西寧 Xining
5月29日，由於有點看膩了絲路上的歷史景點，加上對於各景區昂貴的門票（而且還透過電瓶觀光車票變相加價）開始感到厭惡，我決定改變原本的行程，放棄原本打算停留的嘉峪關、酒泉和張掖，改成直接通過河西走廊並且搭一小段高鐵直上西寧。就這樣，我來到了這個原本完全不在計畫中的城市。
Being fed with ancient silk road sites and tired of paying expensive admission, I decided to change my plan on May 29. I gave up Jiayuguan, Jiuquan and Zhangye, and went up to a city that wasn't in my plan: Xining.
或許是因為一位前輩的故事，我到訪西寧的心情像是在朝聖。
It was like a pilgrimage to visit Xining, probably due to the story of someone that I respect.
西寧是我此行拜訪的第一個省會，因此走出車站所見也比之前經過的所有城市還要大氣許多。新建的車站裡高鐵與傳統鐵路共站，20個站台一次排開，走出車站是廣闊的站前廣場，往前300公尺直接連到河的另一端，完全是開放式的人行空間（因為整個車站立體化得很徹底）；站前的大馬路兩側是動輒20至30層樓高的公寓和酒店大廈，到了晚上繁華景色堪比香港。我相信這種景色在今天的中國不少見，只是從新疆西端一路走到這裡，見到的那一刻還是會覺得震撼。
Xining was the first province capital I visited on this trip, and it was much more spendid than all the cities I visited previously. The newly built railway station, which has both high speed and traditional railways, contains 20 platforms in parallel. In front of the station, a 300-m long pedestrian area allows people to walk directly into the city without intersecting traffic. Walked out of the station, on both sides of the avenue were 20- to 30-story hotel or apartment buildings. They looked no less charming than Hong Kong at night. I believe it's not rare to see this scene in large Chinese cities today, but I was still astonished when seeing it after a long journey from the less developed China west.
然而，稍微深入這城市一點點，我看到了完全不同的風景。這裡可能是我見過穆斯林密度最高的城市。
Nevertheless, as I went a bit deeper into the city, I saw a completely different scene. Xining probably has the most Muslims in the cities I've been to.
西寧本身其實是個漢人城市，附近的自治縣也多是藏族或土族，但很意外的這裡卻街上隨處可以見到戴著小帽的穆斯林；很多餐館都會放上「清真」的標示供他們參考，有些地方甚至可以見到阿拉伯文字，足以見得穆斯林人口在這裡有多重要。到訪的當晚正好清真寺有宵禮（一天中的最後一次禮拜）進行中，第一次群眾一起下跪並且吟唱禱文的場面令人印象深刻。我一邊看著，一邊思考著他們相信的究竟是什麼？他們為什麼會選擇相信？
Xining itself is a Han Chinese city, and it's minority boroughs are made of non-Muslim groups, but it surprisingly has a lot of Muslims. Many restaurants here have the halal sign, and occasionally Arabic alphabets can be seen. All these showed how important Muslims are in this city. I ran into the Isha'a (the night prayer) at a mosque, and was impressed by the scene when hundreds of people kneed down and chanted together. While watching this, I was thinking what do they believe? And why do they believe?
附帶一題，這裡的清真寺似乎喜歡在晚上點起五顏六色的裝飾，而且還包括各種閃爍、變色、動態的效果（其實蠻有親和力的），要不是門口有寫清真寺，我真的差點以為是中東主題的夜間狂歡場所。
By the way, many mosques here neon decoration at night. They not only use variety of colors, but also apply effects like blinking, change of color and animation. Had there not been signs of mosque, I almost took them as Middle-East-scene night clubs.
