Feature: Journey Through the Hexi Corridor in Northwest China

Together they created a 1000-kilometer-long

(Please view horizontally, looking at the distant Qilian Mountains from Sunan Yugur Autonomous County, Gansu, photographer @ Li Chun)

(Please view horizontally, Jiayuguan and the Qilian Mountains, photographer @ Lin Bei'an)

(Please view horizontally, the Matisi Grottoes in Linsong Mountain, Zhangye, photographer @ Zhao Gaoxiang)

Countless magnificent scenes unfold here

Countless ethnic epics are performed here

Countless civilizations merge here

(Please view horizontally, the scope of the Hexi Corridor and its main attractions, map by @ Wu Xintian/Planet Research Institute)

The collision of the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate

(Distribution of the Hexi Corridor and deserts/gobis in northwestern China, map by @ Wu Xintian/Planet Research Institute)

The yellow sand of the Kumtag Desert drifts eastward with the wind

(Mingsha Mountain in Dunhuang, photographer @ Gu Lümin)

Yardang landforms resembling devil's castles

(A Yardang landform known as the "West Sea Fleet" in Dunhuang Yardang National Geological Park, image source @ Visual China)

The Tengger Desert and the Badain Jaran Desert

(The Badain Jaran Desert in Linze County, Gansu, photographer @ Wu Wei)

Even the 2000-3000-meter-high mountains north of the corridor

(The Mazong Mountain Gobi in the northwest of the Hexi Corridor, Mazong Mountain is one of the three northern mountains, photographer @ Chen Jianfeng)

(Binggou Danxia in Zhangye UNESCO Global Geopark, photographer @ Zhu Jinhua)

(The colorful hills in Zhangye UNESCO Global Geopark, photographer @ Zheng Feiyuan)

A force capable of combating drought has emerged

The 800-kilometer-long Qilian Mountains

With an average elevation exceeding 4,000 meters

(Please view horizontally, the extensive Qilian Mountains and its highest peak, Tuanjie Peak, photographer @Qiu Jianjun)

The towering and continuous mountains intercept moisture

(Snowscape and sea of clouds under Suzhulian, one of the main peaks of the Qilian Mountains, photographer @Li Chun)

Ultimately forming 2,683 glaciers

Covering a total area of approximately 1,600 square kilometers

With an ice reserve greater than the water storage of Qinghai Lake, China's largest lake

(Glaciers on the Gangshika Snow Peak of the Qilian Mountains, photographer @Wu Yidan)

The largest valley glacier in the Qilian Mountains

Flowing from the mountaintop downward like a river of ice

(Please view horizontally, the Transparent Mengke Glacier, photographer @Chen Jianfeng)

Forming spectacular alluvial fans at the mountain front

(Please view horizontally, the flood-alluvial fans in front of the Yema Mountain-Daxue Mountain branch of the Qilian Mountains, photographer @Fu Ding)

And China's second-largest inland river, the Heihe River

These three major water systems plunge into the desert and Gobi

(Please view horizontally, the Heihe River in the desert, photographer @Wu Wei)

Suddenly emerging from surface pores

(Please view horizontally, the Crescent Moon Spring in Dunhuang, Gansu, formed by groundwater recharge from the Dang River, photographer @Zhao Gaoxiang)

(Zhangye Sunan Qilian Mountain scenery, image source @ Visual China)

(Shandan Army Horse Ranch, image source @ Visual China)

(Please view horizontally, the Heihe River scenery near National Highway 312 in Ganzhou District, Zhangye City, Gansu Province in late autumn, photographer @ Zhong Xiaoliang)

From then on, this place was no longer dominated by deserts and Gobi

A passage for all things to grow and humans to traverse

But the Hexi Corridor, emerging from the drought

The Hexi Corridor connected the Central Plains and the Western Regions

Silk, tea, porcelain, jewelry, seeds

(Desert camel bells on the Hexi Corridor, photographer @ Lin Bei'an)

But rather connected four directions: the northern Mongolian Plateau, the southern Tibetan Plateau

The western Western Regions, and the eastern Central Plains

Four major regions profoundly influencing Chinese history

(Please view horizontally, schematic diagram of the Silk Road, and scroll down to see the connecting role of the Hexi Corridor, cartography @ Wu Xintian/Planet Research Institute)

The four Hexi counties: Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan, and Dunhuang

(Wuwei South City Gate, the center of the city wall is inscribed with Wuwei's ancient name "Liangzhou." During the Sixteen Kingdoms period of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the Former Liang, Later Liang, Northern Liang, Southern Liang, and the early Tang's Great Liang all once made Wuwei their capital, photographer @ Guo Guangxing)

And invited various Western Regions countries to hold a "World Expo"

(Qilian Mountain Biandukou Yonggu Town, Emperor Yang of Sui once entered the Hexi Corridor from Biandukou, photographer @ Wu Yidan)

Mongolian and Tibetan leaders held talks here

Tibet was officially incorporated under the jurisdiction of the central government

(Wuwei White Pagoda Temple, the Liangzhou Alliance took place in this area, photographer @ Guo Guangxing)

Zuo Zongtang reclaimed Xinjiang via the Hexi Corridor

Countless frontier fortresses sprang up

The Great Wall, passes, cities, and beacon towers

(Ruins of Shibao City in Subei County amidst the wilderness, photographer: Zuo Ma)

(Xuanbi Great Wall at Jiayuguan, photographer: Zhang Yang's Xiaoqiang)

(Tu'er Dun Beacon Tower by the Heihe River, photographer: Wu Wei)

(Wheat fields in Maobula Village, Yongchang, Gansu, with the Great Wall nestled within, photographer: Liu Zhongwen)

(Jiayuguan and the Qilian Mountains, photographer: Li Wenbo)

(Ruins of Heishui Kingdom in Zhangye under the night sky, photographer: Wu Wei)

One of China's most densely clustered regions of beacon towers and frontier cities

(Schematic of the Great Wall defense system in the Hexi Corridor, including the Great Wall, passes, forts, and beacon towers. For clarity, not all forts and beacon towers are labeled. Map by Wu Xintian & Yang Ning/Planet Research Institute)

"The long wind travels thousands of miles, sweeping past the Jade Gate Pass"

(Ruins of Yumen Pass in Jiuquan, Xiaofangpan City, photographer: Zhao Gaoxiang)

"The Yellow River ascends far into white clouds, a lone city amid towering mountains"

(The Heihe River recedes between mountains, with the tiny Tu'er Dun Beacon Tower at the bottom right, photographer: Wu Wei)

"What spans thousands of miles? The Great Wall crossing the desert"

(The diminutive Jiayuguan amid snow-capped mountains and the Gobi, photographer: Chen Xiao)

"Wild clouds stretch endlessly with no city in sight, rain and snow merge with the vast desert"

(Please view horizontally: Ming Dynasty Great Wall in Yongchang County, Gansu after snowfall, photographer: Liu Zhongwen)

But numerous regimes, numerous interests

The Hexi Corridor was often plagued by conflicts

Is there still a chance to change one's destiny?

On the oases of the Hexi Corridor

The Shiyang River system originating from the Qilian Mountains

Nourished the Zhangye Oasis and the Jiuquan Oasis

(Schematic diagram of the Hexi Corridor's water systems and oases, mapped by Wu Xintian/Planet Research Institute)

With 19% of Gansu's arable land, the Hexi Corridor

Produces 32.3% of the province's grain

And supplies 43% of its commercial oil

97% of sugar beets and 98% of cotton

(Please view horizontally, Zhangye oasis agriculture, photographer: Zhao Gaoxiang)

The Bronze Galloping Horse unearthed from the Leitai Han Tomb

With its stunning "Horse Treading on a Flying Swallow" pose

Showed us the Hexi Corridor from a thousand years ago

(Bronze Galloping Horse, now housed in the Gansu Provincial Museum, photographer: Shi Yaochen)

As a crucial hub connecting all directions

Civilizations from the Western Regions, the Tibetan Plateau, the Mongolian Plateau, and the Central Plains

Ultimately made the Hexi Corridor a

(Please view horizontally, inscribed board at Wuwei Confucian Temple, photographer: Guo Guangxing)

Buddhist grottoes spanning almost every historical period

It runs through the entire Hexi Corridor

(Schematic diagram of the distribution of grottoes in the Hexi Corridor, mapped by Wu Xintian/Planet Research Institute)

(Please view horizontally, the Third Cave of Zhangye Matisi Temple, Thirty-Three Heavens Grottoes, carved into the cliff of a Danxia landform mountain, photographer: Wu Wei)

(Please view horizontally, the Yulin Grottoes distributed on both sides of the Yulin River Valley, photographer: Zuo Ma)

It also makes the Hexi Corridor a

(Tiantishan Grottoes, with the Huangyang River Reservoir nearby, image source: Visual China)

A reclining Buddha measuring 34.5 meters in length and 7.5 meters in shoulder width

It is also the largest indoor wooden-clay reclining Buddha in China

(Please view horizontally, the reclining Buddha at Zhangye Giant Buddha Temple, photographer: Wu Wei)

(The Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Gansu, and the endless desert behind them, photographer: Wang Jing)

It was created by various regimes and ethnic groups active in the Hexi Corridor

The most abundant and richest Buddhist art sanctuary

(Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes Cave 217, "Amitayurdhyana Sutra Transformation" from the High Tang period, photographer: Sun Zhijun)

It further makes the Hexi Corridor a

The Tibetans in Tianzhu, the Yugur in Sunan

The Mongols in Subei, the Kazakhs in Aksai

As well as the Han, Hui, and Dongxiang peoples

All live and work here in their own ways

(Please view horizontally, Mongolian yurts on Zhuaxixiulong Grassland in Tianzhu, photographer: Guo Guangxing)

When we gaze upon its form once more

In adversity, in hardship, in defeat

The tireless pioneers and creators

(Fields at the foot of the Qilian Mountains, photographer: Gao Xingjian)

(Please view horizontally, ruins of Suoyang City, photographer: Gou Bingchen)

(In early 2020, Crescent Spring covered in snow, photographer: Zhang Xin)

(Please view horizontally, snowscape of the Qilian Mountains and residential areas of Jiayuguan City, photographer: Huang Rumeng)

To ensure the Hexi Corridor connects all directions

With a spirit of relentless exploration and progress

"As Heaven keeps vigor through movement, a gentleman should strive unceasingly"

Adhering to "seeking survival in competition and development in innovation"

Together, we embarked on a cultural journey themed "As Heaven Keeps Vigor"

The Institute of Planetology from a geographical perspective

It is a super corridor that pioneers and safeguards the peace of the nation

(Please click the card below to watch the "Mountains and Rivers of the Hexi Corridor" video)

Leading us to personally step into the Hexi Corridor

A "museum" that influences the lives of Chinese people

(Please click the card below to watch the "Unfolding the Hexi Corridor" video)

(Please click the card below to watch the third chapter of the Hexi Corridor video)

It remains China's greatest corridor

(G30 Lianyungang-Khorgas Expressway, Gansu section, photographer: Chen Xiaoyang)

(Hexi Corridor section of the Lanzhou-Urumqi High-Speed Railway, photographer: Wang Lu)

(Jiayuguan Pass, photographer: Qiu Jianjun)

Experience China's greatest corridor

Text | GHJ & Wang Luoji

Proofreading | Shanyuelou & Xiang Buxiang & Chen Jingyi

Cover photographers | Jiang Hong & Gao Xingjian

Mountains and Rivers video cover photographer | Yan Su

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