A hiking diary from the general manager

2021-06-10

A hiking diary from the general manager —Guangzhou Archer Fresh Co., Ltd

This is a Gobi Hiking Diary from General Manager Liang (Louis) in Dunhuang. On 29 May,the 3rd Gobi Challenge of entrepreneur, which was organized by the Dark Horse Sports Group and was 88 kms long. This Hiking lasted 4 days and ended at noon on 1/6, and Mr. Liang learned a lot from this tour and he would like to share with everyone. 

When he was on the plane back to Guangdong, he wrote down his feelings about the trip:

1）Time makes everything

The "Silk Road" began in the 138 BC in the Western Han Dynasty, flourished in Dynasties of the Sui and Tang, and declined in Dynasties of the Ming and Qing. Dunhuang, as an important transit point on the Silk Road, and witnessed the changes of history and the changes of feudal dynasties in more than 2000 years, like Hong Kong. Wandering on the Dang River, I realized that the rise and fall of all things have its way, change of all things are due to the needs of social development. The time can make a city, make a person, what we can do is to understand the law, and follow the trend.

Today's Dunhuang is lined with tall buildings in a modern city built along the Dang River, and the streets are lined up. Its prosperous degree is far more than any historical period in the past. This is due to the strong national power behind it and the wealthy citizens. The thousand-year cultural heritage has been properly protected and passed on. Those who live in the noisy coastal cities and long for the cultural holy land of western China have started their cultural and quiet journey in western China. With the advancement of science and technology, Xuanzang’s road does not need to be repeated, and sound of the camel bell in the distance has long been sealed in the memory of history, but experiencing Xuanzang's spirit is the core significance of setting foot on the land of Hexi.

Pilgrims of Dunhuang culture, yearners of the Gobi and stargazers of the beautiful Crescent Moon Spring, one after another to the fortress of the Hexi Corridor. The artistic enlightenment in front of the murals of Mogao Grottoes, the heavy historical power of the Silk Road for more than 2000 years, experience the natural beauty of the desert oasis and the sound of gongs and drums in sand Mountain are all so harmonious and natural, forming a beautiful picture scroll of the desert Dunhuan

2）Thousands of years are just a moment

Mogao Grottoes, excavated in the former Qin Fujian period of the sixteen states, flourished in the Tang Dynasty, the ashram of zun monks, is a folk grotto culture. Its development has benefited from the uncertainty of the Silk Road risk and the difficulties and obstacles along the way. Businessmen need to find the courage and spiritual pillar to go on in the boundless Gobi and desert. The Mogao Grottoes with Buddhism as the carrier are emerged. Its formation and development are fully adapted to the social needs at that time, and everything is the result of current choice. As a world-class cultural heritage, the power behind the Mogao Grottoes is far more than this. The murals on the grottoes are dependent for thousands of years. The civilizations of ancient India, Rome, Europe and other countries have been integrated and developed under this open environment. There is no better way to express the shape of things than to paint, through the murals we are able to review the architectural art, folklore, economic and spiritual pursuits and beliefs of different historical times.

In the vicissitudes of life, the Mogao Grottoes of more than 1600 years have witnessed the change of different dynasties. Things are different, but the Laughing Buddha is still there. What I feel in Mogao Grottoes is not only the history, culture and spiritual strength, but the greater touch is that the millennium is just a moment, and the life of a person is so short in the long river of history. In such a large structure and space, we have learned to let go, no longer excessively criticize Wang Yuanlu, and no longer excessively hate Stein. All occurrences are historical inevitability. When the power of the country becomes stronger, everything in the territory will be fully protected and inherited. Only when an individual becomes stronger can he have a higher cognition and recognition ability. There are causes and consequences for changes in strengths and weaknesses.

3）Gobi hiking is also a kind of spiritual practice

Everyone comes to the Gobi with different expectations. Some are struggling to win the championship, some are challenging their physical limits, some are soy sauce, and they have prepared a strategy for how to get on the car in advance...... In fact, the trip to the Gobi is like our life, the start and end are the same, but along the way they have gained a completely different wonderful. Everyone went from walking like flying, talking and laughing in the morning on the first day to walking with a stick in the afternoon on the second day. The blisters on the feet and the sub-healthy body that was about to burn out of energy. Especially in the afternoon, the yellow sand that was scorched by the scorching sun was ravaged by this harsh environment, and some people would start thinking of getting into the car as soon as they saw the rescue vehicle. At this time, it was the teammates who supported themselves to go on. One sentence of encouragement "Come on, you can do it!". Have to feel that who you are going forward with will greatly affect your final outcome.

My purpose in going to the Gobi is very simple, to be my best self, to walk the 88 kilometers happily, and to enjoy the scenery along the way. On the first day, the wonderful Yardang Landform, the oasis by the water, the ancient Huns’ pastures, the squeaky yellow sand on the second day, and the endless no-man’s land. On the third day, I enjoyed the joy of sprinting. The snow-capped Chi-Lien Mountains are faintly visible in the distance. More importantly, I have to experience the feeling of walking alone in the desolate Gobi, and enjoy the peace of no mobile phone interference, work email, business profit or loss. The trip to the desolate Gobi for three days and two nights was an extremely beautiful one. It was a journey of inaction. I reaped the beautiful scenery and tranquility, and listened to my own footsteps.

Epidemic let us temporarily can't walk the world, but the past two years of domestic culture exploration journey, plateau, desert,hiking to let my spirit and cognitive width to extended, from a new perspective to explore the 5000 years of Chinese civilization, let myself deeply feel to strengthen the construction of the underlying culture gene is more important than mastering any skill. Hiking also made me understand that if you want to alive and you need to keep move, including the body and thoughts.