| "Turfan is a major destination of the ancient silk road, the site of two major archeological ruins where Hsuan Tsang was received in a grand welcoming ceremony by the local, devoutly Buddhist king. From Ultimate Journey: 'We know from cave-temple wall paintings what the scene must have looked like. The members of the court dressed in flowing robes belted at the waist; they had curving mustaches and flowing beards and high conical headdresses held in place with silk chinstraps The ladies, who included the queen, were resplendent in their brocades, their bangles, their jade pins, bracelets, and hairpieces. A thousand faces glowed in the light of a thousand torches that illuminated the desert poplars and the peach and apricot and almodt trees, while all around the opaque night stretched to the horizon.' We saw seventh-century mummies in Turfan and we made friends with some Uighur girls whom we found dancing in the local park." |
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