Eternal Silk Road -- Passing Through Xinjiang: Passing Through Xinjiang

Author: Shao Rulin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-02-01
Features: We followed in the footsteps of Zhang Qian, Xuanzang, and others, and finally took our own step! After a period of preparation, by the end of July 2000, after attending the "100th Anniversary of the Discovery of the Mogao Caves and the International Academic Conference on Dunhuang Studies," we entered Xinjiang and began the photography and creation of the "Atlas of Ancient Ruins on the Silk Road—Xinjiang Section." The vast desert, Gobi, grasslands, and snow-capped mountains—sometimes experiencing all four seasons in a single day, with rain, snow, wind, and frost! Xinjiang, with its unique geographical advantages, served as a crucial hub for ancient trade routes connecting the East and West. At least as early as around 5,000 years ago, it maintained close ties with the Yellow River and Yangtze civilizations to the east, the civilizations of Western Asia, the Tigris and Euphrates, and Europe to the west, and the Indian civilization to the south, hiding the traces of a colorful historical pulse. In 139 BC, Han Dynasty envoy Zhang Qian "opened up" the Western Regions, strengthening the connection between the Central Plains and the 36 states of the Western Regions. In 60 BC, the Han Dynasty established the Protectorate of the Western Regions, officially incorporating Xinjiang into Chinese territory, and the Silk Road became the bridge for economic and cultural exchange between the East and West. Here, Chinese, Indian, Greek, and Arabic cultures converged and collided. The Saka, Yuezhi, Wusun, Rouran, Xiongnu, Xianbei, Turkic, Uyghur, Tibetan, Mongolian, Manchu, and Han ethnic groups jointly created a magnificent and uniquely distinctive historical scroll, leaving behind numerous ancient ruins and cities rich in the hardships and wisdom of all ethnic peoples, with profound cultural connotations, showcasing the splendid civilization of the Chinese West. The magnificent Silk Road has seen the rise and fall of ruins, with desolate ruins scattered everywhere.