This is what Ana and I found out when we tried to go to Tashkurgan, the last Chinese town before the border with Pakistan.
One of the workers at our hostel in Kashgar told us that foreigner didn't need a permit anymore. Not so! Always double-check your information. Blast.
Two hours from Kashgar (and 4 hours from Tashkurgan), at the Ghez Checkpoint along the Karakorum Highway, we were rudely informed that foreigners not only needed a permit to enter the Tajik Autonomous County, but also were required to go with a tour agency (out of our budget range). It was a new "规定" (guiding, or regulation - a word that is the source of much frustration in my life) as of a few months ago. Had anyone at the bus station or on the bus verified that we had the necessary documents? Nope. Another failure of Chinese bureaucracy.
Just as we caught sight of these snow-covered mountains, we were dismissed from the county border.
We gloomily looked back down the way we had came, wondering how we'd get back.
Luckily for us, our hopeful thumbs-ups were turned down by only a few cars before Mehmehti rolled up. Mehmehti's SUV was dusty and full of rocks when we got in, and his taciturn 18-year old son was driving. "Do you mind if we make some stops? I have business." We weren't in a position to make demands, so we sat back and tried to relax as Mehmehti, a shrewd Uighur businessman who operates gold, copper, and jade mines all around Xinjiang, drove around the Kashgarian countryside. He was on a hunt for jade, apparently.
We stopped for a while outside a Uighur farmer's house.
As a truck unloaded a heap of corn stalks in front of the neighboring house and goats trotted around the yard, a jade trade was going down.
When we were finally ready to go, Mehmehti summoned us over and gave each of us a rectangular orange rock that had been crudely carved with a flower design by the farmer. It was a perfect opportunity to use the most important Uighur word that we had learned thus far: Rakhmet! Thank you! Mehmehti wasn't too happy, though. "骗了我!" They cheated me! No jade.
We headed off to our next stop. Mehmehti was very eager to show us all his documents along the way, fascinating things like mine licenses, business permits, and his ID card. After we exhibited our approval of his business ventures, he opened up and started complaining about the Party. "They look good on the outside, but they're rotten on the inside," he declared. "You know, before the PLA came to Xinjiang, the Nationalists were in charge. They were good on the outside and the inside. But the Communists..." He also told us about his father, who fled to Pakistan and has been there since, where he lived with his new wife from Afghanistan.
From what I gathered, his family was quite influential before Xinjiang came under Communist control, but several family members suffered or died at the hands of the PLA. A generation later, Mehmeti, who travels all around Xinjiang and to other Central Asian countries, seems to be the perfect example of a person who can thrive in the Chinese system while drawing on his Central Asian roots.
After one more stop, we finally made it back to Kashgar, at which point Mehmehti invited us out to dinner. Ana and I fought to pay the bill, but somehow he won the fight. I've never had success hitchhiking with Chinese people, who are always out to make some cash. So I was really blown away that Mehmehti not only picked us up for free, but then treated us to dinner afterward. I have a feeling I'll never hear from him again, but riding around with him for an afternoon almost made not being able to go to Tashkurgan worth it. Here's a group photo in front of the Id Kah Mosque in Kashgar.
A strange day in a strange country.
This is so fabulous. Thanks for sharing the adventure!
ReplyDelete