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Music leads the way part two: Kuqa and Korla

On Friday afternoon, the road near the old bazaar starts to choke up with all kinds of transportation, all heading in one direction, to the market.

The big bazaar is like a huge pallet carrying a vibrant mix of all the dynamic colors of the local life.

What you find here is different. It's not like the bazaar in Urumqi, which expressly targets tourists. This is a real trade center for the locals. Along with many commodities, you can taste many good things. Especially recommended are the melons, and the iced yogurt. All these sights and sounds and tastes are more than enough to satisfy my thirst of curiosity about the local life. The typical headwear (you know the kind Xinjiang people wear, a cap without a brim in the front, just a round skullcap) of the Uygur people adds a touch of exotic as the men here wear them with such style, be they simple or intricately embroidered jobs. "Friendly, cheerful, spontaneous and generous" - these are the words that come to my mind to describe these people.

In Kuqa, you can also find the biggest Nang in Xinjiang. It is a kind of wheat pie. If you visit People's homes here at afternoon tea time, say at around three o'lock, they'll probably offer you some Nang as a gesture of welcome. The market in Kuqa is held every Friday and it hits its height around three o'olock.

When we've finished at the market, Changying's friend Aliya takes her to visit a typical Uygur home.

--Lift your veil, let me see your face. You have long, slender eyebrows, which are just like the crescent moon on the sky.

--You also like this song?

--Do you know why they say Lift your veil?

--In our Uygur tradition, at a wedding, the bride has her face veiled and when the right time arrives, her

mother will lift her veil and present her to the groom.



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