8月7日

General Secretary Xi Jinping encouraged the youth to “Measure the vast land of the motherland with footsteps, discover the Chinese spirit with eyes, listen to the people’s voices with ears, feel the pulse of the times with hearts, and integrate the deep bond with the motherland and shared destiny with the people throughout students’ studies and career pursuits.” During the summer of 2023, teachers and students from the School of Language and Communication Studies embarked on a social practice journey. In the name of youth, they traveled to the snow-capped plateau. By train, they visited alumni, engaged with local communities, witnessed development, and pursued dreams. They experienced the spirit behind the construction of the Qinghai-Xizang Railway, strengthened their ideals and beliefs in “letting the flowers of youth bloom where the motherland needs them most,” and told the Chinese story of “The Sky Road connecting Beijing and Lhasa.” This series of image-text post is jointly presented by the Beijing Jiaotong University “Tell China’s Stories Well” Media Convergence Studio and China News Services, showcasing the sights, feelings, and thoughts of BJTU youth traveling along the Qinghai-Xizang Line and sharing the touching stories discovered during their practice.

Writing a Diary in Hoh Xil

On the afternoon of July 20, the train slowly passed Xining. Outside the window, it felt like watching a magnificent documentary unfold. The scenery stretched out like a painting—the vast plateau stretched as far as the eye could see, yaks roamed leisurely in the distance, the sky was azure blue with patches of white clouds, complementing the lush green grassland. It inevitably reminded one of the scenes from the movie Mountain Patrol—beautiful and mysterious, touching and inspiring, embodying reverence for nature and a profound appreciation for life.

Hoh Xil is vast, with its core heritage area located in Zhiduo and Qumarlêb County of Qinghai Province. The Z21 train carrying our practice team would arrive in Golmud late at night. We would then traverse the core heritage area of Hoh Xil and cross the Tangula Mountains. As we approached Golmud, the sky remained bright, but distant peaks gradually transformed into snow-capped mountains. The snowline became increasingly distinct and steadily descended, signaling our continuous ascent in altitude.

Preparations in Golmud

The train paused for a while at Golmud station. Hearing that the locomotive would soon be changed, the members of the practice group grew excited, threw on their coats, and stepped out of the carriages. In the cool night air, the front of the train was already crowded with curious passengers, mostly young people. Due to the significant altitude fluctuations, steep gradients, low oxygen levels, and extreme temperature fluctuations between day and night on the Golmud-Lhasa section, the train required sufficient traction power under these natural conditions. This necessitated switching to a diesel locomotive at Golmud Station.

The journey from Golmud to Lhasa traverses hundreds of kilometers of uninhabited wilderness, presenting immense challenges. Yet, facing those challenges without fear, and persistently exploring for optimal solutions has become an inherent spiritual core passed down through generations of Chinese people. In June 2021, Xizang’s first electrified railway, the Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway, began operation. On July 1, 2023, Fuxing bullet train services started operating on the Xining-Golmud section of the Qinghai-Xizang Railway. Each speed increase not only shortens travel time but also bridge distances.

Crossing Permafrost, Greeting the Plateau

After departing from Golmud, the train attendant came to the carriage to explain precautions for altitude sickness. In the early hours of the 21st, around 5 a.m., the train would traverse the Tanggula Pass. For many people, this would be their first time reaching an altitude of 5,000 meters and crossing millennia-old permafrost.

The attendant had reminded the practice group: “Remember to observe the mysterious iron rods embedded in the roadbed on both sides of the track.” It turns out that the permafrost contains high levels of ice. When temperatures rise during seasonal changes, the permafrost melts and sinks, causing the roadbed to subside, which poses a hazard to the railway. The builders back then found a method to cool the permafrost—installing thermal siphons along the railway embankment. These siphons conduct heat generated within the roadbed outwards, and the cold wind carries this heat away, ensuring the stability of the roadbed.

Along the way, the train slowly passed by stunning plateau lakes one after another. Their crystal-clear water mirror the azure blue sky and snow-capped mountains, serving as vital water sources for nearby wildlife. These animals were not disturbed by the passing train because it consistently traveled on bridges or through one tunnel after another. The “using bridges instead of roads” approach creates passages for wildlife, minimizing the railway’s impact on the surrounding ecosystem.

What a romantic vision! The builders had already envisioned all this before construction began—how to make development sustainable, how to protect the ecology to the greatest extent, and how to benefit future generations. Today’s picturesque scenery and preserved natural ecology exist precisely because of their relentless exploration in those years.

The scenery outside the window unfolded like a flowing film reel, with frame after frame of continuous landscape. “High mountains are to be looked up to; great roads are to be walked on.” Although the night had concealed the agile forms of the Pantholops hodgsonii, the railway tracks continue their silent narrative…