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9 Sepertember 2009
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Civilization in Desert
The heritage site of the Han
Civilisation along the Silk Road in China's Xiyu (西域) - Westland >
As earlier as in year
101BC, Han
troops
and their families began to cultivate the great wasteland
in the vast Westland (西域), and the military settlements later
developed into towns and cities.
In year 60BC (汉宣帝神爵二年) during the Han
Dynasty
(206BC - 220AD), Chinese emperor established an
administration called Westland Prefecture (西域都护府) in today's Xinjiang
Province. By then the main residents in the area were
mainly Hans, Qiangs, Xiongnus, Sais, Rouzhis
and Wusuns.
About 941 years later in
year 840AD, a kingdom named Uighur (回纥 or 回鹘 in ancient Chinese for 维吾尔) in the west of the Han's Westland
collapsed after years of natural disasters and internal
fightings. A large number of the refugees crossed the
border entering the Han territory and settled in the
Westland ever since, while the rest of the homeless
Uighurs fled further west into the region known as Turkey today.
Xinjiang Province, the
great Westland with vast wasteland, at the moment is the
home to 47 different ethnic groups, including Han, Kazac,
Uzbek, Tajik, Kirgiz, Dour, Tatar, Hui, Uighur, Mongol
and Russian.
<
四面风沙飞野马，一潭之影幻游龙
One of the most memorable landmarks
along the ancient Silk Road must be the Dunhuang
Grotto (敦煌) with
thousands of Buddhist murals and sculptures. Further
southwest-ward about 5 km away lays another oasis
where a Han-style temple is semi-encircled by a waterway
called Crescent Fountain(月牙泉).
According to historical records, back
in the Han Dynasty (206BC - 220AD), the oasis was a
popular tourist destination for the cultured
travellers who left mumerous poems lauding the
amazing landscape; later during the Tang era (618 - 906), a Han-style temple was
erected on the shore with boats drifting in the pool.
The sand dunes surrounded the oasis
are called Roaring Sand Hill (鸣沙山). When a gust of wind blows over the
land, the hill would growl and bellow as the sands
shift, oddly, not downwards to the pool but upwards
to the summit. Which is the reason why the Crescent
Fountain never dries up.
(Source
of photos: 夜郎老怪/新华博客)
Prev: Uighur Mob
Crime Video
Next: Uighur
Terrorists' Confessions
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The
Spectacle of Sand
On September 6, 2009, in
China's southern coastal city Xiamen (厦门), Fujian Province, 58
sand sculptures spreading in the area of
120,000 M2 materialised in the
Sand Sculpture Park (沙雕文化公园) on Mt Guanyin (观音山).
Among the 58 sand
sculptures, the most visually stunning
one is the statue of General
Yue Fei (岳飞), an exalted poet of the Song
Dyansty
(960 – 1279) and one of the most
respected national
heroes in
Chinese history. Today, his legacy still
inspires the young generations in China
to give themselves away when needed in
order to protect Chinese people, preserve
national sovereignty, safeguard
territorial integrity and defend Chinese
civilization.
(Source
of info/photos: 金怡-新华社)
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