Encounter
The Hexi Corridor in Northwest China has been a dream of mine since my girlhood. The yellow sand here has blown through five thousand years, witnessing the rise and fall of countless civilizations. Only by actually coming here, walking into the desolate Gobi, can one truly feel that endless desolation.
I booked all the tickets and performances online in advance. The first stop in Dunhuang was Yumen Pass — the real start of the trip. I was so excited. I had only gone to bed at midnight the night before, but I got up at 5 am. After a bowl of hot beef noodles downstairs at the hotel, we set off.
Yumen Pass was first established when Emperor Wu of Han opened up the routes to the Western Regions and set up four commanderies in Hexi. It got its name because jade from the Western Regions was brought through here. During the Han Dynasty, it was the gateway to the Western Regions. The site is now located at Xiaofangpan City, northwest of Dunhuang, Gansu. The Great Wall between Jiuquan and Yumen was built during the Yuanding or Yuanfeng periods (116–105 BC), and Yumen Pass was established around the same time.
The Yumen Pass ruins are located at the westernmost end of the Hexi Corridor, on the south bank of the Shule River, about 90 kilometers from downtown Dunhuang and about 150 kilometers west of Lop Nur. The surrounding area is mostly Gobi, desert, and meadows. The ruins extend from Cangting Beacon in the east to Xianming Beacon in the west, and to Nansandun in the south. The core area, centered on Xiaofangpan City, is distributed linearly east-west, 45 kilometers long from east to west and 0.5 kilometers wide from north to south. The remaining sites include two city sites, 20 beacon towers, and 18 sections of the Great Wall. Currently open to tourists are the Xiaofangpan City site, Dafangpan City site, and the Han Great Wall ruins around Danggusui. Only when I came to Yumen Pass did I truly understand the desolation and emptiness described in the line 'Spring breeze never crosses Yumen Pass.'
In the evening, we went to the night market downtown for dinner. There were many kinds of snacks, mainly barbecue. It was really wonderful to have some drinks and grilled skewers. After eating and drinking our fill, we wanted to take a walk to digest.
I heard that the Danghe River waterfront in the city was nice, so we went for a night stroll along the scenic river. It was really a great place for digestion and walking. Dunhuang summers are very cool at night, very different from midday. Walking along the river was very pleasant. The farther we went from the residential areas, the cooler it got. Chatting with my friend about the day's gains and fun experiences was truly the best place.
The second day's plan was simple: pack up our luggage, get ready to watch the evening performance, and then leave for the next stop the next day. We had booked online a local performance called 'Dunhuang Grand Ceremony.' It was an outdoor live-action show, only viewable after dark, starting at 9:30 pm. We rested leisurely all day, preparing to enjoy this visual feast.
Right across from the rest area was the theater. At 9:30 we finally took our seats and prepared to watch. The performance began with music, and I experienced this large-scale live show. In the first act, a group of monks appeared in front of the mountain backdrop, with Zhang Qian's mission to the Western Regions as the background. The painter Mo Ding followed a camel caravan through the mountains, but suddenly they were attacked and he lost contact with the caravan.
Then the entire seating area rotated to the second act, where Mo Ding first met the princess. An amazing display of 'dahuo tie' (molten iron fireworks) appeared, which I heard is an intangible cultural heritage — truly spectacular. Then, with the seats rotating to the third act, Mo Ding and the princess began their romantic love story, with stunning 3D light wall shows complementing the fairies' dance. The fourth act magically took us into a semi-enclosed cave. The storyline had the princess's father forcibly separating the princess and Mo Ding. With a touch of sadness, many flying celestial maidens suddenly descended from above, dancing gracefully on wires — truly beautiful. Slowly emerging from the cave, we turned to the fifth act. As the crescent moon slowly rose in front of us, Mo Ding and the princess danced gracefully on it, as if they were together again, starting a sweet and peaceful life. The ending was perfect. This performance was not just a show; it was more about a yearning and longing for love. I also hope that lovers in the world can, like Mo Ding and the princess in the play, walk through life together without any obstacles, more peacefully and happily.
