I usually wake up late on Saturdays. But today I woke up early because it was our vacation day—I was going camping for the first time of my life.

I stayed in my room and thought about what the camping trip would be like. My friend Harry told me that when his family went camping, they swam in a big lake. My grandpa told me that he enjoyed taking long walks through the forest when going camping. My cousin Edward said that when his family went camping, they made a campfire, had a barbecue (烧烤) and told funny stories. I wasn’t sure what my parents had in store for us, but I knew it would be fun.

My parents packed the car (把行李装车). I never knew it could take so long. I also had no idea why we needed so many things just for a weekend away! At 10:00 a.m., we finally could leave!

“Emily, you didn’t get much sleep last night. You can get some in our car,” Mom said.

I said no. I didn’t want to miss anything—not even the car ride!

Xinjiang, a beautiful place in Northwest China, has recently caught the eye of the world. That's because Xinjiang is the key to China's Silk Road Economic Belt. The Silk Road was once a route between China and Europe. It covered about 6,500 kilometres. About 2,000 years ago, people in China, Central Asian countries and Europe traded along the route. The new Economic Belt is like the old Silk Road.

Xinjiang covers over half of the route. What is in this vast(辽阔的) and beautiful place? Let's go along the route and find out.

Kashi(喀什)——新疆门户	Kashi is the window of Xinjiang. It borders on Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan. China plans to build a railway from Kashi to Pakistan. In 10 years, Xinjiang will be connected to the Indian Ocean.
Kuqa(库车)——歌舞之乡	Xinjiang is a land with beautiful singing and dancing. Kuqa is famous for a special style of music. People usually play the lute(琵琶) which became known in Chinese as pipa. The folk dance is also very cheerful. Dancers use almost every part of their bodies, especially the waist and the neck.
Hami(哈密)——水果天堂	Hami is an important town along the Silk Road in Xinjiang. You may know it because of the Hami melon. In fact, Xinjiang is home to many popular fruits, for example, grapes in Turpan and pears in Korla. The hot and dry conditions in Xinjiang help to grow sweet fruits.