CHINA. Xinjiang. 1999. From Hotan, I rode in a four-wheel-drive vehicle and headed for the Kunlun Mountains. About ten minutes after leaving Hotan proper we were already in the mountains, and there wasn't a single tree to be seen. That surprised me, for I had imagined the mountains to e covered with trees. We drove along a deep valley, and the road headed inexorably toward higher mountains. The wind grew stronger, and I had an eerie feeling. We passed a jail and the road to a mind along the way, and eventually reached a pass. Directly below us on the pass opposite side was a village built around an oasis called Kashi Tashi, about 4,800 Uygurs live here. For lunch we age freshly baked nan.