When I first saw sand dunes the height of a five-story house, I was ready to give up and turn back, just not to think about having to overcome them. Two years later, when I returned to these places again, I greeted the Gobi Desert like an old friend, admired it, confessed my love for it, and asked it to be benevolent this time as well. And the Gobi Desert once again allowed me to pass through and showed me its secret corners, in which, perhaps, a pale-faced man had not yet been.

Ahead of us awaited hundreds of kilometers of travel, including visits to remote and abandoned corners of China. It was a miracle that we drove unaccompanied. Otherwise, we simply would not have been allowed to go there. But we did not see the secrets of the Chinese army, we just saw the backyard of China, which is not something to be proud of, but also not something to hide. Because it is history, because it is China's wealth.

In a nutshell, we rode along with the Silk Road rally-raid, and then we turned off the route a little bit and drove 300 kilometers away from the race route. It was a bit of an adventure, searching for an asphalt road to get back to the bivouac, trying to drive on a toll road that foreigners just weren't allowed on. It was fun, but it would be something to tell our grandchildren.

And I suggest that you take a photo journey through China. I'm more than sure that few Europeans have been there at all, and I'm pretty sure that you haven't. If I'm wrong, write in the comments. I would be happy to hear about your travel experiences in this region of China.

Yours, Mike Ryabinin

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