 GMT

Rope games

Girls in one of Turpan's traditional neighborhoods play a rope-skipping game under the mulberry trees.

Welding barrels

will — Sun, 14 May 2006 09:49:25 GMT

Welding barrels

Welding metal barrels or urns on a back alley near Urumqi's street market. No goggles.

Streetside tailor

will — Sun, 14 May 2006 09:45:29 GMT

Streetside tailor

The best place to display your stock of jackets? On your own body. One of a group of street-side clothing vendors carries his entire stock on his shoulders.

How's the cloth?

will — Sun, 14 May 2006 09:43:40 GMT

How's the cloth?

A young girl casts a critical eye on a pile of colorful cloth in Urumqi's street market.

Are you the Chuan master?

will — Sun, 14 May 2006 09:29:04 GMT

Are you the Chuan master?

The classic Xinjiang look: skullcap and long bears, on a nan seller at Urumqi's street market.

Streets of Urumqi

will — Sun, 14 May 2006 09:17:35 GMT

Streets of Urumqi

An old man winds along the sidewalk.

Beggar

will — Sun, 14 May 2006 09:08:47 GMT

Beggar

A beggar with stunted legs winds his way through the crowd at Urumqi's street market.

Dates for sale

will — Sun, 14 May 2006 08:51:54 GMT

Dates for sale

Pushing the cart in downtown Urumqi, on the fringe of it's chaotic street market.

Dinner and a show

will — Sun, 14 May 2006 08:49:40 GMT

Dinner and a show

A Johnny Walker scotch promotion being held under an enormous tent in front of Urumqi's Carrefour restaurant. Doctrinally, Muslim's can't drink alcohol. That didn't stop many of them from watching the show, though.

Three Represents

will — Tue, 09 May 2006 00:10:27 GMT

Three Represents

Not a great photograph. I was just interested to see the slogans in Uighur, painted in Arabic script above the Chinese. One part of a large slogan in a covered driveway.

Joyride

will — Mon, 08 May 2006 13:56:25 GMT

Joyride

Children drive an electric car in an amphitheater in Turpan. A vendor had a fleet of electric cars being driven around noisily by various small children and parents.