Delinqa

(another post added by Mum!)

I am cycling into Delinqa. It looks like a pretty interesting place. It has a large Mongolian and Tibetan population. On the road in I have seen several groups of people prostrating themselves (a Buddhist form of dedication) climbing the road up to the mountains. The town is surrounded by wheat fields too (I think) the first I have seen in China.
I ask at the first hotel if they accept foreigners. Technically we are only allowed to stay at 3 star and above which kind of blows my budget a bit. I get a very definite NO. I walk out, try a few more, to no avail. The chances of my first shower in two weeks are diminishing each time I get rejected. What kind of town is this???

I notice a police car is following me. Here we go I say to myself, and sure enough I get pulled over. This differs from the usual passport shenanigans however as I am hauled off to the station. I am informed in no uncertain terms that I must leave, by bus, now!
"I can't just ride out of town and have you forget about the crazy Australian on a bicycle???"
" We could lock you up and fine you, or you could get on the bus"
"OK, bus it is then............."

Now I am in Xining, having missed much of the province I wanted to see but hoping to try some Yak cheese tomorrow! The following perhaps may explain the paranoia of the police......

from Wikipedia
Delingha (Tibetan:??????????) is the capital of Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai, China approximately 200km southeast of Da Qaidam. It is closed off to foreigners due to nuclear testing. It is the missile headquarter for Qinghai , and houses DF-4s with four associated launch sites. Delingha is one of five locations where anywhere between 10 and 20 DF-4's were deployed in 1998. The facility is the headquarters for one of launch brigades.

From here I will either head to Lanshau in Gansu or back of the mountains to Sehcuan and onto Chengdu. I hope, however, to find a map here in English as translating from the Russian one I have has not been going so well........