I met a group of young soldiers near the South Gate of Xian's old city wall. Photo-op!

Xian's Big Goose Pagoda viewed over the rooftops of adjacent temples.

Writing for a travel guide has it's perks... at least in Xian. The 5-star Sheraton Hotel left two plates of fine chocolates for me in my room, adorned with beautiful sugar sculptures.

It's not often that you see an albino Chinese man, much less one playing an erhu under the hot sun.

Visiting Shaanxi's Hua Shan (Five Petals Mountain) gave me an idea of where the inspiration for traditional Chinese painting originates.

Tang Palace in Xian puts on a great show featuring spectacular dancing and a live orchestra playing traditional Chinese instruments. You should, however, avoid paying Y200 for the sub-par dinner served beforehand.

On the way to Qinghai Lake we stopped at some lackluster tourist trap where I snapped a shot of this Tibetan man enjoying a smoke.

Bird Island at Qinghai Lake. Yes, there are lots of birds... but there were more before the Chinese took extreme measures here in 2005 to control the spread of bird flu.

Do you know the story about the bird riding the rabbit riding the monkey riding the elephant? Neither do I, but it must be a good one. Taken at the Kumbum Monastery (Taer Si) near Xining, Qinghai.

Rooftops of the Kumbum Monastery (Taer Si) near Xining, Qinghai Province.

What do you do with dead pigs? If you live in Xining, you toss 'em in the river.

Why does taking photos damage a nation's cultural heritage? Or, better yet... why do the Chinese bother printing signs? Taken inside the fortress at Jiayuguan, Gansu Province.

Where the Ming Dynasty Great Wall comes to an abrupt end near Jiayuguan, newlyweds prepares to take wedding photos.

While visiting Kuqa we visited the pleasantly shaded family home of my Uyghur friend, Guzelnor. Her father and son are on the left. Nir and Mirek are on the right.

Mmmmm... lunch! Guzelnor's mother prepared us a big pot of polo (rice and carrots boiled for a long time with meat). It's usually made with mutton, but she used one of the family's chickens instead.