Urhe

In the distant Junggar Basin of Xinjiang lies a place called "e;Urumqi,"e; where lush vegetation thrives and weeds and wild rabbits abound. It stands as a verdant oasis amidst the vast Gobi Desert, with the "e;Devil's City"e; to its east-a landscape sculpted by prehistoric forces into bizarre rock formations. Despite its beauty, life here is exceptionally harsh. People dwell in earthen huts, sharing their surroundings with wild rabbits. In 1958, a battle hero named Liu Dazhuang returned from the Korean War and voluntarily chose to join the 137th Regiment-the most remote unit of the Seventh Agricultural Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps-at the Urumqi Farm. His face scarred from the battlefield, no girl would come near him, but the grasslands welcomed his presence. The steppe bestowed upon him the mystical power of a spirit snake. His horse moved with graceful strides, his fat sheep grazed with serene confidence, his gaze pierced through the azure air of the oasis to reach the distant mountains, and his solitude drew swans to alter their flight paths and linger by the lakes.