Border defense soldiers selflessly dedicate themselves, road-building officers and soldiers risk their lives, military reclamation soldiers work hard to build up their undertakings… Red tourist attractions related to these heroes are scattered throughout the northern and southern parts of Mount Tianshan, where heroic stories and natural landscapes enhance each other’s beauty.
Why is the scenery as beautiful as a painting? The deeds of heroes have illuminated it!
Xiaobaiyang Outpost
Experience the sentiment of guarding the border
“A little white poplar grows beside the outpost…” Because of this famous military song “Xiaobaiyang”, a border defense outpost within the territory of Yumin County, Tacheng Prefecture, has become famous nationwide and a renowned red tourist attraction.
Starting from Yumin County Town and driving southwest for seventy to eighty kilometers, one can see a tall circular outpost standing on an unnamed highland by the Bulgan River at the foot of Baluruke Mountain. A bright five-starred red flag flies in the wind above the outpost, and the entire outpost is clad in a camouflage “uniform”. This is the famous Xiaobaiyang Outpost.
In the 1980s, a soldier at the outpost returned home for a family visit. His mother encouraged him to do his best in the army and asked him to bring back 10 white poplar saplings when he returned, reminding him to take root in the borderland like the white poplar and guard the border for the motherland. Due to the aridity and lack of water at the outpost, only one of the ten little white poplars survived tenaciously, accompanying the soldiers guarding the border day and night.
In the 1990s, lyricist Liang Shangquan came to Xinjiang for folklore collection, heard this story, and was deeply moved, writing the song “Xiaobaiyang”. The former Tasiti Outpost was therefore renamed the Xiaobaiyang Outpost, and the little white poplar has become a symbol of border defense soldiers.
Today, the Xiaobaiyang Outpost has become a national defense education demonstration base and an autonomous region defense education demonstration base, receiving over 80,000 visitors annually. At the foot of the stone steps in front of the outpost, the once “small white poplar” has grown tall and lush, and almost every visitor takes a photo with it as a keepsake.
In Xinjiang, there are many border posts like the Xiaobaiyang Outpost, attracting people not only for their scenic beauty but also for the sentiment of border defense soldiers’ “dedication to the country”. “It was worth the trip! Seeing the lives of border defense soldiers here and hearing the story of the Xiaobaiyang Outpost was very moving! It is because of the selfless dedication of border defense soldiers that we can enjoy a peaceful and happy life.” Said Nanjing tourist Chen Yufei.
Qiaoerma Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery
Listen to the stories of heroes and martyrs
The Duku Highway is known as the “Internet Celebrity Highway”, and midsummer is the peak season for its scenery. Self-driving tourists traversing the Duku Highway will surely not miss Qiaoerma in Nilka County, Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture. It is located at the intersection of the Duku Highway and the Yiqiao Highway, at an altitude of over 3000 meters, with strategic terrain and breathtaking scenery.
There lies a martyrs’ cemetery here, which is visited by almost every tourist. This is because the 168 martyrs buried in the Qiaoerma Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery all sacrificed their lives for the construction of the Duku Highway.
The Duku Highway was built in the 1970s, spanning over 500 kilometers through deep mountains and valleys. Tens of thousands of soldiers and officers worked tirelessly for years to construct this highway.
The Qiaoerma Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery is built against the mountain, with a tall white marble monument towering under the backdrop of snowy mountains and pine forests. Walking further in, a forest of 168 tombstones is nestled among lush pine trees, exuding solemnity and reverence. At the “Tianshan Duku Highway Memorial Hall”, visitors can relive the arduous journey of the road-building soldiers and officers of the past, and the commentator here is Chen Jungui, who actually participated in the road construction.
Back then, when he enlisted in the military, it coincided with the battle to build the Duku Highway. His young squad leader sacrificed his life to save him. Soon after being discharged from the military, Chen Jungui returned to Qiaerma and decided to spend his life guarding his squad leader’s grave. Although he has told the story countless times, on the morning of July 29th, when Chen Jungui once again told tourists about the battle to build the highway and the sacrificed comrades-in-arms, his eyes were still filled with tears. Wang Shulin, a tourist from Beijing, said movingly, ‘When we admire the beautiful scenery of the Duku Highway, we must never forget the martyrs who sacrificed their precious lives for it!’
The heroic stories give the beautiful scenery a profound cultural heritage. Nowadays, the Qiaerma Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery has become a famous red tourist attraction. Qiaerma is also an entrance to the Ili Grasslands from Mount Tianshan. Starting from here, the picturesque hinterland of Mount Tianshan unfolds like a scroll.
Corps Military Reclamation Museum
Revisit the Passionate Years
In midsummer, Shihezi City is shrouded in dense shade and flowers. Opposite the Recreational Square in the city center, behind the statue of General Wang Zhen, stands a Soviet-style small building with a history of more than 60 years, which is the famous Corps Military Reclamation Museum.
The name of the museum was inscribed by General Wang Zhen in his own handwriting, and the museum building was originally the office building of the 22nd Corps of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. The small building, built in 1952, is known as the ‘First Military Reclamation Building’.
On July 26th, the museum was bustling with visitors. ‘When tourists come to Shihezi City, the Military Reclamation Museum is a must-visit attraction. It has become the ‘First Living Room of Shihezi,’ said Cai Xiaochuan, deputy director of the museum.
The most impressive is the giant panoramic painting ‘Reclamation and Garrisoning’. Standing in the arcuate exhibition hall, the passionate scene on the painting comes rushing at you—the upper half of the oil painting is the creation of the artist, while the lower half is a real scene of the Gobi desert, recreating the fiery scene of millions of soldiers pioneering in the desert at the foot of Mount Tianshan. ‘I feel like I’m part of it, it’s too impressive!’ said Yang Zihua, a tourist from Hunan.
Although the exhibition hall of the Corps Military Reclamation Museum has an area of only more than 4,800 square meters, it has nearly 20,000 exhibits, many of which are precious artifacts. In the center of the second-floor exhibition hall, a worn-out military overcoat draws tears from many tourists. This is a military overcoat issued in 1950, with 296 patches of various sizes and colors! This ‘patchwork coat’ is a testament to the hardships faced by the military reclamation soldiers in their pioneering work.
Among the exhibits is also a party fee certificate with yellowed inner pages, which is a relic of General Tao Zhiyue. He officially became a member of the Communist Party of China at the age of 90. This precious artifact shows people the perseverance of the older generation of revolutionaries in their beliefs.
Currently, it is the peak tourist season, and tourists often encounter gray-haired old military reclamation volunteers in museums. The moving stories behind the artifacts that they relate with expression and emotion are even more touching.
Xinjiang Tourism Consultation: (Same) 0991-8585456