The road to the horizon

"Our Xinjiang is a good place. There are good pastures in the north and south of Tianshan Mountain, fertile fields in Gobi Desert, and snowmelt irrigation farms." A song of that year attracted thousands of enthusiastic young people to develop, build and contribute to Xinjiang. After several generations' efforts, it is no longer a myth that desert becomes oasis and Gobi becomes fertile land. Especially the expressways in Xinjiang have left a deep impression on our future generations who came for sightseeing, which is really what our predecessors like to see.

Xinjiang has a vast territory and rich natural resources, and the scenic spots are separated by hundreds of kilometers. It takes two or three hours to be near and more than a day to be far away. In order to enjoy the charming scenery in the west, people often take buses without hesitation. The roads we have walked in Xinjiang are very distinctive, either paved with asphalt or paved with cement. It's not too wide, it's only two lanes at most, but it's straight and straight, with no end in sight. To the naked eye, they look like a point, just like reaching out to the horizon. It is these roads that stretch to the horizon that connect Xinjiang with all parts of the motherland. In recent years, Xinjiang has made remarkable achievements in economic and social development and national unity and progress. In the strategy of stabilizing Xinjiang, enriching the people and consolidating the border, this road extending in all directions has contributed.

We set out from Urumqi to Menggrape Valley and Flame Mountain, and the vehicles were driving alone on the highway. The scenery along the way is unprecedented, and the largest wind power generation in Asia is an eye-opener. On both sides of the road, the Gobi desert is endless, and I don't know where it ends. People who haven't been to the desert Gobi, I'm afraid it's hard to really appreciate the desolation and misery of Gobi. Looking from a distance from the window, there is no tree on the endless Gobi Desert, and occasionally sparse Nitraria tangut and camel grass are listless in the scorching sun. The lowest temperature in the Gobi desert in winter is MINUS 34 degrees Celsius, the highest temperature in summer is 42 degrees Celsius, and the surface temperature in Gobi is as high as 80 degrees Celsius. The average annual precipitation is only 43.2 mm, while the average annual evaporation is as high as 34 13. 1 mm, which is an environment unsuitable for human survival. However, in this piece of Gobi desert, which is not suitable for human survival, the predecessors have built a road that surprises the world. The surface of Gobi Desert is covered with gravel, the underground salinization is serious and the climate is bad. I can't imagine how the builders successfully built these roads on this barren Gobi desert without modern means of transportation, and how difficult it was in the process of building roads. Sweating and crying will definitely lead to blood. It is the hard work of our predecessors that gives us the opportunity to appreciate the beautiful and rough scenery of the northwest of our motherland today. The combination of femininity and wildness is unforgettable.

Suddenly, several cars driving in the opposite direction are driving on another expressway more than 20 meters away from us. This 20-meter-wide open space is still the Gobi surface. We stare like discovering a new continent and see our curiosity. The tour guide explained that Xinjiang is a windy region and a region prone to meteorological disasters. The main disasters are drought, dry hot wind, freezing injury, frost, strong wind, cold wave, sandstorm, rainstorm, hail and snow disaster. Because of the special climate in Xinjiang, the Gobi Desert on both sides of the highway has no windproof facilities, and two cars will attract each other when they meet, causing traffic accidents, so this is a major feature of Xinjiang highway at the tuyere. It suddenly dawned on us that this is a common isolation zone of expressways in our mainland, but it has not been processed and decorated, and there are no traffic signs, which makes us feel very strange. This is a great insight.

The road to the horizon gives me unlimited room for daydreaming. Sitting on a spacious bus, looking at the road with few vehicles and looking at the Gobi Desert on the side of the road, it suddenly occurred to me that it would be very cool if I were allowed to drive on this road. There aren't many cars in the same direction. At most, I want to overtake. The car we met was on another road more than 20 meters away, so I don't have to be afraid of scraping and colliding. When I took the driver's license test, I learned to "cross unilateral bridge" and "take the pancake road". Driving on this empty road, just step on the gas pedal, keep the direction and take a nap with your eyes closed for a few minutes, right? Even if something happens, there will be no big accident. The big deal is to lie on the Gobi desert and have a rest. It has been several years since I got my driver's license. Because there are many traffic jams in Jiangnan, there are traffic accidents, big and small, almost every day. Many accidents are caused by novices. I'm so scared that I haven't touched the car many times. Colleagues laughed at me for returning my driving skills to the coach quickly. I can only laugh at myself and say that being a good driver is more than enough. "I never deduct points, never violate the rules, and I am a safe driver as everyone knows", humming an editor.

Recently, a colleague came back from a training inspection in Xinjiang. He used the self-portrait photos of Xinjiang highway as a computer desktop and talked about Xinjiang highway emotionally. They took a bus from Urumqi for 12 hours to an unknown small place, and took a bus for several hours the next day to reach Kanas Lake. In order to appreciate the beautiful lakes and mountains and the legendary monsters, they got up early and got greedy for the dark, took lunch in the car, and solved the problem of "singing" on the roadside on the spot, completely ignoring the usual reserve and gentleness, and got to know about it, but they had time to get off and take Xinjiang. We only went to the scenic spot for a few hours, and we didn't arrange to get off on the way. Although we think this road is spectacular, we have no chance to take it home. I said we should name it "Horizon Road", but he said no, it should be called "The future is boundless". I ha ha a smile, which makes sense. Looking at the long road, the future is immeasurable, but on the other hand, if a person's life is like this road, although it is straight but hopeless, sometimes it will be challenged and bored and depressed because of the ordinary. It is an indisputable fact that jokes are jokes, and the road in Xinjiang makes us unforgettable and unforgettable.