Captivated by the Hexi Scenery, Chasing the Dream of White Clouds: Populus Euphratica Forest, Jiayuguan, Shandan Military Horse Farm

What can move you?

In the brief afternoon, I write you a long letter.

Looking at the fallen yellow leaves, I recall the summer when we first met.

My hesitant steps and my waiting full of hope.

My unbending soul and the loneliness I can only share with you.

The rose in my hand has lost its color.

The rose in the vase has withered and fallen.

But as long as these hands have held a rose,

This vase once contained a rose,

They are not 'yet' and 'once,' but 'always' and 'forever.'

I will wake up on some nights and daydream through countless days.

My years of effort may just add another note to emptiness and absurdity.

Even the most beautiful words cannot hold back the passing years.

So why still speak tirelessly, write unceasingly?

Because what I speak is not just language, and what I write is not just words.

This language is my life, these words are my existence.

On this ordinary yet clear and bright winter morning,

I speak to you and write to you,

As if we have never met.

Reading Professor Ye Chao's poem "Moved by You," I suddenly feel that the Hexi Corridor is exactly that place where one longs to write letters full of hope and forever share loneliness. The wandering sons of Hexi, roaming the world, always find themselves on some empty day or night, earnestly writing a long letter, passing through post station after post station, to the Hexi Corridor where the long river meets solitary smoke and war flags blaze. The profound remoteness of Hexi always lingers in dreams!

At the end of September, around the National Day holiday, at Brother Wang's invitation, I went on a business trip to Jiuquan. On the way to Jinta, I suddenly saw a road sign for the Populus Euphratica Forest. Turning off, I soon saw poplars standing in the Gobi. Having lived long in the south, everyone yearns for a pure Gobi desert, to keep it in their heart, and on sleepless nights, pull it out to think endlessly of yellow sand and blue sky—what a delight!

Original hue of the Loess Plateau

Passing by Wuwei's Xiliang Market

Wuwei's city gate tower in summer

Beautiful Jiuquan Vocational College

The serene rear garden on campus

Road sign toward Jinta

"A thousand branches and ten thousand leaves embrace as one, vying to rival a snowball's fragrance"—the kochia

Chaotic populus euphratica

Path inside the poplar forest

A man-made lake, I presume

Clear water to the bottom

Newly built tower, name unknown

View from the observation deck

What a poplar forest should look like

Jiji grass in Hexi

A scenic spot with two knights; below, fruits and instant noodles for sale

First stop: Populus Euphratica Forest. Friends from the south can go and have a look; it may take half a day. Best time is just after National Day. It's not far from Jiuquan, very close to Jinta county. I haven't been to the poplar forests in Tarim or Ejina, so I can't compare. Jiuquan's poplar forest was discovered relatively late. There is much room for improvement in site design, internal layout, and services. I also arrived a few days too early, so the forest's color wasn't at its best. I forget the admission fee; it wasn't too expensive. An extra small fee for bringing your own car inside.

Second stop: Jiayuguan Pass Tower

Standard 5A scenic spot

Dicos fast food in the parking lot, with Hexi-style cold noodles (liangpi)

General Feng Sheng of the Ming Dynasty discovered the strategic site of Jiayuguan; he was the builder of the pass.

Jiuquan has abundant produce. The yellow ones—are they Li Guang apricots?

Different angles, different charms.

The first gate creaked open.

A Han Dynasty woman dressed with grace, as if traveling through time.

People and camels behind the pass tower

Not skilled in riding? You can ride a camel.

Weapons on the tower

Nice apartment

Master and apprentice observing the weather

Having visited the pass tower in all seasons, each has its beauty. As a Scorpio, I naturally love the colors of autumn, so the scene of heavy snow covering the pass is my favorite.

I flip through my past albums and pick a few below.

Jiayuguan in winter

Actually, what I always wanted to visit along the ancient Hexi road was the Shandan Military Horse Farm at the foot of Yanzhi Mountain—the world's oldest royal military horse farm. The documentary "Hexi Corridor" says Huo Qubing was its first director. Since the 1990s, I've passed by Zhangye countless times, dreaming of going but never realizing it. In Jiuquan, I happened to meet a friend from Lanzhou who was touring around. After a big drinking session, we agreed on the next day's itinerary...

On the highway past Shandan, I was a bit confused: there was a Shandan East exit going west, but none going east. Hesitating, I nearly drove to Yongchang, adding nearly a hundred kilometers to the trip. Breathless, I arrived at the location my friend had set, and got to see a distinctive local art—pyrography!

The farmhouse meal my friend took me to was delicious—I forgot its name, with all sorts of local delicacies.

The road to the first farm was indeed a bit rough after entering, but the scenery was beautiful.

The sky was very high, with just a few clouds.

That should be a guesthouse, I think.

Observation pavilion, nice view.

The road back was already in dusk.

"Ganzhou's north gate, a land of water and clouds, every deep autumn a stretch of yellow. The old grain in the fields shows abundant beauty, and the heavy ears across the ridges leave lingering fragrance."

Mr. Guo Shen's poem fits the scene perfectly!