Discover Xinjiang Through 'Daqiang City's Girl' - My First Trip to Xinjiang and Visit to Daqiang City
When I first listened to Xinjiang songs as a child, it was 'Daqiang City's Girl'. One lyric that particularly impressed me is 'Daqiang City's girl has long braids, and her eyes are really beautiful', and the other is 'People have said for centuries that Daqiang City is a good place'. Last year, on my last trip to Xinjiang, I was able to go to Daqiang City.
To be honest, the winter in Daqiang City was a bit quiet, besides the whistling wind and the occasional cars speeding past on the road, only our voices remained. It is located on the route from Urumqi to Turpan, which is a famous wind port with an average wind speed of 6.1 meters per second, ranking second in Xinjiang. So everyone brought hats during the whole trip, demonstrating the power of the wind here.
Specifically, we only arrived at the Bai Shui Ancient Town Scenic Area in Daqiang City. It was built on a large block of black iron rock. The city walls were built with local rubble and rammed earth.
The Bai Shui Ancient Town is one of the Ten Scenic Areas of Urumqi. It is located at the southern end of the Daxiang City-Daqiang City basin, at the foot of the Tian Shan Mountains, and is the gateway to and from Tian Shan, which has been a strategic throat connecting North and South Xinjiang for centuries.
The imitation Tang-style gate tower is very characteristic of the Western Regions. Standing at the foot of the gate tower, one can still imagine the responsibility it once bore and the difficulties it faced.
The ramparts, drawbridge, signal towers, and weapons platforms recreate the magnificent and heroic image of the Tang Dynasty’s frontier military garrison at the ‘ancient watchtower, five towers, winding mountain roads, and rivers washing the city walls’.
The scenic area is like a small market, with not only a folk exhibition hall, tea house (tourist rest center), stables, ethnic handicraft workshops, but also the Wang Luanbin Art Museum, Bai Shui Station, and stone exhibition hall and local snacks.
I couldn’t help but think of the New Dragon Inn, and these buildings with different functions immersed us in the feeling of the past here. ‘Small bridge, beautiful people’, together with the majestic Tian Shan Mountains and the majestic Bogda Peak, created a strong combination of softness and hardness. The military households demonstrated the production and life scenes of Tang Dynasty soldiers and local residents.
The art museum, which was unexpectedly amazing, brought us an unexpected surprise. 'Daqiang City's Girl' has been sung and loved worldwide since half a century ago, and it is the work of the Western Star Wang Luanbin. Many people, like me, know that there is a place called Daqiang City through this song. We were fortunate to learn about his life story here. Some say he is a ‘combination of native and foreign’ composer; ‘native’ because he spent most of his life in the northwestern border, and ‘foreign’ because he came from a scholarly family and graduated from Beijing Normal University’s Music Department with a good music education. It was he who let us know the West through this catchy song, and learn about the excellent culture of the Chinese nation. We should remember him.
The last stop in the scenic area suggests everyone should go to the Northwest Corner Tower Ruins, which is one of the best-preserved defensive structures, with a watchtower and shooting holes, used to defend against foreign enemies. Now it has become a witness to history. I look forward to spring and having the opportunity to come again, I believe we can see the Daqiang City in the song with lush green and full of vitality.
