JD-0056
Kabob Vendor on street of Urumqi, Xinjiang Province, China
© 2000 Jerry Dodrill

We visited this kabob stand many times at the beginning of a sixty day expedition to climb virgin peaks along the China/Kyrgyzstan border. His Xinjiang kabobs were the best; big chunks of delicious lamb sprinkled with a potent mix of spices. The stand was in an old house below the freeway across from the five star Yin Du Hotel where we stayed. The hotel's fine restaurant was expensive and had only Chinese food. The kabobs were cheap and tasty and we enjoyed eating on the streets, experiencing the lively Uyghur and Kazak culture. Urumqi, like many cities in this remote northwestern part of China, is being rapidly redeveloped and infused with Chinese immigrants, while the local indigenous cultures are being systematically destroyed. Upon our return from the high peaks, we were distraught to find that our friends had been displaced and a demolition crew was quickly making space for a new skyscraper. We settled for dinner at the Yin Du restaurant and ended up with food poisoning.