the mountains hold secrets

this is day 3 of my program's week-long trip.


We left Urumqi in the morning and took a 4-hour bus ride to the city of Turpan. 
The first stop we made was to the Turpan Museum. The exhibitions included ancient artifacts from past civilizations in the area, dinosaur fossils that were dug up close to the city, and mummies. 
Afterwards, we walked to lunch. The weather was perfect and there was a rectangular pond of beautiful red, orange, and white fish that swam along our path. 
That afternoon, we drove past the Flame Mountains (which prompted many of my groupmates to exclaim that we were on Mars) and visited the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves, where this photo was shot. The scenery was amazing because the caves are built right into the mountains!
From there, we took a bus to the Ancient Astana Tombs and later to the Ancient City of Gaochang. We arrived right as the golden sun was setting and no one else was there, which made for a magical experience. 
We had dinner that night with a local family that produced grapes and raisins for a living.