Silk Road Magazine 2015

2015

CCSC GEOGRAPHIC

3-11 April

Overseas Field Trip Magazine

Flaming Mountain & Yardang Landscape

Urumqi - a desert city

Xian terracotta army Dunhuang home of Mogao Caves

10th anniversary SPECIAL EDITION

SILK ROAD

Geography Field trip

GEOGRAPHY TOURISM

李啓恩⽼師 到達柏孜克里克千佛洞是下午四時左右，熾烈 耀眼的日光依然奮力地映照在四周的黃沙赤土 上，即使架上墨鏡，看上去也總有點叫人眩目， 然而，身處曾經為古高昌國的皇家寺院，面對 一個個大小不一的石窟，清靜無語地橫亙在吐 魯番東郊木頭溝的山腰上，似為這悶熱的空氣 添上一抹清涼劑，也為進窟前的遊人洗滌一下 煩囂的心境。 踏著玄奘的步履，懷著敬禮的心情，一步步走 到三層高的洞窟前，原本有專門的廊道貫通各 窟，方便僧侶上下，如今只餘牆身上隱約可見 的小方孔，大抵是當日支撐遊廊樑柱的入榫處。 洞密內漆黑一片，情況與千年前無異，所不同 者，當時靠蠟燭油燈照明，如今則可以簡便地 點擊一下手提電話的按鈕，即可享受光明。但 當看見牆上屢遭破壞的壁畫：或有佛像被異教 徒挖掉眼睛，或有經變畫遭外國探險者奪去最 精華部份，無奈與遺憾油然而生。想初建於南 北朝後期，全盛於唐代的寧戎寺（柏孜克里克 千佛洞的舊稱），飛檐危欄，華榱金鋪，一點 也不亞於現今舉世矚目的敦煌石窟，到如今， 卻荒涼如斯，人跡罕至，除了算幾番命途多舛， 又尚有何話說？ 駐足在牆角一幅較完整，尚可辨認的禮佛圖前， 看著那背靠光環、身披瓔珞彩帶的諸天菩薩， 向著佛陀虔誠禮拜，怡然自得，彷彿看到古代 無數比丘與比丘尼，善信與香客，也同樣向著 此間雙手合十，頂禮膜拜。這一刻，我真正放 下了帶來的一切煩惱業障，也放下了自己 石窟外傳來充滿異域風情的樂調，走出洞窟， 已是日落時份，只見一位老人坐在一邊彈奏熱 瓦甫，那蒼涼的調子和著太陽的餘暉，撥弄著 每位剛從石窟出來的參觀者的心弦。

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TRAVEL LIFE LESSONS

HAS TAUGHT ME MR. P. LUI

Over the past 10 years, I have been doing my best to design the best field trips for students, hoping that they can enjoy the “once-in-a-lifetime” experience. World travel is definitely the best education you can get.

1. EXPERIENCE: I am sure this field trip has given students lots of “bling bling” experiences. It was the first time for them to touch snow, to step on a desert, to sleep in a yurt, to travel on overnight trains, to enjoy star-gazing at night, to see the frozen Tian Chi and so on. Students can learn to value experiences more than materials they get from their parents.

2. APPRECIATION: Fine weather did not always follow us in our field trips. I remember those stormy weather in the Taiwan trip in 2008 and the Korean trip in 2013. It was so lucky to enjoy clear sky with abundant sunshine and the beautiful views. I guess students really cherished the time travelling along the Silk Road.

3. TRUST: The Silk Road trip is a good opportunity to test the trust among peers who learn to help each other. The harsh physical environment in Northwest China has created lots of hurdles in the journey. The extreme weather has put their physical and mental strength in test.

The path is rugged but they never regret what they have sacrificed.

4. PROACTIVE: Some students just wait around, float through life, hoping that something will happen to them but they never start exploring by themselves. The trip provides them with a chance to explore. Be a happy wanderer and you will find life meaningful. You have to want it and go for it.

5. DREAM: Don’t put off your dreams indefinitely. This may be the biggest mistake people make nowadays. Trading in your hopes for doing what you think you should be doing, telling yourself can do it later. What if you don’t get that chance? Go and catch your dreams.

What’s one life lesson you’ve learnt from travelling?

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Flaming Mountain

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Yumen Pass

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Terracotta Army

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Jiayuguan

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The Ancient City of Gaochang

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Heaven Lake

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Turpan - A basin for raisins

The hottest pan in Xinjiang

A place where Small Fangpan Castle is found.

A must-see attraction in Xian

The first pass at the west end of the Great Wall of China

It is the site of a ruined, ancient oasis city.

The lake is classified as a AAAAA scenic area.

This explains why farming is productive in such a dry area.

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Yardang Landscape The work of river and wind

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Mogao Caves One of the UNESCO World Heritage

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Resonant Sand Mountain & Crescent Lake Causes and impacts of desertification

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Tourism along the Silk Road Opportunities and risks in developing tourism along the Silk Road

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Reflections Voice of the hearts of the field trip participants

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FLAMING M O U N TA I N Lying near the northern rim of the Taklamakan Desert and east of the city of Turpan, the mountain is characterised by striking gullies and trenches caused by erosion of the red sandstone bedrock.

NORTHWEST VS. SOUTHEAST How is the climate in northwest different from that of Hong Kong?

Text: Ryan Ko 5A, Terry Tsang 5C In NW China, some ci0es there such as Urumqi and Turpan, have la0tudes of around 34°N to 43°N, which indicates the existence of the temperate climate there. It means that summers are usually warm while winters are cold. In SE China, some coastal ci0es there such as Hong Kong and Guangzhou, have la0tudes around 22°N to 25°N, indica0ng a subtropical climate there. It means that summers are really hot while winters are cool. For instance, in Urumqi, the highest (summer) and lowest (winter) mean monthly temperatures in 2014 are 23.7°C and -12.6°C respec0vely so there are snowstorms in winters. As land tends to absorb and lose heat quickly, it has a large annual range of temperature which is 36.3°C. While in Hong Kong, the highest (summer) and lowest (winter) mean monthly temperatures in 2014 are 30.5°C and 14.1°C. As coastal areas regulated by mari0me influence from sea which can lower summer temperature and raise winter temperature, it has a small annual range of temperature.

For rainfall characteris0cs in NW China, it is a dry climate in whole year because of the influence of Gobi desert. Sandstorms are common so it makes NW China arid. There is no wet season and the annual total rainfall is about 195mm. While in SE China, it has an uneven seasonal distribu0on that it is wet in summer and dry in winter due to monsoon system. Wet summer monsoons are come from sea and dry winter monsoons are come from inland. Therefore, the rain season is mainly in summer and the rainfall is brought by summer monsoons. In addi0on, rainstorm and typhoon is common in rain season, resul0ng a mean annual total rainfall at about 2600mm.

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T E R R AC OT TA Soldiers in the Qin Dynasty Geography Field Trip 29/02/16 15

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The Terracotta Army (Terracotta Warriors and Horses) are the most significant archeological excavations of the 20th century.

Work is ongoing at this site, which is around 1.5 kilometers east of Emperor Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum in Lintong, Xian, Shaanxi Province. Life size terracotta figures of warriors and horses arranged in battle formations are the star features at the museum. They are replicas of what the imperial guard should look like in those days of pomp and vigor.

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18 Loreconda 29/02/16

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Have you heard of the story of One Brick about Jiayuguan Pass?

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遊高昌故城有感 高昌城始建於公元前一世紀。遺址現座落於新疆吐魯番市。 雖說是國家級重點保護的 文化遺產，及要收不菲的門票，高昌故城和其他國家級文化遺產比起来，卻是如此的差強人 意，疏於管理。 高昌故城附近的城市環境蕭條，居民似乎並不太感興趣或熱衷於文物保 護。相反，他們注重的是如葡萄的收成。可是，就我而言，我最大的感觸並非苛責當地民眾 及政府的顧此失彼，而是，屬於這座城市的記憶。 高昌故城的建築風格，是仿效漢唐的長安城。結實的城牆，寬寬的巡邏道，烽火台等 等。 可是為什麼會被滅國？答案是當時的國王得罪了唐太宗。因為他的自負，認為自己的國 家無懈可擊，疏於防備，惹怒唐太宗才在短時間內被一舉拿下。 得罪掌握自己命運的人固然愚鈍得可笑，而且整個國家的人都要為了他的一時糊塗而負 上責任才是最可憐。 令我深思及沈默的是，時隔千年，這座故城留下了什麼？當時被引以為傲的城牆已經飽 經風雨侵蝕而失去了當時的輝煌，無論世人現在多麼努力地去維修，保持原狀，都無法重現 當時的面貌。 現在我們已經很難通過故城現在遺下的殘骸去得知當時高昌繁榮昌盛，和百姓安居樂業 的樣子。我們只能通過歷史典籍，靠想像，去描繪，去感受。 時間，到底讓我們得到了什麼，又失去了什麼？ 是否有價值的，才會被珍惜，被銘記，被流傳百世？ 答案是值得深思的，也許只能走完這一生，我們的心中， 才會有這個答案。 但對於我而言，只要不後悔，只要問心無愧， 那結果如何也並不那麼重要了吧。 至少我們也曾 享受過過程中的絢爛啊！ 5D

The Ancient City of

Gaochang

Heaven Lake - Soul of Urumqi

Urumqi, the city which is the most remote one from any seas in the world, is having a harsh climate and a high and hilly relief. Therefore, some landform features in China can only be found here.

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“inHeavenly lake Tian Shan” Text: Alvin Tong 5D, Ivan Yeung 5A

Tianshan Tianshan is the large system of mountain ranges in Central Asia where Urumqi locates at. Due to the extreme climate condition and active precipitation in winter, the main erosion type in Tianshan is glacial erosion - erosion brought by movement of ice.

Although snowing occurs in some parts of China too, Tianshan is one of the very few which is also having a hilly relief. Therefore, it accounts for the particular types of landform features in Urumqi, for example, cirques and tarns.

Heaven Lake Heaven Lake is a tarn, kind of landform feature rarely found in China. Locating at Tianshan, it is also 45km far from centre of Urumqi. In fact, it is a lake formed in the mountain range of Tianshan due to glacial erosion. It brings a lot of advantages to the locals in Urumqi. Yet, due to human activities and changes in modern environment, the rare tarn is now facing some potential risks.

Formation of Heaven Lake The formation of Heaven Lake can be barely divided into 3 processes, including plucking, formation of dams and further increase in water storage of the pond.

1.Plucking Plucking is the glacial erosion process involved in the formation of tarns. At the beginning of plucking, glaciers slide through

slope materials. While sliding through, the base of glacier melts to form water and flow into joints of the rocks. Water then freezes again to form ice. With repeated melting and freezing by continuous movement of glaciers, joints of the rocks are enlarged, reducing the cohesion between rock fragments. Finally, the loosened rocks are brought away by glaciers as rock debris.

2. Formation of dams The mountain range formed a Ushaped barrier before the tarn is generated.

However, there is still an empty side which lets the melted glaciers flow away rapidly.

With the abundant supply of rock debris from plucking, the debris accumulate on the vacant side when the amount of melted glaciers decreases in winter. With compaction and hardening, a dam is formed on the vacant side to trap the melted glaciers, which is known as a cirque.

3. Increase in water storage In winter, due to the prolonged precipitation, a large amount of snow is accumulated in the cirque due to downward movement of glaciers from the ‘U-shaped barrier’ or direct transport of snow to the cirque. When summer comes, the large amount of snow deposited in the cirque melts to give huge volume of water. Therefore, a lake is formed.

As the lake is located at the mountain range (i.e. Tianshan), a tarn is then formed (i.e. Heaven Lake).

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Formation of moraine lake

Tian Chi Tianchi (Heavenly Lake) is a moraine lake formed more than 2 million years ago when the Quartenary Period glaciers were ac0ve.

Tian Shan was V-shaped valley many years before. Due to weathering and erosion, the weathered materials was brought down from the mountain by the ice water and deposited at the glacier bed. The sediments kept moving in the glacier due to force of gravity, between the land surface and the ice and which is abrasion.

Text: Cheung Tai Hong 5E, Howard Lam 5C

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Abrasion con0nued for many years, angular material embedded in the glacier as it rubs against the valley sides and oor. The glacier bed became a U-shaped valley and widened. The whole process is called glacial erosion.

Due to force of gravity, the glacier kept moving to the lower part.

The heavy weight of the glacier pushed the sediments from the glacier bed to the front of the glacier. The sediments accumulated and became more and more for years which then formed the moraine.

The moraine deposited higher and higher a^er years of denuda0on processes. The glacier melted and the melt water was stopped by the moraine and formed the moraine lake, the Tian Chi. The process is called glacial movement. But the moraine has a very poor structure. It may have the risk to collapse in the future and cause serious damage to the lower course of the river valley.

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FORMATION OF TIAN SHAN Theory of Plate Tectonics

Text: Eason Lam & Joshua Chung 4A Eurasian Plate and Indian Plate collided as a result of converging convection cells of magma in the asthenosphere. Rivers and wind brought weathered and eroded materials from the continent and deposited in depression.

This layer of sediments was hardened to form sedimentary rocks.

Compressional force folded up the sedimentary rocks above sea level to form fold mountains. Tian Shan is an old fold mountain, where plate movements are no longer active.

The crater(the uppest part of Tian Shan Tian Chi) is form by serval eruption of Tian Shan.After the volcano become dormant again, after rainfall ,water began to be collected in crater to form Tian Chi(Heavenly Lake).

Palaeozoic The Tian Shan contains two late Paleozoic sutures. The older, southern suture marks the collision of a passive margin at the north of the Tarim block and an active continental margin; subduction under the latter was to the north. The latePaleozoic continent-continent collision along Tarim's northern margin created an orogenic belt along the southern part of theTian Shan. The younger, northern suture separates a northern Carboniferous island arc from an active continental margindeveloped over a southdipping subduction zone.

Mesozoic Several fragments and island arcs collided with Asia's southern margin in the Mesozoic, creating deformation and uplift in the Tian Shan and Kunlun Shan, respectively to the north and south of the Tarim Basin. Mesozoic deformation was minor or absent in most of the basin interior of the Tarim.

Cenozoic The collision of India with Asia is the latest major tectonic event to affect deformation in the Tian Shan.

Thrust faulting is the predominant style of Cenozoic deformation in the Tian Shan, which propagated outward and rose progressively as a wedge-shaped block. Dextral NW-SE trending strike slip faults either merge with or crosscut east-west trending thrust systems. The Talas-Fergana Fault is the longest of these structures. Active deformation in the Tian Shan is the result of compressional stresses generated at the Indo-Asia collisional zone, where the Himalayas formed and continue to grow. Active deformation is observed in the Tian Shan, which is within Asia’s continental interior, because Asia is not as internally rigid as the continental crust is expected to be.

The glacial lake looks very different in summer and winter. It is frozen to ice in winter but water sports are allowed in summer time.

F RO Z E N I N H E AV E N L A K E Why is it an important resource to the people in Xinjiang?

Urumqi has a remote location from various major rivers in China. Therefore, it is impossible to get freshwater supply from major rivers. However, the demand for freshwater in Urumqi still exists (e.g. residential use and agricultural use). As the only way to obtain freshwater in Urumqi is by collecting it from Tianshan, Heaven Lake has become an indispensable freshwater resource of people in Urumqi.

As mentioned before, the Heaven Lake is a rare landform feature in China. Because of this, it attracts both local and overseas tourists. Revenues are brought to Urumqi, different job opportunities like tour guides are provided, etc. Consequently, the GDP in Urumqi is boosted.

Summer in Urumqi can be so hot that the temperature reaches 40 degree celsius. However, the area around the Heaven Lake is having an entirely different condition. Due to the large storage of water in the tarn, the micro-climate in the nearby area is controlled. Heat energy is mainly absorbed by the water storage and carry out evaporation afterwards.

Therefore, less heat is remained in the air and people would not feel so hot. As a result, local people rush to Heaven Lake to prevent sunstroke.

Areas alongside Heaven Lake were habitats of indigenous people. By the fact, before the Heaven Lake is formed, it might be a habitat of indigenous people too.

As some people living in Urumqi are offsprings of the indigenous, they think the Heaven Lake is important as the area contains the ‘soul’ of their ancestors.

Moreover, the area may contains ancient culture. Different paints and a temple are found in the area. As a result, the indigenous treasure the things left by the ancient people.

Tian Chi in summer

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As the dam formed in the vacant side of the ‘U-shaped barrier’ is composed of sediments (i.e. rock debris) only, it cannot hold a very great pressure. However, due to the increasing number of visitors and rising volume of water storage in the tarn (boosting the rate of melting of glaciers by global warming eect), pressure exerted to the dam is increasing day by day. The dam will finally collapse due to the exceed of pressure limit and cause flooding in the lower course, leading to loss of lifes and properties.

As more and more tourists are attracted to the Heaven Lake, it would absolutely cause disturbance to it. One of the major disturbances is water pollution. Some tourists may throw their rubbish to the tarn, swim in it or even excrete on it.

In consequence, water pollution is caused and it would degrade the quality of freshwater supplied to Urumqi.

It is a heaven lake formed by alpine glacial erosion which means forming in the valleys between the mountains on Tian Shan. Because of the several times of ancient climate change in the past two billion years, so the Bogda Mountain rising slowly and facing harmful erosion which forms nowadays the Tian Shan mountain landscape. The lake, then formatted in the Quaternary period in one of the basin in Bogda Mountain. Later on because of the glacial erosion, a large piece of glacier covered it. After several tectonic movement, water is blocked and the water level is became higher, water retented into the lake and Tian Chi is formed.

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TURPAN A BASIN FOR RAISINS Situated at the inland drainage basin of Turpan, Grape Valley produced over 869,000 tonnes of raisins every year, which is about one-half of China’s total.

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FACTORS FOR FARMING IN TURPAN Farming in a desert area seems impossible but Turpan is a miracle due to a number of favourable human factors which help transforming Turpan into one of the productive agricultural regions in China.

CLIMATE Tu r p a n b e l o n g s t o t e m p e r a t e continental climate, which has long duration of daylight, high temperature in summer (over 38℃), low annual precipitation (below 0.9 inches) and windy.

However, farmers do not surrender to these harsh physical environments.

They obtain groundwater for irrigation so that Turpan has a long growing season.

SOIL & RELIEF Turpan is a large depression with average height of 154 metres below sea level. A lot of sediments deposit at the bottom of the basin to provide thick alluvial soil for farming.

DRAINAGE Despite the low amount of annual precipitation, the snow melt water from Tianshan can supplement the water supply in this dry basin. The melt water contain high mineral content which fertilises the soil through the state-of-the-art irrigation system, the “karez” wells, transferring water from Tianshan to Turpan Basin.

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TECHNOLOGY The traditional wisdom in Turpan is clearly shown by the water drainage system, “Karez� well. It is essential for enhancing agricultural activities in such environment.

It is a man-made underground tunnel system transporting melt water from Tianshan to Turpan.

LABOUR With long history of agricultural development, farm workers are skilful and experienced. This can improve the farm efficiency and double up the farm income, maintaining the quality of farm produce, such as the perfect balanced sweetness, no seed species and great texture.

GOVERNMENT Agricultural development in Turpan is not successful without the support from the Central government, improving the infrastructure, such as transport, capital investment and technical support in farming practices.

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Farming is sustainable in Turpan with abundant water supply from the snowy Tianshan. However, the water supply is under threats of climate change and global warming. This may endanger the amount of fresh water supply in the area. The farmers should practise soil conservation and use water-saving measures to fully utilise the scarce water resource there.

The grapes are dried up inside a speciallydesigned house with good ventilation.

Geomorphology

YARDANG DESERT LANDSCAPE

WATER EROSION role of wind and water to mould the landforms

YARDANG N AT I O N A L PARK It is a wouderful geological park with large scale of yardang landform, a kind of landform formed by wind erosion. It is a rare natural museum of natural sculptures with ordered mounds in peculiar shapes.

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At first, millions years ago, Dunhuang Yardang Geopark was a large lake. With limited river energy, deposi0on occurs and layers of sand and mud were deposited at the bobom of the lake. Caused by prolonged deposi0on, compac0on , cementa0on and lithifica0on. sedimentary rocks are formed.

A^er millions of years, due to climate change, the lake is dried up and becomes a desert. The sedimentary rock eventually becomes a high placorm formed by the bedrock. There is a large annual and diurnal range of temperature in the desert.

With con0nuous hea0ng and cooling, rocks expand on day0me and contracts at night.

Fractures and cracks are eventually formed due to repeated expansion and contrac0on which is known as block disintegra0on.

Besides, strong wind and water brought by the wind caused the water and wind erosion. The huge block placorm was

eventually broken down into small mountains.

Besides block disintegra0on, the high placorm also suffers from other kinds of weathering. One kind is differen0al weathering. Since the block is formed by sedimentary rocks, the different layers( sand and mud) will have different resistant to weathering. Therefore, the less resistant rock layer will erode first and the more resistant rock layer will erode later. This forms the special shape and abrac0ng appearance of the rock, known as Yardang.

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RIDGE-SHAPE YARDANG The ridge-shape Yardang landform is the primary stage of the development of Yardang landform. The external shape of ridgeshape Yardang is thin and long, with its width 50-400 metres and height 25-60 metres.

WALL-SHAPE YARDANG The ridge-shape Yardang continues to be eroded, with its width narrowing, the middle part breaking up and the height decreasing. Finally the external shape is like a wall.

Yardang is usually located in the desert.

The rocks of Yardang is sedimentary rocks, which we can ďŹ nd the strata and the bedding plane which are the symbols of them. Usually Yardang is a yellow, enormous rock which has a height from 4m to 30m. Besides the rock shape in Yardang is unique and special, as it features various kinds of weathering and erosion, including dieren0al weathering, block disintegra0on.

TOWER-SHAPE YARDANG Constant wind erosion further undercuts the rocks, forming the tower-shape Yardang.

Usually the bottom part is 4-30 metres in diameter and 5-25 metres in height.

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MOGAO CAVES UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE IN DUNHUANG

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莫高窟是一座融繪畫、雕塑和建築藝術於一體，以壁畫為主、塑像為輔的大型石窟寺。 它的石窟形制主要有禪窟、中心塔柱窟、殿堂窟、大像窟、涅槃窟等。 論莫高窟中數量最多的石窟當為殿堂窟，通常平面呈方形，在石窟正壁開鑿一個大龕。 因其空間大，頂部為覆斗形頂，如殿堂一般故稱（見圖一）。另一種窟內塑有巨型佛 像的為大像窟（見圖二）。此外又有涅槃窟，在窟內塑有大型涅槃像，窟型也按照佛 像需要而設計（見圖三）。中心柱窟的概念源於印度的支提窟，建造者會在石窟中央 建一座佛塔，信眾進入石窟後可圍繞佛塔順時針朝拜（見圖四）。至於禅窟是僧人們 用以坐禪修行的洞窟。分兩類，一類為單式禪窟，窟室較小，窟內有禪床。一類為多 室禪窟，中央有一個較大的主室，在主室周圍開鑿較小的禪室，僧人們在這些僅能容 身的小禪室中修行。（見圖五）

彩塑也是敦煌藝術的主體，有佛像（見圖九）、菩薩像、 弟子像以及天王、金剛、力士等。當中最高的有34.5 米，最小的僅2厘米左右，題材之豐富和手藝之高超， 堪稱一所佛教彩塑博物館。彩塑多為「一佛、二弟子、 二菩薩、四天王」的組合。（見圖十）莫高窟地區的岩 質為酒泉系礫石岩層，由積沙與卵石沉澱粘結而成，沙 層疏鬆，不適於雕刻，所以這裡的石窟中以泥塑彩繪為 主。

莫⾼窟外觀

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Spreading desert Resonant Sand Mountain

Yue Ya Quan Around the whole world, there are many crescent-shaped lakes. They can be found in Oregon, Florida and also Washington, but the one in China has a bit difference compared with the above as it is located in an oasis inside the Gobi Desert. To be exact, it is located at the foot of the Echoing-Sand Mountain. The location is 6km south of the city of Dunhuang in Gansu Province. The lake is named Yueyaquan since the Qing Dynasty.

It is not very large in size, just around 5,500m2 with an average depth of 0.9 meter.

55

CRESCENT LAKE I N A D E S E RT According to measurements made in 1960, the average depth of the lake in Dunhuang is 4 to 5 metres, with a maximum depth of 7.5 metres. In the following 40 years, the depth of the lake continually declined to only 5,500 m2

In fact, the Yueyaquan is an oasis in the Gobi Desert. As all we know that it is rare to find water in a desert, so some people may say that the Yueyaquan is formed by a geological peculiarity! DangHe is the only river which flows through Dunhuang.

It is the underground water source beneath the surface. The water cannot percolate to the surface as it is blocked by an impermeable bed called aquiclude.

However, the Yueyaquan is located at a depression in the Gobi Desert, which means that it is located under the impermeable layer. Therefore, the water accumulates at the depression and flows

Text: Calvin Chu 5A

out resulted in the formation of the oasis, Yueyaquan. The surrounding high mountains block all the prevailing southeasterly wind, so the water has never dried up. As a result, the Yueyaquan has never been silted up with sand in more than 1000 years. This shows that why Yueyaquan has a long history. However, the oasis surrounded by sand dunes was shrinking fast due to desertification in recent 20 years. Sand may cover up such a natural scenery.

Many foreign tourists travel to Dunhuang and Gobi Desert, and Yueyaquan is often one of their scenic spot. Some of them are attracted by its natural scenery, and most of them have never seen what an oasis is.

They feel curious about how the lake could survive inside a desert! To build up the development of tourism, the local government decided to step in and rescue the oasis. For example, continuously refilling water in the lake is promoted to avoid the disappearance of the lake. In order to attract more tourists and also provide more job opportunities for the nearby local people, some traditional pagoda and a street lined with souvenir stalls can be found. Next to the lake, camel rides and motor cars are also provided for tourists at the Echoing-Sand Mountain.

These are the reasons why Yueyaquan could attract such a large number of tourists and this also shows the success of the local government.

57

DESERT AS AN ECOSYSTEM Text: Annie Lam 5A Organisms are affected by abiotic factors which are the non-living components of an ecosystem. In desert, low water availability determines the desert conditions.

1.

Temperature & Rainfall

Temperature in desert is in negative correlation with rainfall. The curve of temperature reaches the maximum of 33 degree Celsius in June while the curve of rainfall reaches the minimum of 0 mm from June to August. It can be explained by the high specific heat capacity of water. With little moisture, desert lacks insulation of clouds and water on desert surface. It can absorb much heat energy from the sun during evaporation. Desert surface is then directly illuminated and heated; it absorbs all heat energy from the sun, causing a high temperature. Then, rainfall increases while temperature decreases as water helps to absorb and remove heat by evaporation and lower the temperature.

Also, there is a huge day temperature difference in desert due to little moisture. When it comes to night and the sun goes down, the heat absorbed by the dry ground is lost rapidly because there is no water in soil and water vapour in air to trap the absorbed heat in desert. This causes a great temperature disparity between daytime and night.

2.

Light

Light intensity is high in desert. There is little rainfall throughout a year in desert. Little moisture lowers the cloud formation, resulting in a clear sky. Without the insulation and blocking of clouds, sunlight can be directly transmitted to desert. A high light intensity is resulted, making plant difficult to grow and colonize there.

3.

Soil properties

Soil in desert is mainly sand. They are large soil particles packed loosely. It does not hold moisture well, contributing to the dryness of desert. It cannot hold humus well, only little nutrient is available. With a low water and nutrient availability, plants can barely grow there. Also, sand is loosely packed and offers a poor anchorage for plants. Only a few organisms can live there, this further reduces the amount of humus which is decomposition product of organic matter and able to hold a large amount of moisture, decreasing the soil’s capacity to withstand drought conditions.

Camel adaptations Camels’ bodies have different adapta0ons which are born with and enable them to survive in the desert. The following adapta0ons described show the features of camel so as to maintain their lives in such a high temperature desert.

1. Long eyelashes

Camels have two rows of long eyelashes which is to protect against blowing of sand and the sun.

4. Fat stored in humps

The humps are used to store fat so that the camel can survive long periods without food and water.

5. Thick fur and underwool It is to provide warmth during extreme weather (cold periods) during desert nights ad the camels can be insulated against day0me heat.

2. Closed nostrils

Camels’ nostrils can be closed freely to keep out blowing of sand.

3. Leathery patches on knees To protect the camels from gegng burn when they knee on the hot desert sand.

7. Long intesHnes inside the body There is long intes0ne inside the camels’ body for reabsorbing water so as to prevent water over-lost.

6. Broad and flat leathery pads on the boDom of the camels’ hooves

The pads spread out when camels place their feet on the ground so that this can prevent them from sinking into the sand.

59

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN DESERT Do the acHviHes in desert affect the sustainable development in desert?

Text: Lo Cheuk Ying 5A, Hui Hon Lam 5C, Lee Kar Chung 5C Ec o n o m i c a l l y s p e a k i n g , t h e ac0vi0es in desert will bring advantages of the sustainable development. Desert ac0vi0es may boost the economy and flourish the service sectors, especially on tourism. Owing to curiosity, tourists will try the ac0vi0es and care less on the prices, rela0vely.

So, they may try to play more than once if they get mad about it. Also, as human resources like labour are involved in holding the ac0vi0es, more job opportuni0es are created and provided. More low skill workers can find a job which can lower the unemployment rate in desert.

Besides, the workers can make t h e i r l i v i n g b y t h e m s e l ve s .

Therefore, their living standard may be raised as they earn more than before.

Moreover, as goods and services are provided, the net export of GDP in China can be raised. This may also boost the economy.

Some may wonder and claim that the cost of holding the ac0vi0es is high, such as, having camels and motorbikes. However, this is just a kind of investment. In a long term, the owners can invest more. So, the ac0vi0es in desert can help boost the economy in desert.

Different erosional landforms in deserts have created different scenic spots, which favours the development of tourism. The rise of tourism provides many job opportuni0es to local ci0zens even though they have a lower average educa0on level. Income can be generated from the entrance fees.

Thus, the higher income of the ci0zens can improve the local living condi0ons.

Second, as the development of tourism requires high accessibility, more main roads are built. Apart from abrac0ng more tourists, higher accessibility can raise the geographical mobility of local ci0zens and help raise their living standard and lower the local unemployment rate.

Third, the development of tourism pushes the government to build more or beber infrastructures so as to abract more tourists. It will not only directly raise the living standard of the local ci0zens, but also raise the social image of the city. The rise in local image will enhance the cohesion of the local ci0zens and even abract those who have migrated to other places as the living condi0ons and social image of their hometown have been improving with the rapid local economic and infrastructure development.

In the aspect of environment, the construc0on of large-scale tourist facili0es e.g. scenic towers, shops and transport facili0es also bring harmful effects to the desert as air pollu0on and noise pollu0on will be emerged.

At the same 0me, the human ac0vi0es e.g. sand surfing, camelriding, motorbiking, may destroy the habitats of wildlife. Noise pollu0on will be produced by the tourists. Wildlife may eventually die and ex0nct, which shortens the food chain and simplifies the food web. The total biomass of desert will decrease due to the decrease in biodiversity.

On the other hand, eco-tourism e.g. na0onal desert can be built to preserve the desert with least construc0on works. Also, it can raise the awareness of local and tourists because they can have the c h a n c e to v i s i t d e s e r t a n d understand more about the current situa0on. They will then help conserve the desert and make less pollu0on to the desert.

The development of human ac0vi0es in desert brings both advantages and disadvantages to the environment, we should try to minimize the pollu0on to protect the natural environment.

Developing

TOURISM

along the Silk Road

Text: Heidi Chung, Jenna Cheng & Kiki Lau 4E

It is not difficult to see advertisements posting up about promoting Silk Road during our journey. The government promotes silk road through the mass media, advertising boards and exhibitions.

The tourism board and travel agents upload some videos in Youtube, which are about the beautiful scenery and unique historic relic to propagandize the attractions along Silk Road. Also, they published some travel books and leaflets which show the attractiveness and provide information to those spiritual and religious cultures to motivate tourists. With the cross-boundary cooperation of different departments in China , the destinations become more famous. People might have more interest about mysterious secret-hidden Silk Road after they visited the museum or exhibition such as the Gems of Silk Road and Maritime Silk Road Museum of Guangdong . The government holds many exhibitions in different cities with the historical relics provided by related departments like Terra-Cotta Warriors provided by the Emperor QinShiHuang's Mausoleum Site Museum. There are many advertisement about silk road on the advertising board along highway especially at the highway service center where near those attractions. Moreover, National Tourism Administration classified the attractions into different grade by base on the quality of the attraction. It helps to promote the silk road since tourists are more willing to visit a world-class attraction and most attractions along silk road are classified as "AAAAA" attractions.

Furthermore, selling souvenir is a kind of promotion. Tourists can give souvenirs or postcards to their friends. Those promotions make Silk Road become more well-known and higher the travel motivation of people.

61

REFLECTIONS

On the second day of the trip (4/4), we visited the Nanshan Ranch and stayed in a yurt for one night.

When I first arrived at the Nanshan Ranch, I received a warm welcome from the indigenous people.

The weather was extremely cold, only -2 degree Celsius. The indigenous people were anxious about our health. They took care of us and didn’t want us to get cold. Although the weather was very cold, I felt warm inside these people. Furthermore, they always wore a smile when communicating with me. This impressed me deeply. According to the indigenous people, living in a yurt is part of their tradition. They felt lively and enjoyed living with their family. They said that they felt warm when living with them even though the temperature was extremely low.

Inside the yurt, the living condition and lifestyle are totally different with the one we are staying. A yurt is briefly a circle-shaped sitting room but no other rooms can be found inside the yurt. It means that there are no toilets nor kitchens. Then where did we sleep? Actually, there was a large semi-circle shaped bed inside the yurt, it was large enough for over 8 of us sleeping together. It seemed to be ridiculous, right? But I think it was a really cool experience.

I felt I was really satisfied with what one has. I think that living in Hong Kong is really a fortune - no any hazards, no any extreme weather and climate. Advanced technologies improve our living standard. But in fact, we’ve lost our traditional cultures and basic lifestyle skills. All of us are trapped inside the technological world. Without any technologies, we could do nothing at all while the indigenous people knew how to cut trees for making fire and cook the food. Have you ever thought that if the one living in the yurt became us, could we survive under those extreme conditions? I really hesitate to answer, so I am really proud of those indigenous people. This experience has totally inspired me.

Calvin Chu 5A

63

To be frank, the Silk Road trip was a really treacherous but memorable experience for me. My teachers, classmates and I experienced the unbearable coldness in Urumqi, and also the extreme heat and dryness in Gobi desert. Eventually, I caught a cold and this further enhances the difficulty for me to travel along the Silk Road!

One of the most unforgettable events for me in the trip was visiting the snowy Nanshan Wuchang in Urumqi. It was the first time I had seen such bizarre amount of snow in my life!

Walking on snow requires extreme concentration and reflexes. For every step I walked, the snow underneath my shoe would collapse at once. As a result, what I had done there was just getting stumbled, stood up and fell down again. It was quite frustrating to walk but somewhat enjoyable in the meantime!

Walking on Gobi(Echoing) desert was another different experience. I was real stunned when I first found the humidity of the desert was just 1% ! The sand in the desert was so fine that I couldn’t even see any single sand particle with bear eyes! It was really hard for me to ascend on slopes as they were so “slippery”. Every step was a hard trial. After the walk, I was definitely sure that my stamina had trained up. The sense of success when I reached the summit of the sand dune was so great that I cheered for myself at that instant after all that effort!

Throughout the whole trip, I have learnt some life moral lessons. You see, my walk in Nanshan Wuchang and Echoing desert were full of difficulties and failures. It’s my determination in facing adversity that carried me through these obstacles. In life, if we do the same, we shall overcome as much hard times as we can!

Ryan Ko 4A

絲綢之路

是一個古代中國通往西域的道路。 在這次考察團中

我們有幸地在絲綢之路的其中一

段作中國歷史及地理考察。 在九日的旅程中

對我們整團師生來說是十分辛苦的

程也要乘坐長途車

這都是我們很少機會能夠體會到的事情。而在旅程

中

甚至十多個小時的火車

有兩個地方令我印象深刻

小時候

就是敦煌的莫高窟及吐魯番的柏孜克里克千佛洞。

我因學習國畫以及家中信仰佛教

是一個我十分嚮往的地方。 幸運地 個心願。在行程中

經常會聽到莫高窟及其所在城市敦煌的事

這次考察團又到了莫高窟作參觀

聽了也看了很多故事及壁畫

一幅幅的壁畫在我眼前

所以敦煌

而我也能夠完成我其中一

完全跟在書本上及資料上看的是另一種感覺。

顯得十分宏偉及美麗。可惜的是

實洞內的壁畫、佛像以及經書已經殘破不堪 是在古代所繪畫的

因為大多的行

壁畫在三十年代才開始被保護

或是已經不齊全了。我對此深感痛心

記載著一段段的歷史及社會文化

但其

因為壁畫皆

也有很高的藝術價值但人們太遲去保護洞

窟內的所有東西 使我們現在所看到的已經是殘存的文物。希望洞窟可以繼續保存下去 的人可以繼續了解古代的文化。

讓以後

另外，讓我感到意外的是

我們能夠在吐魯番參觀到柏孜克里克千佛洞。跟莫高窟一樣

它也是

有壁畫及有關佛教的洞窟

但規模較小。可惜的是，千佛洞受破壞的程度比莫高窟更嚴重

所殘存的佛像壁畫已經沒有了眼睛。這是因為千佛洞比起莫高窟更接近西域 教的

相信眼睛會迷惑人心

因此他們把佛像的眼睛破壞了

的心。這種行為是我感到十分失望及憤怒 佛像又使我感到十分恐怖 畫只有很少

西域是信奉伊斯蘭

從而防止異教的佛像眼睛迷惑信徒

原來千佛洞中的壁畫是十分美麗的

但沒有了眼睛的

也令我感到宗教及藝術在當時是沒有被尊重及重視。現在所殘存的壁

希望科技能夠有助修復壁畫

概括這次行程

洞內

讓他們保存得更好。

有很多地方是我們平日旅行不會去的

去日本、韓國等地。這次到了陌生的地方

因為我們都不願意回內地

感到十分新奇

大多人都選擇

因為這些地方是我第一次去的。而有

一點特別的是 我們很難得可以在旅途中有機會到雪地與沙漠這兩個氣候完全不同的地方遊覽 是一次很特別的體驗。 這次旅程是我第一次到絲綢之路遊歷，但絕對不會是最後一次。希望以後可以 再來一次絲綢之路 好好感受不同地方的風土人情。

5D

65

ZOE

5A

一開始報名參加這個考察團的原因跟大多數人一樣, 我認為在中學畢業前最少要 參加一次由學校统籌的考察團, 就好似是中學生涯中應該要經歷的其中一件事一 樣。

長達九天的旅行, 帶給我很多難忘的回憶－第一次離家這麽遠、這麽久, 第一次 看見真正的雪, 第一次騎駱駝……實在有太多太多的第一次。而令我最深刻的回 憶是在鳴沙山滑沙的經歷, 但令我深刻的並不是衝下去剎那的刺激感, 而是將橡 皮圈重新扛上山後的成功感－那裏有個特別的規則, 只要你把橡皮圈扛上山就能 免費再玩一次, 但我的主要目的卻只是想要挑戰自己, 而當我能夠做到大多人選 擇放棄的事並且成功的時候,那種滿足簡直難以言喻。 曾經,隨著時間的推移,太多的假期功課,太多的準備功夫,令我對這次考察產生過 退卻的念頭,後悔過當初這麼衝動......但如今回看，所有的付出都是十分值得 的。 一生人會有多少次旅遊的時光?又會有多少可能決定以絲綢之路作為旅行路線的 機會?你可能甚至從來沒有想過要探索這片大陸。正如台灣樂隊五月天的其中一 首歌:《有些事現在不做 一輩子都不會做了》一樣,如果當日我沒有作這個決定, 也許以後都不會再有機會了。所以,對我來說,這次絕對是一次難得 而又美好的體驗。 李倩童 5D

67

首先是高昌故城

這次旅程最深刻除了學到地理和中史的知識外，還有不同的得著。 高昌故城是西漢時期一個城邦, 位於新疆吐魯番, 是沙漠地區, 屬於乾旱地帶

發明了引水系統坎兒井“karez”, 令部分沙漠地區有地下水供應, 成為農田, 促進生產

古人

因為水源增

加, 自然能減少人民受旱災缺水影響的機會 另一方面, 故城的建築用上了特別的設計, 達致冬暖夏 涼的效果, 以抵禦日夜還差和季節溫差極大的極端天氣。 全靠古人的智慧, 西漢時, 那裡經濟繁盛, 人民生活富足

就算是現在非洲的撒哈拉沙漠地區也受

乾旱天氣影響, 土地貧瘠, 收成匱乏, 人們只能勉強過著基本生活

但在二千多年前的高昌就

能這樣的繁華。在這麼惡劣的環境發展出一個自給自足的城邦, 實在是令我佩服 相比起 二十一世紀的城市發展, 高昌的發展更能在發展和改變大自然之間取得平衡, 並作長 遠發展 其實很多古代的技術也是現今科技的基礎, 坎兒井和一些建築技術 更是沿用至今, 有時古人可能比我們更聰明, 人類要繼續發展時, 不 妨參考一下古代城市。 第二是烏魯木齊國際大巴札

國際大巴札是

一個市集, 是烏魯木齊的市中心 那裡在 2009年發生過一場大規模示威, 示威最 後被鎮壓下來, 示威者死傷慘重 之 後不時也會有示威衝突的消息, 更 發生過追打漢人事件, 所以導遊們 在到達前提醒我們不要到處喧鬧, 要保持低調, 不要隨便主動接觸維 吾爾族人。

到了大巴札, 到處也是持槍巡邏的 警員, 也有軍車戒備, 作為土生土 長的香港人當然會認為氣氛有點緊 張, 加上導遊的提醒, 當然會格外留 神 不過對維族人來說看來已是司 空見慣。 其實維族人並不是我們眼中的暴徒, 恐 怖分子, 仇視漢人的排外分子 一些當 地維族人看到我們也十分好奇, 有些更 主動了解我們, 完全感受不到任何對峙的 氣氛 我們要反思他們為什麼會被我們視 為是一些恐怖分子

我們要反思為什麼他

們要用到這些方法來表達訴求 是他們已 經走到窮途末路嗎? 是他們一直沒有被尊重 嗎? 是他們被迫瘋了嗎? 看到新疆的情況, 每 次抗爭都被更強的軍隊鎮壓下去, 更多的維穩, 到街上走走也要被幾個警察或鏡頭監視著, 令 我回看香港現今的情況. 我們要珍惜和保護逐漸 被政府剝去的自由, 不要令香港成為下一個新 疆。

42

4E

69

這次由學校舉辦的中國絲綢之路遊學團包括了地理、中史及旅遊三個學科的內容，亦是歷年來最遠， 最長的一次，更是學校舉辦遊學團的10週年，而我則是抱著挑戰自我的心態和增廣見聞的想法，踏上 了這一次冒險之旅。

這次遊學團由校內老師帶領，另有42個團友，其中包括了中四及中五生，當中有人互相認識，有人初 次見面，年紀不同話題也不同。

在路程中，最令我難忘的就是中港之間的矛盾。還記得在烏魯木齊的第2天，我們來到了當地的特色市 場，當時車上的導遊一直提醒我們：「小心個人財物，別落單，別胡亂跟當地居民聊天，別作出位舉 動！」

而此時天色開始轉暗，巡邏的軍警全副武裝，盯視著眼前看似和平的街道，眼神凝重。稀疏的街燈隱 約地為我們照出當地人的身影，居民大都仍穿著樣色低沉的冬季大衣，不如香港的浮誇皮革；樸素的 皮靴，而不是常見的真皮皮鞋，大部分人都戴上一頂厚皮帽以作保暖，亦在他們面上蓋上陰影，或許 是我的想像，他們眼神都不太友善，就像野蠻人。

當時我的心情緊張，步步為營，目光向下唯恐會與當地人有眼神接觸，對他們留下了一個野蠻人的印 象。

然而，之後在南山牧場體驗過農家樂卻改變了我的想法。

因為塞車的關係，我們到達的時間較原定的遲，約晚上１０點才到達南山牧場附近的村民家中。可能 晚上１０點對於香港人來說算不上甚麼，然而對於當地居民的睡眠時間來說，那相當於深宵了。但是 他們卻對我們的延時不計前嫌，反而親切地為我們提供遲來的晚飯，關注我們對飯菜是否滿意，更沒 有埋怨不滿，只是默默地為我們送上滿桌的飯菜。他們是當地傳統的居民，他們也穿著厚重的深色大 衣頭戴暗色厚帽，而不安感亦似不曾存在。

此外，在火車上的經歷也加深了我對兩地分歧的想法。

在火車上發生了一件輕微的意外，事件包括我們一名女同學及一名中國婦人。事發時，那名婦人正手 使著裝滿熱水的玻璃水瓶，返回自己的位置，此時，我們一件不穩的行李因行車震動而墜下，巧合地 倒在那名婦人前。受到驚嚇的她不小心把手上的水瓶摔破，而瓶中的熱水則燙傷了坐在附近的那位女 同學。之後，那名婦人開始激烈地向我們追討賠償。而其他同學則聞聲而來，卻紛紛指責那名婦人， 而他們甚至連事件的發生經過都不清楚！

其實事件中那名婦人並沒有做錯，這只是一件意外，並沒有可以歸咎的責任，那名無辜的婦人因為失 去了個人的財物而著急也是情有可原。然而，為什麼對事情一知半解的同學，卻批評那名婦人，為這 次意外下判決呢？

這都是我們的主觀想法作怪，我們去到一個陌生的地方，去到外地，去到別人的地方，卻以我們自己 的準則去標籤當地人。難道我們不能以學習欣賞的心態去接受其他文化嗎？正如中國人來到香港，因 為文化習慣的差異，令他們未能習慣適應，而作出一些我們接受不了亦理解不了的舉動，引起我們的 不滿。反之，我們去到中國，去到新疆，我們都是一些外來份子，我們的行為舉動不能理解，怪異， 引來當地居民的好奇，甚至不滿，而我們沒有理解當中的問題存在，導致壓力日益積累，最終衝突發 生。

我們在生活上有著差異，我們說不一樣的語言，穿不一樣的服飾，以不同的方式思考，以不同的方式 處理事情，意外，從不同的角度觀點出發，受過不同的教育，有不一樣的習慣，有不一樣的底線，可 能我們當中有些特別的例子，我們卻不能以偏概全，在不自覺間戴上有色眼鏡。 葉⼦豪 4E

今次是我第一次參加學校舉辦的考察團,我本人感到相當榮幸,希望在過程中有所得着。一知道今年的考察團 是絲綢之路時,我已對這個旅程感興趣,因為可以感受到不同的文化和奇特的景觀,而且那些地方我都沒有去過, 故此心生興趣。在旅程中,我不只觀賞景點及學習其知識,我更學會了與其他同學相處,如關心和照顧其他同 學。 以下是我在這次旅程中最深刻的體驗:爬沙丘。在這個旅程之前,我認為這是一件相當容易的事,但實際上卻相 當困難。基本上,在沙丘上行走是一步一驚心的。別說跑步,就連慢行都會摔倒。這一件看似簡單的事,卻為我 帶來了不少感想。在火焰山的爬沙中,我看見其他同學能敏捷地爬上山上,自己想加快腳步時,卻被沙石卡住而 無法登上頂峰。我頓時感到不安和害怕,一方面害怕別人的嘲笑,另一方面害怕從山中掉下來,最後因卡住而被 逼落山。在落山的過程中,我發覺自己站穩了,盡力向前爬,然後成功登頂。在這件事中,我發覺不少事情都未必 可以那麼簡單,沒能成功時就應退一步海闊天空,尋找新的方向。 在鳴沙山的景點中,即使提供了繩索結成的樓梯,我發現爬上山頂仍然困難,原因是鳴沙山的山勢本來陡峭,一不 小心,就可以從樓梯中滾下來。當我走到四分之三的時候,看見鳴沙山的山勢太斜,加上沙層越來越厚,難以站穩, 所以不敢登上。我發覺一些事情,即使提供了幫助,卻無法達成,其確定性因素是自己。若自己的勇氣更大,我相 信自己定能登頂。人若沒有勇氣,將會錯失很多美好的事物和難忘的經歷。 在這次絲綢之路考察團中,我不僅學會了不少知識,更學會了如何跟其他同學相處。最難能可貴的是,我學會了 不少人生的道理,引領我繼續向前。

張梓杰 4B

曾經有人說：絲綢之路是一條繁華之路。初生之犢的我最初亦以為是這樣的，想像能夠有一個安逸、舒適的 旅程，但往往現實與想像是背道而馳。這是我第一次參加學校考察團，也是人生第一次離開父母，獨自出門。 我最初選擇參加地理科和中國歷史科考察團是希望能親身目睹地理地質，參加今次活動，除了認識了不少的 地理知識，更令我學到勇氣的重要性。 在勇氣方面，我一直都是比較膽小怕事的人，但經過這次旅程的體驗，我終於了解「有志者，事竟成」的道 理。在火焰山的旅程中，最初我仰視雄偉的火焰山，對於體質差的我，以為自己不會成功登上山頂，當我看 到一個又一個的同學都能成功登山，我心裏想，為何人家成功而自己卻失敗呢？於是我決定勇往直前，即使 曾經失敗幾次，但憑著一股勇氣，最終能登上山頂。我竟能完成自己認為不可能的事，當時我不但感到無比 的喜悅，更明白到努力是不會白費的感受。 另外在行程的首天，我不幸患了感冒。由於航班𨒂誤，航機在深夜時分才起飛，機上空氣侷促、又遇上强烈 氣流，令我痛苦不堪。但我堅信自己能到達烏魯木齊，後來身體就漸漸康復起來，令我深信就如導遊小習所 說，古人所走的絲綢之路比我們辛苦，但都能成功。憑著這個信念，即使十分疲倦，終於安全到達目的地。

在知識方面，這次旅程加深了我對地理的認知。原來天山天池不只是一座山脈，當中還有許多沉積石，它們 竟高聳入雲，實在令人嘆為觀止。在鳴沙山的景區中，為了跟隨同學，我參加了摩托車的歷奇旅程。對膽怯 的我而言，既是懼怕獨自駕駛，又不敢告訴給同學，隨著一個又一個同學開始旅程，等候就只剩下我一個， 心裏更是忐忑不安。但當我坐上摩托車，教練耐心教導，最終我能掌握駕車的技巧，自信心也得以加強。最 後我把油門踏盡，車子終於能在沙漠中奔馳，我終於成功了，現在我才發現勇氣是成功之本啊！

絲綢之路，雖然不能帶來物質上的絲綢，但是它是給我的經歷遠比絲綢珍貴。在此之後，我會好好用上這些 「絲綢」，為日後人生做好準備。

張皓程 4A

71

在今次九天的絲綢之路考察團中, 令我留下深刻的感受, 而當中我最難忘的 地方就是親身感受到絲綢之路地區極端的天氣。這個地區的天氣變化得太 大了! 在我以往學到的知識中, 天氣的變化主要是因為不同的時間和位置。 在這九天我們前往的多個地方中有兩個是令我印象最深刻的。 在第二天, 我們前往了烏魯木齊的天山天池, 是一個雪山與雪山之間有一個 結了冰的湖。這裏不愧是一個雪山地帶, 天氣果然極之寒冷, 當時的氣溫大 約是零下五度, 但是我認為有零下二三十度的低溫。這是我第一次感受這麼 寒冷的天氣。到達這裏後, 我立即穿上多件厚衣, 但仍然不能為我保暖, 所以 我的身體不斷縮起和震動。由於我未曾接觸過雪, 不知雪是怎樣的, 我就拿 起地下的雪來感受一下, 結果情況在我意料之外。雖然雪是十分特別, 但是 我雙手立刻凍僵了! 冰凍的雪令我雙手幾乎沒有知覺, 令我很害怕, 幸好到了 參觀過後拿着裝滿暖水的瓶子才感到一點溫暖, 我真的很後悔自己沒有帶手 套。不過, 這次是我第一次看到雪景, 而且十分美麗, 真令我畢生難忘。 相反, 在第六天前往的敦煌鳴沙山便與天山天池不同了。這裏是一個一片無 際的大沙漠, 天氣就十分炎熱, 當時氣溫大約高達三十度, 天上有一個猛烈的 太陽照射下來,令這裏更加炎熱。加上, 這裏十分乾燥, 結果令我的身體感到 有點不適。幸好, 我不時帶備了水, 讓我的身體能夠降一降溫, 不然我的身體 可能負荷不了, 所以水是對我們十分重要, 是不可缺少的。另外, 敦煌的特產 ------杏皮水十分好喝, 不但能令我解渴, 也能潤喉, 使我喉嚨十分舒服, 在炎 熱和乾燥的沙漠中簡直是寶物啊! 雖然沙漠中的天氣令我不適, 但是鳴沙山 的摩托車和滑沙十分好玩, 使我們樂在其中。 新疆的天氣雖然變化莫測, 但是這讓我學習到兩件事。首先, 我學習到堅持, 天氣變化令我十分辛苦, 使我生病。不過, 既然當地人能夠在這裏生活, 我們 就要堅持下去, 嘗試適應這裏的氣候。還有, 在極端的天氣下, 不少同學都生 病了, 所以同學之間都互相幫助和關心, 這是十分可貴的, 教導了我人與人相 處就要互相支持和鼓勵。

曾嘉熙 4C

回大陸，本來是我不太喜歡的事。

人如自己想像中那麼差、不友善。當中其 實也有不少對我們友善、熱情、有禮貌的。

但是，看雪、沙漠、騎駱駝，這些機會說 實話真是一生人第一次。於是，我就決定 報名參加這個學校遊學團了，踏上了九天 的絲綢之路。

其實，由於我的氣管比較弱，面對烏魯木 齊、吐魯番這些温差大的地方，在旅程的 第二天，就不幸地輸給了感冒，第三天還 發燒。

反省一下，其實也是自己對别人有偏見， 以偏概全了。換個角度來看,其實今次我們 作為來自香港的遊客，有時也沒有尊重到 當地的文化、禮節，在他們眼中，我們可 能和在我們眼中那些低俗的中國人無異。 因此，這九天教懂了我要去尊重不同的文 化和要重新審視自己的眼鏡有沒有顏色。

因此，其實在整個旅程，我也帶著疲倦的 身子去不同的景點，說實話精神真的頗惡 劣和辛苦。現在回想起來，其實真的很可 惜。眼看著同學們都興奮地登上了火焰山 的沙漠山頂，而自己卻因吃了藥物，生理 上不能一同登上山頂。

縱然可惜，這次的生病也令我感到不少關 心和温暖。老師、同學、朋友們的關心、 遷就、照料，也是我在此旅程所得到的東 西。

雖然這九天在這病底下，真的很迷迷糊糊 地渡過了，但是仍會有些難忘的回憶和經 歷的。

第一次乘飛機延誤了這麼久、第 一次看雪、第一次去沙漠、第一 次騎駱駝等，很多的「第一次」 就這樣給了這九天。整個身子跌 落了雪坑、吃了一臉沙、滑了沙、 家訪、到了兵馬俑等這些都是難 忘的經歷。

最後也要慣例提一下，「讀萬卷書不如行 萬里路」，在課室裡、書本上學到的東西， 真的不及親身到達那些地方學到的知識來 得多和深刻。

縱使這旅程因病而導致有很多可惜的地方， 但是那種可惜、辛苦的經歷，加上那些難 忘的事件和美麗的景物，令我更覺得這九 天讓我嚐盡有苦有甜的滋味。在將近連走 路也無力的情況下，也跟隨大隊完成旅程， 這令我更懂怎樣去堅持，成了自己挑戰自 己極限的回憶，也明白到其實只要死不了， 小小的病痛其實算不上甚麼，路也是要繼 續行、要繼續前進的。 這九天，真的十分值得。 趙善儀 5D

當然，當中也有特別深刻的兩件 事。 第一件就是參觀莫高窟。那種眼 前是數千年前祖先因信仰決心而 建造的景物的感覺真的很神奇， 內心佈滿千萬個佩服。另外，在 其中一個窟裏，我看見在地上展 示了不同時代、朝代的地磚，表 現出這些窟見證了不同時代的變 遷。想到這裏，我突然腦海裏閃 過一個念頭，就是其實現在此時 此刻我們正腳踏着的磚塊，也可 能在數百年或千年後，被後人當 作文物，同樣地放在那個窟的地 上作為展品。這種想法給了我一 種很奇怪又難以形容的感覺。

第二件深刻的事，就是自己對於 文化和種族上差異的感受。一直 以來，我認為全部中國人也是不 討好。但是經過這九天後，仔細 想一下，其實也並不是全部中國

73

人生總有不同的旅程，而這一程我走在 絲綢之路上。

還沒出發之前，我對絲路的認識僅僅是 古代中國對外貿易的一條道路而已，但 絲路之旅帶我認識的卻不是古代商業的 蓬勃，而是讓我認識了當地的風貌人情。 提起維吾爾族人，我的腦袋裏只會想起 在新疆的恐怖分子，但經過和維族家庭 親身的相處過後，我才知道其實每個群 體裡總會有壞人和好人，壞的只是其中 的一小撮人，我們不能因為一小撮壞人 而影響我們對其他種族的人的看法，維 族人其實很友善，也很好相處。就像他 們賣葡萄乾給我們，他們從不計較我們 免費吃了他們多少葡萄乾，而是招呼我 們隨便大口大口地吃，這種豪爽和熱情 好客的態度是現代香港商人所缺乏的， 甚至一些黑心的商人還會騙斤兩。中國 地大物博，人又多，有56個民族，只要 我們學會去欣賞他們特有的風俗，人與 人之間也可以相處得很融洽。 天山天池絕對是一生人一定要去一次的 地方，那裡優美的景色是我一輩子都不 能忘記的。看著那白茫茫的一片雪景， 仿佛心靈也被洗滌過一樣，變得平和。 九天的絲路之旅，我走出香港，看到世 界的大，用有限的生命去看盡世界上的 美景是多麼幸福的事。

陳思杞 4D

4D

我這次來絲綢之路的原因是為了想到與香港完全不同的地方旅行，因為平時去的地方都較接近 香港，不論氣候和地勢都十分相似，經歷不是特別深刻。而這次的絲路之旅則能給我不一樣的 經歷，在這趟旅程中有很多事情都是我第一次經歷的，例如: 踏上冰天雪地的天山天池、體驗灼 熱的火焰山和沙漠，更有在火車上度宿的體驗。而我體驗最深刻的是住進蒙古包，蒙古包是遊 牧民族的一個移動居所，使用的材料少但達到居住的基本要求。我們居住當晚即使有暖爐在室 內，但在深夜仍會感到異常寒冷，使我冷得無法入睡

遊牧民族一年四季都是住在蒙

古包裡，沒有任何暖爐或現代科技也能泰然自若，這使我十分佩服他們的毅力和堅持。相反現 今的港孩，在生活上遇到小小的不滿便大吵大閙，他們並不知道他們的居住環境已經比起很多 人好得多，倘若遇上小小的困難也不能接受，將來又如何在社會上生存呢?

近年香港人對大陸旅客愈來愈反感，新界北部不時都會發生針對大陸旅客的衝突，消息遍佈全 國，在維族家訪時主人亦有問及此事，因為他打算遲些時間來香港，卻為此感到擔心。不過即 使衝突的發生，他接待我們的態度仍十分友善親切，所以我認為雙方如能多包容，必能和諧相 處。

4E

75

絲綢之路—一條古時候中國與西域溝通的主要通 道。

可是，又有多少人能真正踏足這條路，親身 體歷以往走過沙漠的人的艱辛？

這年，我有幸參與前往絲綢之路的考察團， 真真正正地走過絲綢之路。可惜，我們 出師不利，出發的第一天就遇上飛機延 誤，原本下午三點多的航班延誤至晚 上十一時才起飛，幸好有領隊Zoe臨危 不亂地處理及安排好受耽誤了的行程。 雖然第二天的行程較緊密，但這些 不完美正好讓這趟旅程更難忘。

在這趟旅途中，唯一帶點遺憾的是： 由於在南山牧場的天氣太冷，我 們只能住在當地人叫作“農家樂” 的民宿，而非山上的蒙古包，雖 有點失望，但也有點慶幸，失望 的是失去了一次體驗遊牧民族生 活的機會；慶幸的是我不用擔心 在蒙古包內因禦寒衣物不足而感 到寒冷和不適。

另外，在參觀坎兒井、莫高窟、兵 馬俑等地方時，最令我讚歎的是古 代的民間智慧。早在二千年前，當地 人已經能想到把天山的水透過地底帶 到全中國海拔最低的吐魯番，解決當地 降雨量不足的問題。而最深刻的體驗莫過於 在火車上渡過的兩晚了。火車內的環境比我想 像中好得多，不僅是車廂內整齊清潔，更重要的是我們 整團只一分為二,分配在同一列雙連的車中，這足以令我登車前的擔心消失。

在九天的旅程中，我們到過吐魯番的夜市，和串燒檔的老闆閒聊了一會兒，他說他遲點也會去香 港旅行，但從電視上看到反水貨客的活動卻令他以為香港人很討厭內地人，不歡迎他們來香港。那 刻，我很尷尬，我不知道該如何跟他解釋那些個別事件只是針對水貨客而發生。其實我們香港人去 到外地又何嘗不為當地人帶來麻煩和不便呢? 故此，在這趟旅程中，我學到了凡事不能只用主觀的 看法去思考，反而應從多方面去思考，以得出一個客觀的答案。

趙雅婷 5C

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The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.

5D

77

5D

我是地理科及文學科的學生，來這個交流團是因 為希望來到偏遠的中國西北，感受一下當地人的 生活。當初我對烏魯木齊沒有很深入的了解，只 有從新聞認識維吾爾族，感覺烏魯木齊的治安很 差，常有炸彈襲擊，更不時有疆獨份子的示威。 但這次來到烏魯木齊後才發現新聞所報道的只是 現實的一小部分，其實很多維族與其他少數民族 都非常友善，不時也有當地人向我們打招呼，與 我們分享一些生活點滴。 這趟旅程最令我留下深刻印象的是吐魯番探訪 維吾爾族家庭，維族家庭的傳統觀念很強，我 們現在追求男女平等，但他們依然是男尊女 卑，男主外女主內。他們家雖然對香港人 來說可能很落後，但他們擁有的農家生活 的樂趣卻是我們城市人沒有的。平日我 們沒機會見到農田，這次看見這麼大 片的葡萄園，令我感到非常震撼。家 家戶戶的吐魯番人都有一片葡萄園， 這裡盛產的葡萄乾與我們在香港見到 的也很不同。香港見到的都是包裝葡萄 乾，但從未見過未經加工的葡萄乾。我們 雖然只是探訪短短一個小時，但他們卻非常 大方地請我們吃不同種類的葡萄乾。在香港 看見三四種葡萄乾已經非常厲害，沒想到 在這裡可以看到，甚至品嚐到十多種葡 萄乾。在離開的時候，我們帶給他 們的禮物對我們來說可能唾手可 得，但對吐魯番人來說可能之 前從未見過而有一種新鮮感。 經過這次探訪後，我希望日 後再有機會參與其他交流 團，探訪其他少數民族， 對不同民族作更深入的了 解。

林孝泓 4C

79

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40

5C 郭旨維

絲綢之路，一條橫跨中國、中亞、遠至中東的萬里長途，它由西安出發，沿途經過敦煌等城市，然 後分別出陽關和玉門關，到達新疆等地，然後再出國境。它是二千年前東西貿易的重要橋樑。而這 次我們一行要去的地方，就是一段位於今中國境內的絲路。

我們的路程是由西往東走的，第一站是新疆的烏魯木齊。不過在這之前，我們在廣州機場遇上了一 段插曲︰飛機因為故障而延誤，加上機場方面的安排混亂，我們在候機室耽誤了八個小時，在場的 乘客都感到非常不耐煩，甚至跟航空公司員工吵了起來。但就在我們在空等的八小時期間，我們的 領隊Zoe處處表現出她專業和耐性的一面。不斷和航空公司協商、為我們爭取臨時住宿、膳食等。 望着她如此認真的工作態度的樣子，我的不滿情緒一點都提不起來，取而代之的是對Zoe的專業和 敬業精神暗暗起敬，因為我們都要慶幸有最好的領隊和日後工作的最佳榜樣。 絲路之旅最值得載入的第一個地點自然是著名的天山天池，這個渾然天成的藝術品比我想像中的來 得更美。大概是前一天經歷完一趟筋疲力盡的航程，當我們一路坐旅 遊巴 上山的時候，一大片白雪和松樹覆蓋着的山脈映入眼簾，就像要 為我們洗塵般。而抵達天池的時候，景色更是美不勝收。一潭 冰封三尺的湖水在周圍連綿不絕的雪山襯托下，讓人疲勞盡消。 當地導遊曾說天山上的空氣含氧量特別高，能使到訪者心曠神 怡，親身經歷過後方知不假。假期前的專題研習、測驗和課外 活動等事情排山倒海地壓在身上，然而天山天池就是最好的聖 藥，把一身疲累和壓力都化得無影無蹤，算是行程上的第一份 大禮了。 接下來的經歷同樣令人難忘。我們在南山雪地中競跑、在火焰 山火紅的沙土中奮力攀登、在莫高窟內大開眼界、在鳴沙山上 騎着越野電單車風馳電掣地馳行、第一次吃到那麼辣的青瓜、 第一次在火車上過夜……實在有太多太多的事值得被記下來， 待十年、二十年後拿出來仔細回味。我只願能常常回到 這些地方，在繁囂的都市生活中能隨時找到一片可以 偷閒半日的淨土。 然而這在現實中似乎不太可能，因為正正是 我們人類的活動污染了這片美麗的土地， 溫室效應、沙漠化等現象所造成的危害 逐漸浮現：天山山脈的雪線在逐年上升、 敦煌的地下水位卻在急劇下降……… 這僅僅是在我們的旅途的所見所聞， 在整個地球中還只是冰山一角。聽着 這幾段來自當地導遊的介紹，我想作 為一個居住在已發展地區的城市人， 我們真的應該深刻反省一下：在我們 奢侈地消費着能源，以及抱着那種高 高在上的態度去睥睨着那些貧窮的內 陸地帶的人時，我們憑甚麼值得擁有 這些東西?是不是有些公民責任應由我 們揹負起，去保育這些地方、贖我們 的罪呢?

曉皓 5C

81

烏魯木齊、敦煌、嘉峪關、西安,都是我從未到過的城市。透過今次的絲綢之路考察團,讓我有機會到達 當地,參觀歷史遺迹,並體驗當地的風土人情。這次考察團主要圍繞着地理科和中國歷史科,跟我所選修的 科目沒有太大關係。不過俗語說:讀萬卷書不如走萬里路,我心想倒不如出外走走,學一點書本以外的知 識。 九天的旅程,可算是我出外旅遊最長的一次。在這九天裏,不但要學會照顧自己,還要學會互相照應。例如 男生負責替女生搬運行李,雖然搬運行李十分辛苦,但是我明白到男生照顧女生是一件正常不過的事情,畢 竟男生比女生要強壯得多。在這九天裏,我們橫跨了三個省份,包括新疆、甘肅和陜西省。我完全感受到 古代人們來絲綢之路的辛勞。 這次考察團帶給我很多的第一次,第一次乘搭飛機、第一次看見真正的雪和第一次吃烤羊肉串等等。如果 沒有參加這次考察,我想也沒有機會去體驗這些事情。尤其是我克服了害怕搭飛機的難關,近年空難接二 連三地發生, 第一次搭飛機的我難免也聯想起這些慘劇。飛機平安抵達烏魯木齊後,我才發覺飛機不但十 分安全,還給了我一個全新的角度讓我從高空觀看所到達的城市。 在九天的行程中,我們參觀了不少歷史遺迹,例如高昌故城、莫高窟、嘉峪關和兵馬俑博物館。參觀完這 些景點後,心裏都感到不可思議。在古代,人們沒有起重機這些科技的幫助,只靠人力來興建到一個又一個 震撼人心的建築。印象最深刻的是莫高窟九層樓內的彌勒佛坐像,站在大佛下的我們就像一隻隻螞蟻,顯 得十分渺小。高達三十多米的大佛竟然在沒有科技的古代也能修建好,實在令我 不得不佩服古代人們那種堅毅不屈和處事認真的態度。相比起 現今的中國, 建築偷工減料,導致慘劇頻常發生,反映現今人 們為了求利,可以把所有東西都抛諸腦後。古代人們的處事 態度是否已經在這個商業化的中國裏消失得無影無蹤呢? 我認為這問題值得我們每一個人去反思。 除了參觀景點,接觸當地人民也不失為一個了解國情的好機 會。在逛夜市的途中,我和一名燒烤店老闆聊過天。當他知道 我們是從香港來的,他透露他們倆夫婦將會到香港旅遊。其後 他詢問了香港最近是否不喜歡內地人來旅遊這條問題,經過我 們連忙解釋過後,總算是讓他放下了心頭大石。 在返回廣州的途中,我和雷老師在飛機上認識了一名乘客。初 看到他高大的身軀,覺得他是那種蠻不講理的中國人。後來他 主動和我們聊天,問我們是否學生一起去旅行,從而打開了話 題。當他聊他的故鄉山東省時更是滔滔不絕,落力向我們介紹山 東有甚麼好去處。由旅遊景點聊到香港近期的佔領行動,可算是 天下大小事也涉獵得到,不知不覺間我們也聊了將近一個小時。 和這兩位內地人聊天過後,我細心想了一下,發覺其實中國人並沒 有想像中那麼差。這兩位內地人都願意和我這個陌生人暢所欲 言, 可見他們都十分樂意和我分享心聲。以前的我常常把沒有 禮貌和中國人扯上關係,經過這次考察之後,我發現這些沒有 禮貌的中國人只是冰山一角,不能一概而論。所以我希望大 家以後能不帶歧視目光去看內地人。試想想,你在內地旅遊 時被人家用歧視的目光看着你,你又會有甚麼感受?

5D

82

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5C

Field Trip to the Silk Road 2016 83

84

Field Trip to the Silk Road 2016 85

A HAPPY RAIL JOURNEY

86 Loreconda 29/02/16

3X Geography is a group of energetic youth!

Type to enter text

87

Every place is worth photographing.

89

Plant stalks are installed on the desert margin to combat desertification.3X Geography is a group of energetic youth!

Yardang landscape is formed by wind and water in deserts.

91

Climbing up to the Flaming Mountain is no easy.

A wishing tree of socks was erected after walking on snow

No one can imagine that China has such a beautiful landscape.

93

Staying in yurt is a wonderful experience.

The first shopping experience in the Great Bazaar in Urumqi.

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Taking photos in the freezing environment is unforgettable.

97

A wooden hut in coniferous forest.

We are a group of backpackers!

99

Group discussion is usually the most enjoyable!

CCSC Geography Production 2016 All articles are written by participants of the field trip to the Silk Road in 2015.