Marco Polo used Hami as his R&R stop along the grueling Silk Trade route.

The area around Hami is famous for its melons.  Although we were there ahead of the height of the season, we managed to have some great melon.  Dessert for most meals in China is melon, usually watermelon.  Its appearance signals the end of the meal.

We visited the Muslim Kings Museum, the tomb of nine generations of Hami Kings.  The beautiful tile, some ancient and some restored, made this a spectacular site.

The countryside is dotted with yurts, tent-like homes of what is left of the herding people.

Today, the Uyghurs, one of the over 50 minority groups found in China, live primarily in this area of Xinjiang in the Uyghur Autonomous Region.  They are a Turkic ethnic group.  Their looks, clothing, traditions and religious practices make for a fascinating and exotic region to visit.

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