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After their wedding, Katherine and her husband bring his Uyghur family, her American parents and friends on a group trip into the Xinjiang mountains. His parents have lived near the scenery all their lives but never taken a vacation, and the family arranges care for the cows before going. They stop at red rock formations and White Sand Lake, where his mother is managing a recent ankle injury with crutches and help from her son. The group meets yaks, shares snacks and spicy duck jerky, and visits a local Tajik inn for a wedding gathering with a large meal, music and dancing. They take a village walk after the intense sun eases, watch a Tajik wedding dance and a comic wedding ceremony, and visit unnamed stone-fortress ruins at night and again the next morning, where the apparent moon turns out to be a helium balloon. The trip ends with a family dinner hosted by the inn's owners and the group's departure from Kashgar.
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A family road trip in China
Aysajan’s family takes its first vacation in China together.
The video opens at a lake in a mountain area, and Katherine says her in-laws have watched the mountains from their backyard all their lives without ever visiting or going on vacation. After their wedding, the extended family and friends travel in four cars. They see red rock formations that remind one guest of Utah, then visit White Sand Lake. His mother injured her ankle a few days earlier, so she uses crutches and her son helps her down the stairs over the difficult terrain. The family arranged for someone to care for their cows while they were away, and they meet yaks instead. Snacks brought for a friend expand in the altitude, and the group tries them and compares one to a Twinkie. At another lake they see a snowy mountain and a glacier. A guide cautions Aysajan against carrying relatives around, warning that the exertion could make him sick or tired at altitude, though he says he feels fine.
Rural life and family time
The group tries spicy duck jerky, then visits a local inn owned by their friend Hong Kong Memed, where they meet members of the Chinese Tajik community. They share a wedding-style meal, music and dancing, including a circle dance.
A family road trip with Uyghur in-laws
The family waits for the intense sunlight to ease before taking a village stroll in the evening. Hong Kong Memed and his wife perform a dance in the outfits from their own wedding. Katherine explains that a traditional Uyghur wedding outfit may be a patterned coat or a Western-style tuxedo, and describes the Chinese Tajik outfit she and her husband chose for their own wedding. She also recounts a comic wedding custom in which a man acts out a villain from a Tajik romantic comedy and the group circles him.
Stone fortress ruins at night
That night they visit illuminated stone-fortress ruins that the transcript describes as 2,500 years old, and they return the next morning for a view. There they learn that the apparent moon is a large helium balloon whose height could be adjusted.
Dinner and heading home
The inn's owners later host the family for dinner. They eat naan and other dishes, then say goodbye to the area and head toward Hangzhou, where Katherine says she and her husband live.
FAQs (From the traveler's perspective)
- Q: Why had Katherine's in-laws never visited the mountain scenery?
- A: Katherine says they were always busy working on their farm and had never taken a vacation. They arranged for someone to care for their cows before this trip.
- Q: What happened to Aysajan's mother on the trip?
- A: She had injured her ankle a few days earlier, used crutches and found the complex terrain inconvenient. Aysajan helped her down the stairs.
- Q: What did the family do at White Sand Lake?
- A: They visited the lake and saw mountain scenery, including a snow-covered mountain and a glacier at another lake.
- Q: What did they eat at the inn?
- A: They shared a large family meal that included naan. Earlier, Katherine's parents tried spicy duck jerky, and the group sampled snacks that had expanded at altitude.
- Q: What wedding dances appear in the video?
- A: Hong Kong Memed and his wife perform a dance in their own wedding outfits. The group also takes part in a comic ceremony based on a Tajik romantic-comedy villain.
- Q: What was the apparent moon at the fortress?
- A: Katherine says it turned out to be a large helium balloon, whose height could be adjusted.
- Q: What was the family road trip with Uyghur in-laws like?
- A: Katherine and her husband took his Uyghur family, her American parents and friends into the Xinjiang mountains in four cars, stopping at red rock formations, White Sand Lake, yaks, a Tajik inn and village dances.
