After leaving Lanzhou and passing Yongdeng and Tianzhu counties, tourist can get to Wuqiao Ling.

Originally, Wuqiao Ling was called Black Sand Mountain, named after the black rock and sand on the mountain. Located in Tianzhu Tibetan Autonomous County in Gansu province, stretching southeast as part of Lengdong Ling of Qilian Mountain, its highest altitude reaches above 4,500 meters.

Wuqiao Ling is not only the natural screen of the east of Hexi Corridor, but also an important dividing line of agriculture, topography and climate in our country. The climate in Wuqiao Ling changes constantly. Wind and rain, storm and hail hit this place frequently and never come to end. The mountain is covered with white snow but there will be different scenery when people look a far. East side of the mountain is fertile land and pasture covered with green grass; south side is Horse Teeth Snowy Mountain with its peak standing like a jade pillar shape. North side is Maomao Mountain with a white cap; East side is Thunder God Mountain.

After crossing Wuqiao Ling, the train comes on the way of Wuwei Plain---the beginning of Hexi Corridor.

Green Band on Silk Road---Hexi Corridor

After leaving Lanzhou and running westward along the Yellow River, in almost one and a half-hour, the train crosses the Yellow River at a place named Hekou. Geographically speaking, the place crossing the Yellow River can be exactly called Hexi and also from this place, people begin to speak of Hexi Corridor.

There are oasis, river, Gobi and desert dotted in Hexi Corridor. With its plain tertian and abundant products, the corridor is just like a green band in northwest Gansu.

The Corridor starts at the Wuqiao Ling from east and ends at Jiayuguan to west. It leans Qilian Mountain on south, and from north it clings to Hexi Mountain and Youshou Mountain. Tengger Desert and Badain Jaran Desert are on its north. From east to west, it stretches for more than a thousand kilometers, is an interior arid land. It has an average elevation of 1,400 meters above sea level.

In Han Dynasty, four famous prefectures of Hexi were established here, which consisted of Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan and Dunhuang. And the old saying “gold Zhangye and sliver Wuwei” began coming into being.

On a train banging all day and all night, when looking at the oases appearing outside intermittently and Qilian Mountain with its parts 4,000 meters above sea level covered with ice and snow, tourist will fancy an old story happened here. The historical celebrities like Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty, Wei Qing and Huo Qubing come on your eyes vividly.

Wei Qing was Emperor Wu’s brother in-law and brother of Queen Wei. Huo Qubing was an illegitimate child of the elder sister of Queen Wei. According to this, Huo Qubing was the nephew of both Wei Qing and Emperor Wu. All the three people played a significant role in Chinese history.

When he was still a child, Huo Qubing was very weak. He caught diseases consequently and always cried and cried. Once in the palace he disturbed the rest of Emperor Wu. In order to make him grow healthy, Emperor Wu, Liu Che gave him the name Huo Qubing.

At the age of 18, Huo Qubing started to escort Emperor Wu. He was good at both horse art and arrow shooting and he always fought against Hun invaders with his uncle Wei Qing. After 20, in A.D 121, he led his troops going to Hexi Corridor individually for two times. Once he arrived at Rouge Mountain, and the other time Qilian Mountain, capturing 40,000 Hun invaders. He forced King Hunye to kill King Xiutu and lead 10,000 persons subjecting to Han Dynasty. From then on, east from Lanzhou, west to Robujor (now the Luobupo), the invaders were swept and Hexi Corridor was added on the map of Han Dynasty.

A Cup of Wine Symbolizing Happiness and Sadness, Gathering and Departing
--- The Ancient Yangguan---

Situated in the west side of South Lake, seventy kilometers southwest from Dunhuang and located in the south of Yumenguan, the ancient Yangguang is called Yangguan. From Han Dynasty, it has been an important pass on the south way of Silk Road. Now, there is only a little ruined beacon tower left on sand dune.

Not far away, there is a row of winding corridor, with its back a plain desert area located under the sand slope. It is so called the site of Yangguan.

There is a couplet on the gate of the corridor, with its head of “old way of Yangguan” and its two sides of “a cup of wine symbolizing happiness and sadness, gathering and departing; a long way from east to west, south to north”.

From these words, tourist will think of the poem named “Melody for Wei County” by an ancient famous poet Wang Wei, and a sad sentence in this poem ‘after leaving Yangguan for west, there will not be familiar friends any more.”

To west, into the Western Regions and a scene of desolation, which mean the challenge to human life, not to speak the preoccupied mind.

Written by www.travel-silkroad.com
Translated by Beijing Star-light Translation Center
May 20, 2000