Snapshots of 2024

A road to the past

Xu Chao Shandan, Gansu

During our summer trip to the Hexi Corridor, part of the ancient Silk Road, in June, my family and I drove through Shandan county. We were puzzled by a stretch of earthen "walls" along the way. Then, I recalled reading in Lonely Planet about the Han (206 BC-AD 220) and Ming (1368-1644) sections of the Great Wall extending nearly 200 kilometers through Shandan. It is rare in China to see sections of the Great Wall from different historical periods standing side by side, yet here it was. This became the most unexpected highlight of our trip.

We stopped to take in the view, where the ancient Great Wall, the distant modern railway, and the far-off Qilian Mountains all converged into a breathtaking scene. It felt as if the ancient Silk Road and the modern Belt and Road Initiative were bridging time and space.