I bought a second-hand van for 20,000 yuan and drove it to Xinjiang for a month.

When we met Xiaoxi, we were eating takeout under the grapevine trellis. The youth hostel was very quiet at three o'clock in the afternoon. The shadow of the sun shone through the grape leaves on the table, and was blown by the wind.

We each ate for a while, and she suddenly covered the takeout and shouted to the sky, "This is too delicious!" I closed the box. Mine tasted terrible too. Then we looked at each other and laughed.

After sitting in the sun for a while, I asked Xiaoxi, which airport did you fly to when you came to Xinjiang, and where did you start playing. She paused for a second, looked up at me and said, "I drove here."

"from where?"

"Wuhan."

"Alone?"

"Well, alone."

I was so surprised that I couldn't answer the call, and I couldn't imagine how this gentle, thin and small girl in front of me drove from such a far away place to Xinjiang alone.

In the following time, she told me her story. I have heard many, many examples of bravery, and even myself have inspired others, but Xiaoxi’s story touched me very much.

A girl and her Xinjiang dream.

This is your dream, not mine

Before coming to Xinjiang, Xiaoxi had almost never traveled far.

She has worked in a pet grooming salon for seven years, coming to get off work on time every day, never being late and never asking for leave.

(Work photo before resignation)

The day she handed in her resignation letter to her boss, no one thought she was serious, nor did they believe her reason for resignation. ——Drive to Xinjiang.

Although this seed has taken root and sprouted in Xiaoxi's heart for three years.

25 When she was 18, she read a book written by a Xinjiang writer. In her imagination, Xinjiang is beautiful, pure, and remote. She began to read more books and watch documentaries about Xinjiang, trying to understand it and get closer to it.

The more she saw, the more Xiaoxi became fascinated by Xinjiang, fascinated by every ancient ruins, every grassland and pasture. She didn’t want to rush past like an ordinary tourist, she wanted to explore this land bit by bit.

"I'm going to drive there."

This idea suddenly came to me. Xiaoxi told her boyfriend at the time, let’s save money together and drive to Xinjiang. He agreed without thinking that she was serious.

When Xiaoxi saved all the income of the two of them and planned how to use it, he realized that Xiaoxi was really doing this, so the two had a good talk. The boy said that it was your dream, not mine. .

Xiaoxi didn't allow herself to cry because the plan to save money was even more difficult.

At that time, she was renting a house alone in Wuhan, with a salary of less than 6,000 yuan. If she wanted to save the target of 100,000 yuan, she had to frugally save money.

At the youth hostel in Kuqa, she asked me, does my skin look okay? In order to save money, I no longer dare to buy skin care products.

I also laughed when I heard this sentence. Look at my skin. I am also someone who dare not buy skin care products.

In the era of prevalent consumerism, it seems that every girl should own SK2 and Estee Lauder. Only if you are willing to invest this amount can you truly be good to yourself.

The two of us have dreams that cost money, and our lives are a bit rough.

A van that makes everyone shake their heads.

Xiaoxi also disclosed this idea to her friends and family, but without exception they all received negative responses. Gradually, she stopped mentioning it to others.

Work alone, eat, save money, do strategy carefully, and learn to drive and get your driver's license.

It took her three years to finally save close to her goal.

She only got her driver's license a year before her departure.

Half a year before her departure, she encountered an epidemic.

She is in Wuhan and lives near Jinyintan.

She gritted her teeth and went as planned. She went to the second-hand market alone and spent 20,000 yuan on a van, which made everyone shake their heads.

"If this car doesn't work, it won't be able to leave Wuhan."

She didn't listen to the advice and went for the annual inspection alone, and failed nine times. Either there was something wrong with this or that.

After a lot of bumping and bumping, I finally managed to get it done.

She didn’t tell me about this year in detail, but in Wuhan in 2020, nothing was easy.

Finally on the road smoothly, Xiaoxi drove a small broken car that she had modified herself, carrying a meager luggage and full of joyful expectations.

(Before and after the interior renovation of the van)

Those nights sleeping in the car

On the first day of driving to Nanyang, Henan, she spent the night in a sleeping bag in the car. She originally thought she would be unaccustomed to sleeping, but she fell asleep and slept until dawn. Driving alone was more tiring than she imagined.

From then on, nights in the car wrapped in sleeping bags became a regular occurrence.

I have seen countless stars.

"In the Nalati Grassland, I found an open space to park my car. As soon as I opened the door and looked up, I was speechless. The brilliant stars and the Milky Way were so beautiful. It was the first time I saw such a beautiful starry sky."

(Xiaoxi stops to make a cup of coffee and have a meal when he encounters a place he likes)

I also suffered from thieves.

"I parked my car and slept in a public parking lot in the city. I was woken up by the rustling of the door in the early morning. I was so scared that I didn't know what to do. I could only bravely yell and the person was scared away."

Xinjiang is also the Western Region in dreams

Before Xiaoxi set off, he carefully planned which city he should take which way and what history was behind this city.

She read a lot of books and historical documentaries about Xinjiang, the ancient Western Regions, the Hexi Corridor, and Kumarajiva and Xuanzang.

When traveling to Gansu and Qinghai, many friends on the road suggested that she go to the popular scenic spots this year, such as Emerald Lake, Dachaidan, Shuishui Yadan, etc. But she insisted on taking the Hexi Corridor.

"I have seen photos of those lakes. They are beautiful, but they are not as attractive to me as the ruins of the ancient country."

Departing on the 28th of the 8 month and arriving in Hami on the 22nd of the 9 month 9, Xiaoxi finally entered Xinjiang.

Continuous snow-capped mountains, cattle and sheep on the grassland, and young men herding in the pasture.

"It's like entering my own dream."

Xinjiang, this seed has grown in Xiao Xi's heart for a long time, growing into a lush tree, and every image bears fruit.

I asked her, have you imagined for so long that you will continue to beautify Xinjiang? Once you get here, does Xinjiang match what you imagined?

"When I first entered Xinjiang, I slept one night beside a pasture in Hami. The grassland next to me was full of cows and horses. One cow mooed all night. This is what I imagined."

We met at a youth hostel in Kuqa. Today’s Kuqa was once the ancient Kingdom of Qiuci, one of the great powers in the Western Regions of China in ancient times. It has many grotto cultures and ruins with high artistic value.

Xiaoxi said, I was so excited when I heard the word Qiuci.

I don't know much about history, but I can understand the feeling, just like some of the dream places I've been to.

But during her few days in Kuqa, she came back angrily every time she visited a ruins.

Most tourists do not understand and are not interested in these historic sites. The result is that tourism is underdeveloped and places are not protected.

She went to the ruins of the Subashi Buddhist Temple. The entire scenic spot was empty of tourists, except for an uncle guarding the gate.

The uncle only said one sentence indifferently, take the plank road and don't go down to touch the ruins.

When you come next year, I will take you to the place where Xuanzang meditated.

After thousands of years of wind and sand, and being destroyed by humans, the ruins are no longer worth seeing. In addition, the East Temple and the cave are not open, so the sightseeing was over in just two days. Xiaoxi went back to talk to his uncle about history.

At first, the uncle still ignored her, but when he heard Xiao Xi’s question, he looked at her. I guess what was going on in his mind was that this little girl knows something, and is not just a idiot who only knows how to take pictures.

The uncle opened his chat box and carefully told the story of each unrecognizable mound.

After it was over, the Uyghur uncle said in non-standard Chinese that if you come tomorrow, I can take you to visit the East Temple.

He also said that if you come next year, there will be more exhibitions here, there will be museums, and the caves will be open.

He also said that if you come next year, I will take you to the cave where Xuanzang meditated and practiced for half an hour, so that you can have a good experience.

"I can't come tomorrow, but maybe next year. But who am I to meditate in a place where Xuanzang practiced!

After leaving the scenic spot, we walked forward for a long time and sat for a while where the Tongchang River used to flow, looking at the East Temple Pagoda from a distance.

I remember that at Kumarajiva Temple in Wuwei, I had a long chat with the uncle who registered at the door. He said that I regretted not being able to go to the Queli Temple ruins when I went to Xinjiang. You must go and see it when you go! Even if there is only a little mound left.

I said yes, I will definitely go. ”

Unexpected poetry

Her and I had opposite itineraries. She walked from northern Xinjiang to the south, and I went from Kuqa to Korla. On the night of departure, we drank beer and said goodbye at the youth hostel.

I almost never drink wine, but I made an exception and drank a little. Xiaoxi was in high spirits, and before he knew it, he finished two bottles.

At this time, a boy checked in and joined the drinking party. We started chatting about our impressions of Xinjiang. Xiaoxi was describing her memories of Xinjiang. The boy asked, have you read Li Juan's book?

In an instant, Xiaoxi screamed. She was a little tipsy at the moment, and her words were confused. I laughed next to her.

Her trip to Xinjiang was worth it.

(Xiaoxi is at Kanas Lake in Altay)

Xiaoxi’s earliest dream about Xinjiang was planted by Li Juan.

She read all of Li Juan's books, including "A Person's Altay", "A Corner of Altay", "Winter Pasture" and "Summer Pasture". She read them several times every year. She also asked many people along the way, do you like reading books? , have you read Li Juan’s book?

The answers I got were almost always no, they had heard of it but not seen it.

She stopped asking later, and not everyone who comes to Xinjiang is poetic.

Unexpectedly, tonight, I unexpectedly met a soulmate.

They opened new glasses of wine and cheered happily. I knew we might not have the chance to meet again in the future, but this moment was really magical.

I wonder if this night will make Xiao Xi feel poetic.

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A person's journey is lonely, but also worth it

The word "dream" seems to be a bit of a bad word, but what I see in Xiaoxi are these two words of reality.

Some people have big dreams. They want to travel around the world, want to go to distant places where few people live, want adventure, and want an extraordinary life.

Xiaoxi's dream is very small, just to go to Xinjiang, Wuhan to Urumqi, 3,000 kilometers, a direct flight of only five hours.

But she wanted to get closer to it in her own way, step by step.

This is true love, love that shines.

“When I drove through Burqin County a few days ago, I was attracted by the riverside scenery, and secretly decided that I must come and have a look when I come back.

Today it cleared up after the rain and I went hiking with the girl from the youth hostel. During the three hours, I didn’t meet anyone except cows and horses, but I encountered the most beautiful autumn scenery here.

When we came back, the boss and his family were eating and chatting, the children were screaming and playing, and we were preparing for our respective journeys tomorrow.

It has been a month since I quit my job, and I drove from Wuhan to Xinjiang alone. I went through a lot of hardships and experienced extreme loneliness, but I felt it was all worth it because of my peace of mind. "