After saying our leave-takings to Turpan, we were heading to a beautiful and the second largest city of Xinjiang: Korla(庫爾勒市), a county-level city located approximately in the center of Xinjiang.

Korla is also known as Pear City, for its fragrant pears.  A long, crystal-clear Peacock River passes through the city.  Swum leisurely on the river are gaggles of swans, white and ebony, greeting pedestrians who also stroll along the broad sidewalk on either bank of the river.  Beyond the sidewalks erect villages of modern, high-rise housings and offices neatly tucked away in well-designed main streets and alleys.     

photo from Wiki

Can you believe it?  Korla is just a county-level city(縣級市) of China Mainland.  How about ours in Taiwan?