To our surprise, the plane was packed. Who else was as foolhardy or eager to travel to the western regions of China at this time? In fact, the Tang priest, whose journey I was tracking, Zwang Zang, had had a much more challenging experience than we did in trying to journey west. He wanted to leave China for India, but the Emperor refused to give him permission because 1500 years ago, in 629, the western borders of China were also not secure, and no Chinese citizen was permitted to leave China.
On the plane, when we looked around, we realized that more than half the passengers were plainclothesmen (riot police) heading for Urumqi. Happily, our driver, who had doubled his fee because of the riots, showed up, and we were soon on empty roads heading out of Urumqi. Endless squads of green army trucks poured into Urumqi from the other direction.
Within a half an hour we left the city and were on the silk road. I had been yearning to see this treacherous terrain between Urumqi and Turfan, especially the Flaming Mountains, that the Tang Priest and Monkey King had had to travel on their way to India.
In Journey to the West, the Tang Priest and Monkey King must make their way through the Flaming Mountains to India.
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