Dunhuang Desert Light Hike: 10 km Crossing of Mingsha Mountain

For ordinary people, hiking across a desert is a daunting prospect. Because the vast desert represents drought, barrenness, emptiness and loneliness, deep in our hearts it is even more like a remote no-man's land. Such scenes only appear in dreams or films, with weary steps, chapped lips, and endless rolling sand dunes...

Living in a bustling and fast-paced city, after a busy day, in the quiet of the night, putting aside all the worries of the day, I truly wish I could travel to an endless desert. There, there is no noise, no coming and going of people. Alone or with a group of loved ones, we can freely unleash ourselves. We can run naked, get drunk, sing aloud, reminisce about the past, or simply meditate.

We are slaves of life, all trying to break out of our own circles. We are too small, like cosmic dust or a grain of sand in the vast sea, no one knows our joys and sorrows; we merely pass through this mundane world. Yet we are also contradictory: we hope to enjoy the convenience and material pleasures of the city, yet also wish to put everything down, travel the world with a sword, traverse the desert, transcend everything, and return to our true selves.

The Dunhuang Mingsha Mountain Desert 10 km light hike requires no heavy gear, simple, easy, and joyful. It is not the 108 km over 4 days and 3 nights, nor is it exclusive to professional outdoor enthusiasts or hiking lovers. As long as you like the desert, like sports, and give yourself some quiet time, under the guidance of the leader, we will experience the solitude of the desert and the magical charm of nature.

This hike is not a race, just a walking experience. We will not surpass nature, but respect it. On this magical land of Dunhuang, whether alone, as a couple, with children, with a lover, or with a team fighting side by side, walking through this desert will surely bring different stories. As the saying goes, after walking through the desert and Gobi, we are all brothers and sisters. In the desert, amidst this harsh and desolate landscape, while silently walking, you will reconsider the people you love and those who love you.

Having climbed Mingsha Mountain and seen Crescent Moon Spring, I have walked through this desert. I saw that beyond the mountains there is still a sea of sand, endless. I am content; I am fearless. Life is the same: the desert is like that long-awaited hurdle. Once you have crossed it, it is nothing more than that...