In 2007, He Xudong crossed the Taklimakan along the N39 by bicycle. It was the first time for human beings to drive a motor vehicle to cross this line. So far no one has broken this record. It has been 12 years since that crossing.
He Xudong participated in an off-road themed sharing meeting before, and when sharing that experience, he recalled the memories of that year. Later, I talked with Mr. Zong Tongchang (Zong Lao) about this matter, and the two decided to return to N39.
This Zong Lao has a bigger background. In 2004, the 55-year-old Zong Lao walked through the Taklamakan along the N39 with the Sino-Japanese joint expedition team. His teammates failed to persist due to various reasons. The walking equipment was given to the camel workers and not left to Zong Lao. In the end, it took 73 days for Zong Lao to complete the entire Tammo trek alone. His firm belief made Zong Lao the first person in Taklimakan N39. The originator of the complete crossing of this route, this feat of mankind is still unsurpassed.
Zong Lao is not only an outdoor extreme explorer, but also a geologist, archaeologist, visiting professor at the Academy of Fine Arts of Tsinghua University, and a cultural relic photographer of the Palace Museum. This old man can be described as full of knowledge. He studied the Guge Dynasty in Tibet in his early years and edited books such as “Guge Ancient City”. Mr. Zong was the first person to complete the N39 on foot 15 years ago, and He Xudong was the first person to complete the N39 by bicycle 12 years ago. The two are both teachers and friends. And Markit’s N39 gate is being built accordingly.
As early as two centuries ago, the famous Swedish explorer Sven Heding, in order to solve the mystery of the disappearance of 36 countries in the Western Regions, entered Tammo from Markit. This line can cross all the dry ancient rivers in Tammo. The ancients did not have modern means of transportation, so they could only walk along water sources. Water provided the earliest transportation and gave birth to the early Chinese civilization. N39 is not as simple as drawing a straight line on the map, it is actually the lifeline of a cultural context.
He Xudong has always been very busy, and the appointment with him before departure was just a simple interview. I don’t have much experience in the outdoors, and I’m a little scared about this trip. I said it was an exclusive interview, but in fact, I was looking for him to find out the bottom line, and it really made me psychologically prepared.
N39 has the longest straight-line distance of 990km, the GPS track it traversed 12 years ago was 1370km, and the vehicle odometer showed a distance of 1730km. Because the actual line is not a straight line. In a bird’s-eye view, the vehicle moves left and right; in a head-up view, the vehicle goes up and down sand hills, so the GPS track is much more than the straight-line distance. In addition, due to the characteristics of the desert, the wheels are constantly spinning, so that the mileage on the odometer is much more than the GPS track. Such a harsh environment and arduous journey have extremely high tests on the physical fitness of people and the reliability of vehicles.
What I am most curious and worried about is what is the most difficult point of Tamo crossing? Camping at minus 25 degrees? Supply shortage? Vehicle rescue? Personnel sick? or something else? He Xudong introduced that it was 2/3 of the journey from west to east to Tazhong Town. After 17 days in the desert, when he returned to the civilized world, he did not need to cook by himself. He could take a hot bath and hold a remote control. When I was lying on the bed, the next day I would enter the uninhabited land far away from civilization. At this time, the struggle in my heart was the most intense. In fact, the most difficult thing was not the harsh environment or the difficulty of driving, but the relationship with myself. Fight, convince yourself to face nature and move on.
It is really difficult to go further to the east. There are many huge sand dams, just like super-large dams, like faults in the desert. There is no breakthrough in front of the car, so we can only go around to both sides. I remember that one day I only walked 8km.
Returning to N39 this time is not an adventure, but to revisit this route. In order to find some ancient city relics, we will also deviate from N39, so we choose to go from east to west, so that the huge sand dam mentioned above is all Downhill, it will be easier to walk from top to bottom. In fact, the traveling speed of the convoy is much slower than that of bicycles. He Xudong’s bicycle can travel up to 90km a day, but the convoy is different. The driving conditions of the personnel and their understanding of Tamo are uneven. Each vehicle is faced with countless times. Car rescue, then from east to west is also to ensure that we can reach the mysterious places we are going to within a limited time.
Therefore, we plan to go from east to west, enter Tamo from Ruoqiang, and pass through Maigaiti to complete this “return to N39” trip.
Source of pictures and texts: Official Account: Leaf Wandering.
