Hami Holiday

Friday 30th April. We have been having a very welcome couple of days off in Hami, recharging batteries, washing everything that moves (such as socks), replenishing fodder stocks and doing a bit of sightseeing. The must to see in Hami is the palace and mausoleum of the Hami khans.

The palace is in fact a reconstruction of the original which was burnt down, and the authorities are plainly still concerned about the danger of fire ….

… though their choice of wording for the signs in front of the matching side palaces could be regarded as singularly inauspicious
Ladies of leisure ready to receive guests ….
..while Mr Peng meditates in the bedroom. Note the black eye – acquired not from an irate palace official, but from an unruly Shandan.

You may remember our stay at the tomb of the Muslim pilgrim at Huihuipu. He was one of three who are believed to have been sent to China by the prophet Mohamed in the Tang dynasty. In fact only one of the three pilgrims made it to South China, and the first, Gess, died at Xingxingxia, where the Trio visited his tomb. However in 1945 his remains were removed to Hami following the destruction of the tomb by Kuomintang troops. We dutifully made our own pilgrimage to the Gess mausoleum shown below, though the retainer was not very friendly and we were not allowed to see the tomb inside. No donation there then!