China Daily Global Edition (USA)
Xinjiang’s Hami: stunning views, skies
The desert city of Hami in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region offers stunning views of desolate landscapes and starry skies at the end of the year, Xu Lin reports.
The desolate scene of unevenly shaped landforms in front of me is littered with khaki structures that look like works of art carved by Mother Nature.
It almost feels as if I’m on the set of the Hollywood blockbuster The
Martian, standing in a place that looks like the planet Mars. But I’m actually in Dahaidao in Hami city, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.
As part of the ancient Silk Road, Dahaidao links Dunhuang in Gansu province with the Turpan Basin in Xinjiang. Centuries ago, many traveling salesmen had to undertake dangerous journeys through this no-man’s land because it was the shortest route between the two places. Dahaidao is also a landform of
Yardang, which literally means “steep hillock” in the Uygur language. Molded by the elements, Yardang refers to a unique landform that looks like ridges, castles or hills in extremely arid regions.
China boasts one of the largest areas of Yardang in the world which measures about 20,000 square kilometers. In Hami Basin, Yardang presents its different developmental stages in various shapes.
The winds in this area are incredibly strong most of the time at night. Some say the winds sound like ghosts wailing. This is how Ghost Town, a place in Hami that is well-known for its Yardang landforms, got its name.
In recent years, fossils of a species of pterosaur and its eggs were discovered in Hami’s Yardang areas during archaeological excavations. In 2015, Xinjiang’s Yardang, including the Yardang in Hami Basin, were added to the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Dahaidao is a popular destination for adventurers traveling in cross-country vehicles. To stay overnight here, you must pitch a tent and ensure it’s anchored well enough to withstand the strong winds.
In June, a “Mars Base” was established for overnight guests. The site comprises 40 small but wellequipped capsules. Camping in Dahaidao makes you feel as if you’re about to go on an expedition on Mars. You are isolated from the outside world as there is no cell phone reception here. Insulation would also be needed in terms of attire. Come nightfall, the temperature in this desert area drops to about -20 C in December.
But the low temperature does little to deter photography enthusiasts. In December, the best time to admire the stars and the Milky Way is around 11 pm when the moon goes into hiding.
“Dahaidao’s beautiful scenery makes it a perfect place for shutterbugs. It’s better to avoid visiting here from June to August because the weather is too hot,” says Ding Hong, the owner of the capsule hotel.
Ding says that environmental protection is taken very seriously in these areas. Garbage is transported all the way to the city for proper disposal. Tourists are also reminded not to litter.
Over in another area in Hami, the Barkol Kazak autonomous county, the scene bears a stark contrast — everything is covered in snow.
The county’s annual ice and snow festival will last until February. Tourists can join Kazak folk activities such as fishing, skating, riding a motorcycle on snow and sampling local dishes.
In the early Qing Dynasty (16441911), when the ruler of Hami made the long trek to pay tribute to Emperor Kangxi, the emperor and his feudal officials were said to be impressed by the delicious muskmelon from Hami, which had since been regularly presented as a giftand dubbed Hami melon.
But besides being renowned for its sweet melons, Hami is now striving to leverage its picturesque views and exotic ethnic culture to promote itself as a tourist destination. The efforts by tourism officials seem to have paid off, with official data showing that there were 9.52 million tourist visits to Hami from January to November, an increase of 32 percent compared with the same period last year. It is estimated that the city’s tourism income for this year will hit 2.66 billion yuan ($386 million), 30 percent more than last year’s.
The city government recently announced a strategic cooperation with short video platform Kuaishou, opening 10 official accounts to promote the city’s rich tourism resources and traditional Uygur embroidery. Statistics show that Hami has a population of 600,000 residents, and over 370,000 have registered themselves on Kuaishou. About 80,000 of them are active daily users.
To encourage local embroiderers to post short videos about their products, Kuaishou provides them with free training in areas such as marketing. Tourism officials believe that these craftsmen would be able to boost their income levels by promoting their embroidery via short videos or live streams.
In 2016, authorities founded a traditional handicraft center in Hami. Local embroiderers are also able to participate in trainings held in other Chinese cities to hone their skills. To appeal to customers, craftsmen combine traditional embroidery with modern products such as earphones, phone cases and purses.
“Such an initiative not only preserves our traditional handicraft, but also increase the incomes of embroiderers. We’re learning to record our embroidery process via short videos. It brings a sense of achievement when we get many views,” says Kader Rehman, a staff at the center who is also one of the few male embroiderers in Hami.