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DUNHUANG - THE (NEW) DESERT OASIS

31/5/2015

9 Comments

 
T plus 21 - Dunhuang

I'm still in a state of semi-shock. 

So I rocked-up into Dunhuang at 7-ish in the evening, expecting to see a sleepy, dusty little town still clinging on to its Silk Road claim to fame.  Not so.  It was as if I was transported through a portal into an alternate universe.  Dunhuang's streets are so clean that they could belong in Singapore.  And the broad pavements, on even broader boulevards lined with leafy trees look like they've come straight out of San Diego's town planning textbook.

Forget the images we have of secondary Chinese cities - grey, uninspired architecture, broken roads, shockingly rude locals, unintelligible or missing street signs etc.  It's like the powers that be in China woke up one day and said "I have a vision for Utopian China, and let's create this enchanted land in Dunhuang, in the middle of nowhere".

"In this land of rainbows and unicorns, we will have a giant statue of a Chinese princess strumming the mandolin in the centre of town; there will be children playing at every corner; people will dance on the streets; families walk around holding hands with perfectly groomed toy poodles in tow; pairs of fluffy camels will appear at random; stalls will be clustered by what they sell with their goods arranged in pristine rows; there will be free public toilets everywhere; vehicles will use their indicators not their horns; locals won't spit on the street and will offer strangers condiments at restaurants; there will be scores of tastefully appointed shops selling the latest electronics; everyone smiles and look like they've won the lottery; pretty girls ride around on trendy new scooters; the police ride around in little electric carts; and the roads are sprinkled with water every hour to keep dust clouds away."

Sounds like I'm high?  I thought so too.

Which is why I have the following pictures as evidence!  (So sorry about the quality.  All taken with an iPhone 4s.  I didn't even think to bring my camera out.)

Again, I remind everyone that this is Dunhuang.  A little town in the Chinese desert with a population of 200,000.  About 15% of the population of Penang, Malaysia.

Unbelievable.

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Exhibit A:  The statue of the princess playing the mandolin

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Exhibit B:  There are fluffy camels on the streets.  And fluffier ones in the shop windows.

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Exhibit C:  Police in electric carts and girls on pop-art scooters

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Exhibit D:  Spotless, wide streets with beautiful shops. 
And trees with the lower half considerately painted a fluorescent white,
so people don't run into them at night.

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The Vanquisher of Street Trash stands guard.  Why the fluorescent yellow stripe on their overalls?  Because they're on duty even at 9.30pm!

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Exhibit E:  Even the market is spotless. 
And the goods are arranged so neatly it could pass off as an auction at Christie's.

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The chickens are fluffier and cleaner than in Harrods.

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Exhibit F:  Happy children playing in the park; and people dancing in the streets. 
This wasn't the only group I saw.  They're everywhere!

And most impressive of all...

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People pick up their doggie's doo-doo.

WTF.  How is this China???
9 Comments
Dad link
31/5/2015 04:02:41 am

Amazingly INDIA had the same idea many years ago and created the planned city of Chandigarh, the combined Capital of Punjab and Haryana. Even more amazingly, even though the city shows signs of fray at the edges, the concept, very much like what you described for Dunhuang still stands.

Reply
Neoh
1/6/2015 06:34:25 pm

Hi mum and dad!

Yes, it's nuts. In other cities, people let their kids poop on the streets and they don't bother to pick it up. Here they practise poop-and-scoop for their dogs!

Thanks for the insight on Chandigarh. Sounds like an interesting case study too. I shall look it up.

I think what impresses me most about Dunhuang is that this place has existed since the birth of the Silk Road in the Han Dynasty in 200 BC. Somehow the government has managed to transform the hearts and minds of its people literally overnight (ok, maybe 10 years, but not more).

I would be really interested in the social and cultural anthropology, and policy-making behind all this. Surely they couldn't have gotten it right on the very first try. Or did they?

Interestingly, Dunhuang has one of the highest per capita incomes in China (I bet for Chandigarh too). This is driven by a burgeoning wind and solar power industry as China goes green(er), and tourism undoubtedly. But plenty of other places have these things. Why is Dunhuang so different? Perhaps it's also a critical mass thing - it's easier to transform a community of 200,000 vs one of 2 million. Less inertia etc.

I'm so intrigued. If anyone has further insight, please let me know.

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丽仙
31/5/2015 05:21:52 am

Amazing...this is so different from what we have seen in movies or read on line.... What about the people there? Food? Amy historical heritage landmarks around ?

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Mum link
31/5/2015 06:20:17 am

Dunhuang seems to have a very clean and civilized community. I cannot imagine people spitting on the ground everywhere else in China and here they are picking up their dog's poop. What a pleasant surprise! Haha, they should have camel crossing here instead of zebra crossing!

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WN
1/6/2015 02:13:13 am

Unbelievable! The people in Dunhuang is soooo civilised!

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Neoh
1/6/2015 06:37:02 pm

Hi 丽仙 and WN, thanks for the comments! I shall be posting something on "what to do in and around Dunhuang" soon.

As for the food? Nothing too special. The usual suspects - various forms of noodles, soups, grilled meats - are all there.

The local specialty is braised donkey meat with yellow noodles. I tried it. Tastes like beef. Haha!

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WN
2/6/2015 06:29:05 am

Aww...poor donkey...

Leekong link
11/6/2015 12:12:04 am

Wow szeming, you are such a prolific travel writer. Dunhuang today is so different from the 90' when I was there. Must visit all those places you are covering one of these days. Keep it up and I will be following your progress with great interest!

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Neoh
11/6/2015 08:39:04 pm

Hi Uncle LK, thanks for the kind words. Yes, Dunhuang is such a departure from what we're used to in the rest of China. I would definitely recommend a return visit and I'm sure the contrast in experiences before and after will be fascinating.

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