Page 16 - BSAM 2015 Q4

Alxa Jade & Ornamental Stone Tourism Festival, Mongolia
Top; New stone museum in Alashan city
Middle right; Social activities
at the festival. Welcome dinner: a whole roasted
lamb was brought on the stage by actors in Mongolian costumes. The meat of the lamb was distributed to guests afterwards.
Bottom right; Group photo of participants of the BCI VIP tour to Inner Mongolia and Ningxia
By Gudrun Benz, Germany APhotos by Gudrun Benz
lxa or Alashan Le Banner is a region at the north west of Inner Mongolia, a province in north-west China. In this remote area, sum- mer is short, warm and parched. Winter is freezing cold and can be very long. Winds
blow down directly from Siberia. e best time for tours is August to October. e country is covered with immense grasslands and deserts dotted with saltwater lakes. Only the Tengger Moon Lake, named for its crescent shape when viewed from the east, is a freshwater lake. On the other hand, the lake resembles the map of China seen from the west. It is located in the Tengger Desert. Special local products are cash- mere, camel hair and curious stone carvings. Camel hair products are exported to Japan, Russia, South Korea and other countries.
I visited Alashan city for the rst time in 2005. Since than it developed considerably and has nowadays a population of about one million inhabitants.
A er a bus drive of about three hours from Yin- chuan airport in Ningxia province, our BCI VIP group arrived in Alashan on September 22, 2015, one day before the opening ceremony of the “2015
14 | BCI | January/February/March 2016
Cross-Street Stone Appreciation Cultural Exchange, Alxa Jade & Ornamental Stone Tourism Festival” at the Domo Stone Culture Exhibition Center (a grand new stone museum) on September 23. e ceremony took place in the open before the huge marble ramp of the museum, intricately carved and framed by luxuri- ant owerbeds. e stairs at both sides of the ramp