We had about 1500km of driving from Kashgar to get to Turpan and 2 days to do it in following just a single motorway which is undergoing a lot of roadworks. We were skirting the Taklamakan desert so we expected the desert to be like Turkmenistan- hot and not a lot to look at. Turns out we were following the Tian Shan mountains which were pretty cool and it wasn't too hot either which was a pleasant relief. As for what was out the window, there wasn't much except crazy truck drivers and their overloaded vehicles carrying melons, pigs, wind turbine blades and other vehicles.
We headed to our bush camp after 12 hours of driving. We had planned to camp in a valley but as we drove up the road it had been completely blocked off as a hydroelectric dam was being built. Just one of the region's many new builds! In the end we resorted to a car park for camp which wasn't anyone's first choice.
We had another night bush camp enroute to Turpan and at that point we had covered 14187km so far which is about half way kilometer wise.
Turpan, also known as 'city of fire' was hot but much bearable than Uzbekistan. We visited the Jiahoe ruin which was cut from a mountain and is bordered by 2 rivers. Over 2000 years old and abandoned in 900 AD, it really was a pile of ruins turned into an expensive tourist attraction. However it was something to do other than shopping.
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