Tim Boelter

Our drive today started out uneventful enough. In fact it was almost boring to drive down a completely modern freeway in China. If I wanted to drive on a highway I can do that in the States. Actually, to be quite honest, it was impressive to see that China is indeed becoming a modern superpower. However with all that modernization something is lost and that's the heritage and culture of a country that is steeped in both history and culture. To think that this road in some way followed the actual Silk Road just wasn't getting through to me. But of course that changed.

Today we were fast tracking past Xian, and pretty much all of the historical places east and south of Dunhuang. Instead we would be coming back this way after meeting up with Lao Wang in Urumqi. For now we had to condense a very long drive into a few days for our rendezvous with Lao Wang.

There is much to talk about concerning the region of Henan and it's important place in Chinese history. But for now I will paraphrase by saying that it is possibly here in this province where the Chinese civilization all began. The Huang He or Yellow River must have played a vital role in the migration of people to this fertile plain. We would in fact travel westward out of Zhengzhou and follow the Yellow River to Lanzhou.

As usual the sky was bright but hazy. It seems that every time I come to China the sky is yellow. It isn't a true overcast but rather a dull yellow haze that still allows just enough sun light through to cast a shadow. Our day would be like this.

Most of the drive from Zhengzhou to the border of the Henan Province is through lush agricultural land that eventually gives way to rolling hills and sandstone or yellow clay like cliffs. Cave dwellings punctuated these cliffs and for the remainder of our drive we would see them.

If there is one thing I noticed about the provincial boundaries, as you travel between them there is certainly a geographical shift that takes place. Once we passed into the Shaanxi Province it wasn't long before you could just make out a great range of mountains that thrusted upward to our south. I say just make out because in the yellow haze it was a bit difficult to see them. This range is the famed and sacred Taoist mountains called Hua Shan, known for sheer vertical granite cliffs and spectacular views. Although the vertical world beckoned me, the visit would have to come later.

We continued west briefly stopping for food outside Xian. The great Chinese metropolis of Xian would have to wait our visit for the return trip. But be assured we will visit the great Qin historical places, such as the famed Terracotta Warriors.

Pushing westward we followed the Yellow River we passed Baoji and then entered the Gansu Province. Once again the border transition was remarkable, but this time so too was the road quality.

The good ole happy days of driving on modern expressways came to a screeching halt. I felt as though I was back in Tibet, where potholes scar the roads, rock fall continues to pound down from above, and the fast river erosion erases it from the cliffs. I am always in awe of how the Chinese are determined to harness nature. The act of building and maintaining roads through some of the most difficult terrain in the world is an engineering feat that requires constant attention. And that would explain the thousands of poor laborers working these roads into the wee hours of the night. When you have plenty of manpower there is no need for sophisticated machinery.

Gansu is a very mountainous province. We weaved our way west following the erratic course of the Wei He (River) we would again join up with the Yellow River in Lanzhou. The road was so bad that I'm not even sure my hard drive will still work. We were being bounced around to the point of feeling fatigued. I was feeling stressed because my mind kept thinking about every bump and how it would destroy my sensitive equipment. It's a good thing we had a four-wheel drive with ground clearance. The road had been washed out in many places, and with the constant rock fall coming down from above the workers were removing huge boulders from our path. I am use to this kind of travel only because it comes with the territory, however I'm not sure too many people would enjoy the uncertainty of not knowing where they would end up sleeping if the road was impassable.

As night drew upon us, workers with shovels over their shoulders could be seen walking back to their shelters (tents) for dinner. The land was very arid and the dust plumes stirred up by the convoys of vehicles passing made it unbearable to breath and at times difficult to see. What amazed me was that these men would squat just on the side of the road with their noodle or rice bowls in hand eating while long convoys of vehicles raced passed creating dust storms that covered their food with a yellow powdery grit. Not to mention they were breathing this stuff in constantly. It was certainly a rough life, and it made me feel like a lightweight.

When we arrived in Zhengzhou two nights ago it was obvious that the entire city was being modernized. I couldn't help but to notice that under the highway over passes there were literally thousands of people lined up in rows, sleeping on the ground outside. Either they were homeless or migrant workers hired to bring China into the new century. I presume they were workers. So as we traveled the Silk Road, once again tents dotted the roadside like caravans in the ancient times, only this time they were workers keeping the route open.

—Tim Boelter

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