I got my bags packed on a roll heading out there and I'm ready to go looking real good

in my passport photo.

Amateur Traveler episode 515. Today the Amateur Traveler talks about deserts and mummies,

mosques, markets, and snow-capped mountains. As we go to Far Western China to the province of Xinjiang.

Welcome to the amateur traveler. I'm your host Chris Christensen. With no further

do let's talk about Far Western China. I'd like to welcome Josh Summers to the show, a travel writer from far west china.com

who has come to talk to us, strangely enough, about far west china. Josh, welcome to the show.

Thank you so much, Chris.

It's a pleasure to be here.

And I say far west China and the province we're talking about, I'm going to let you pronounce it.

Yeah, it's the Xinjiang region, which is the far northwestern.

Most people are familiar very much with Tibet,

but this is the region that is right above Tibet.

Borders about eight different countries

all throughout Central Asia, Russia, Mongolia.

Excellent. And you are currently living there and have been now for 10 years?

Well, my wife and I first arrived in 06, yeah. So we've been living here for a while and I am currently, you know, in my office in the capital city of Urumchi.

And why should someone come visit Xinjiang China?

That's a very good question.

There's a lot about China as a whole that draws people in,

but I feel like Xinjiang is kind of the hidden pearl that people miss,

partly because it's so far out there

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