Around China in 100 Days

[Roadrunner]

Huade to Sunid Youqi – Day 38

We drove along roads lined with wind generators. As a source of energy, we could understand how much they generate as we spent plenty of energy trying to fight the wind that makes these propellers spin.



In search of a little more entertaining terrain, we ventured off onto a dirt track for a break, soon to be accosted by a herd of sheep.



Again, obeying the directions from tourist road signs, we drove off down a gravel road looking for a temple, but instead we came across a newly constructed complex. It didn’t look like a temple and after parking our bikes, we saw a scooter following our tracks with bags of vegetables off the side. The two guys who greeted us and invited us inside turned out to be the security guard and the supervisor of construction of the site. They offered us a really good lunch and gave us a tour. This place was the site of a rather important man in Inner Mongolia, which could be seen by the seven horses on the eaves of the most important building (the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City has nine horses on its eaves).





At its height in the 1930s, the estate had three cars and its own airplane. Not long after that, the Japanese invaded, and the duke (I assume the right translation is duke, or baron) cooperated with the Japanese army so that his dreams of an independent Inner Mongolia could be realised. After the 1949 reunification, he was put in prison and his estate fell into ruins. Over 50 years later, it is being rebuilt and should be open to the public late 2011.



It was pretty interesting for me, and quite fascinating for Lulu (who could understand everything the temporary guides said, and translated some for me).
As we got into Sunid Youqi, we contemplated going to Erenhot, on the border with Mongolia, and even entertained thoughts of going into Mongolia.



But we decided to be boring and stay in Sunid Youqi and watch the sun set on the desert.