久久久无码人妻精品无码_6080YYY午夜理论片中无码_性无码专区_无码人妻品一区二区三区精99

Global EditionASIA 中文雙語(yǔ)Fran?ais
Culture
Home / Culture / Heritage

Passage to history

Hexi Corridor connected China to the world and provided a route for culture and commerce, Zhao Xu and Ma Jingna report.

By Zhao Xu and Ma Jingna | CHINA DAILY | Updated: 2025-03-27 07:23
Share
Share - WeChat
Visitors take a camel trek into the desert of the Hexi Corridor in Gansu province, a region famed for its wealth of historical sites and a variety of natural landscapes. CHINA DAILY

Editor's note: China Daily reporters leverage local expertise to devise different itineraries that showcase a blend of historical landmarks and natural wonders in highly recommended cities and sites, offering practical guidance to experience the country.

This is a passageway that has connected China to the world for more than two millennia — a corridor where the wind howls and sand dances year-round, where travelers and their camels once trudged, laden with bundles of silk and sacred scrolls. It was an artery of coveted treasures and the teachings of Buddhism, a crossroads for dreamers, adventurers and believers — souls drawn by an innate yearning for the unknown. Today, it remains a path of wonder, traversed by those who stand in awe of nature's power to sculpt the land and humanity's indomitable desire to shape history.

This passageway is known as the Hexi Corridor — a corridor in name and essence, flanked by the towering Qilian Mountains to the south and the unyielding deserts to the north. Falling entirely within the borders of modern-day Gansu province in northwestern China, it winds through a chain of oases, fragile yet vital, their very existence owing to the mountains whose name, Qilian, means "heaven" and whose soaring peaks produce the life-giving meltwater that sustains this arid land.

"Hexi" means "west of the Yellow River". For ancient travelers from China's heartland, a westward journey through the corridor began with crossing the Yellow River. By contrast, a 7th-century traveler from West Asia or the Mediterranean, having journeyed the full 1,200 kilometers of the corridor, would look out over the river to the expansive plains of central China, and ultimately to Chang'an, the glorious capital of the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

The name of this passageway is therefore self-explanatory: the Hexi Corridor was a window through which China and the world reached out to each other. A vital stretch of the ancient Silk Road, it became a conduit for art, culture and trade — a witness to the will of man and the building of a state.

That human will was repeatedly put to test in this part of the world, where life was a constant struggle due to water scarcity and many other challenges.

In 139 BC, the powerful Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) dispatched an envoy led by the missionary-adventurer Zhang Qian on a westward journey. Their mission: to seek political allies in the fight against the Xiongnu raiders from the steppes in the north, who dominated the corridor at the time.

Zhang did not return until 126 BC, having spent 13 years on the road, including nearly a decade in Xiongnu captivity.

While his expedition yielded no immediate political alliances, his vivid firsthand account brought the land he had so relentlessly traversed to the attention of Emperor Wudi, who instantly recognized its immense potential.

By then, the Han military campaigns against the Xiongnu were already in full swing, culminating in the decisive victory of a young general, Huo Qubing, in 121 BC.

Leading his unstoppable troops, he marched all the way to Dunhuang at the western end of the corridor. Within the ensuing decades, Dunhuang became a Han military outpost along with Jiuquan, Zhangye and Wuwei, all oasis towns along the corridor.

Today, statues of Huo on a rearing horse can be found throughout the corridor, from city plazas to ranches, where steeds once so prized by Emperor Wudi now roam the grasslands, with the snowcapped Qilian Mountains in the distance.

Meanwhile, Dunhuang attracts millions of tourists each year, thanks to its world-renowned Mogao Grottoes. Carved into the sandstone cliffs at the desert's edge, these splendidly frescoed caves stand as a testament to the spread of Buddhist art along the corridor, as it was subjected to the profound influences of Chinese aesthetics and philosophy.

The Hexi Corridor, true to its nature, was a melting pot of traditions embraced by a multitude of peoples across its vast expanse and beyond. An open, commercial culture thrived, and astute power players, mindful of history, knew that survival depended as much on diplomacy as on military strength. Alliances were sealed through marriage, with princesses journeying alongside travelers across the Gobi Desert.

Today, we reconstruct their lives through tomb epitaphs, along with bronze ware and gold ornaments that accompanied them into the afterlife, now displayed in museums.

The temple named after Kumarajiva, Chinese history's first master translator of Buddhist scriptures. CHINA DAILY

One thing that the land was never short of was remarkable life stories. Between 385 and 401, Kumarajiva (344-413), a Buddhist monk from the ancient kingdom of Kucha in present-day Aksu prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, stayed in Wuwei, then known as Liangzhou. From this transformative period emerged a master translator of Buddhist scriptures, whose work achieved a rare balance of beauty and fidelity, shaping Chinese Buddhism for generations to come.

Kumarajiva passed away in Chang'an, where he led 800 monks in an ambitious translation effort. The sarira of his tongue — sarira being the Sanskrit term for the cremated remains of spiritual masters — is believed to be held within the base of a Buddhist temple tower in Wuwei.

For both Zhang and Kumarajiva, the Hexi Corridor was never meant to be the destination, yet fate held them there far longer than they had intended, regardless of their will. In the end, the outcome was the same — the Hexi Corridor left its mark on them, indelibly.

And it undoubtedly marked — and occasionally marred — many souls who dared to measure its length, whether on foot or atop horses and camels, bound not just by the road, but by the journey itself.

The same holds true for today's travelers. One can only begin to grasp the scale of ambition and the sense of heroism this land once inspired in hearts as people drive through its vast expanses of arid terrain, scattered with Camel Thorn, a spiny, grayish-green shrub that grows in alkaline soil and sustains the camels on their long treks.

The remnants of the Great Wall still stand, as do the eroded ruins of ancient passes — once guarded by soldiers who bore the weight of solitude. Their existence had inspired poets for centuries, shaping a soulful strain of romanticism found nowhere else in Chinese verse. During the Han Dynasty, people wrote on bamboo and wooden slips, binding them with cords to create books and documents. Remarkably, more than half of the Han slips unearthed so far have been discovered in the Hexi Corridor.

The region's arid climate — where annual rainfall in many areas is as low as 80 millimeters — made life harsh, yet it also helped to preserve history. This history, woven into the fabric of China, is so vital that one cannot truly understand the country without understanding what unfolded along this corridor over the past two millennia.

Now, close your eyes and let your mind drift to the Hexi Corridor. What do you hear? The howling of wind and pounding of hooves, the battle cries and clinking of cold glistening sword, the solemn chanting of scriptures and the gentle swishing of a thousand paint brushes …

History — deep, layered, and heavy with scents and sounds — rises from the dust. It does not simply wait to be remembered — it beckons, relentless and unyielding. Come.

Tong Yunshan contributed to this story.

The Dafo (Giant Buddha) Temple in Zhangye. CHINA DAILY
Most Popular
Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US
久久久无码人妻精品无码_6080YYY午夜理论片中无码_性无码专区_无码人妻品一区二区三区精99

    99久热在线精品视频| www.欧美日本| 亚洲精品视频三区| r级无码视频在线观看| 亚洲免费黄色网| 免费毛片小视频| 国产在线拍揄自揄拍无码| 日本爱爱免费视频| 日本网站免费在线观看| 国内外成人激情免费视频| 波多结衣在线观看| 中国丰满人妻videoshd| 隔壁人妻偷人bd中字| 亚洲 欧洲 日韩| 男人添女人下面免费视频| 日本一本二本在线观看| 精品久久久久久无码中文野结衣| 日韩a一级欧美一级| 色综合天天色综合| 成人亚洲视频在线观看| 一区二区传媒有限公司| 免费人成在线观看视频播放| 国产av不卡一区二区| 亚洲黄色av片| 2025韩国理伦片在线观看| 欧美激情国产精品日韩| 国产视频九色蝌蚪| 9久久9毛片又大又硬又粗| 国产精品va在线观看无码| 玖玖精品在线视频| 偷拍盗摄高潮叫床对白清晰| 国产亚洲视频一区| 91制片厂毛片| 蜜臀av免费观看| 天堂av在线网站| 天堂av在线网站| 在线免费视频一区| 亚洲36d大奶网| 视频二区在线播放| 一本一道久久a久久综合蜜桃| 亚洲精品高清无码视频| 国产天堂在线播放| 午夜精品在线免费观看| 无码少妇一区二区三区芒果| 韩国日本美国免费毛片| 好男人www社区| 深夜黄色小视频| 在线免费看污网站| 91免费网站视频| 日韩精品免费一区| 搞av.com| avav在线看| 欧美婷婷精品激情| 国产精品久久久久久久av福利| 久久综合在线观看| 日本黄网站色大片免费观看| 99久久免费观看| 欧美日韩成人免费视频| 欧美综合在线观看视频| 超碰超碰在线观看| 日韩欧美中文在线视频| 日韩一级特黄毛片| 国产肥臀一区二区福利视频| 欧美日韩怡红院| 在线播放av中文字幕| 日本黄网站色大片免费观看| 无码粉嫩虎白一线天在线观看 | 中文字幕亚洲影院| 欧美精品一区二区性色a+v| 九九久久九九久久| 男人和女人啪啪网站| 中文字幕国产传媒| 四虎免费在线观看视频| 日日摸日日碰夜夜爽无码| 青青草av网站| 国产大尺度在线观看| 欧美爱爱视频免费看| 男人添女人下面免费视频| 日本精品免费视频| 国产亚洲欧美在线视频| 亚洲最大天堂网| 99热久久这里只有精品| 亚洲精品一二三四五区| 在线观看成人免费| 久久婷婷五月综合色国产香蕉| 午夜久久福利视频| 欧美久久在线观看| 免费一区二区三区在线观看| 成年人深夜视频| 三级在线免费看| 国产 欧美 日韩 一区| 欧美一级裸体视频| 欧美乱做爰xxxⅹ久久久| 亚洲三级视频网站| 精品国偷自产一区二区三区| 亚洲男人天堂色| 日韩国产成人无码av毛片| 蜜臀视频一区二区三区| 黄色小视频大全| 天天插天天操天天射| 国产一线二线三线女| 激情五月婷婷基地| 成人黄色av片| 一本—道久久a久久精品蜜桃| 黄色免费观看视频网站| 日韩中文在线字幕| 国产喷水theporn| 日韩精品 欧美| 国产精品jizz在线观看老狼| 能看的毛片网站| 亚洲人成无码网站久久99热国产| 婷婷中文字幕在线观看| 91淫黄看大片| 青青草国产精品视频| 男女激烈动态图| 911福利视频| 欧美日韩在线免费播放| 黄色片网址在线观看| 日本丰满大乳奶| 奇米视频7777| 97公开免费视频| 欧美精品99久久| 久久香蕉视频网站| 亚洲黄色片免费看| 15—17女人毛片| 欧美少妇性生活视频| heyzo亚洲| 亚洲 欧美 综合 另类 中字| 最新中文字幕久久| 亚洲涩涩在线观看| 91视频免费版污| 少妇高潮喷水久久久久久久久久| 超碰人人爱人人| 天堂av在线中文| 一级片免费在线观看视频| 天天操,天天操| 三级在线免费看| 国产精品亚洲a| 免费黄色福利视频| 欧美日韩国产精品激情在线播放| av在线com| 欧美做暖暖视频| a级黄色片免费| 国产乱人伦精品一区二区三区| 国产盗摄视频在线观看| 好吊色这里只有精品| 黄色网络在线观看| 国产一二三四区在线观看| 91xxx视频| 亚洲一区 在线播放| wwwjizzjizzcom| 日韩欧美猛交xxxxx无码| 欧美黄色免费网址| av在线观看地址| 午夜精品久久久久久久无码| 国产a级片网站| 日本www在线视频| 97成人在线观看视频| 成人精品视频一区二区| 天天爱天天操天天干| 亚洲成人福利在线| 超碰人人草人人| 波多野结衣激情| 精品人妻人人做人人爽| 2019日韩中文字幕mv| 91成人在线观看喷潮教学| 乱妇乱女熟妇熟女网站| 日本精品久久久久中文字幕| 色悠悠久久综合网| 亚洲一区二区福利视频| 国产精品12p| 日韩黄色片在线| 国产男女在线观看| 一区二区三区韩国| 中文国产在线观看| www.亚洲成人网| 一本大道熟女人妻中文字幕在线 | 春日野结衣av| 精品日韩久久久| 日日夜夜精品视频免费观看| 日本一级黄视频| 5月婷婷6月丁香| 杨幂毛片午夜性生毛片| 在线无限看免费粉色视频| 国产曰肥老太婆无遮挡| 日本成人中文字幕在线| 亚洲精品成人在线播放| 国产日韩亚洲欧美在线| 国产日韩成人内射视频| 91在线第一页| 欧美深夜福利视频| www.久久91| www污在线观看| 国产wwwxx| 丁香色欲久久久久久综合网| 国产精品无码一本二本三本色| 国产免费色视频| 欧美极品欧美精品欧美图片| www.污网站| 国产一区二区三区精彩视频|