The camel caravan from the Eastern Tianshan Mountains has successfully arrived in Luoyang! On January 4th, following the ancient Silk Road, the Eastern Tianshan camel caravan, after 136 days of trekking and covering nearly 3,000 kilometers, finally reaches the longed-for River Luo land from Balikun, Hami, Xinjiang at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains.
Wearing a red scarf, offering a cup of welcoming ginger tea and having a bowl of homecoming noodles… At the welcoming scene, the people of Xin’an County greet the camel team in a simple, warm and traditional way. Among them, the red scarves symbolize joy and good fortune, the steaming ginger tea helps the team members relieve their fatigue from the journey, and a bowl of stewed noodles is a true expression of the reunion of relatives in the local custom of “dumplings when leaving and noodles when arriving” in Luoyang.
“We have finally arrived in Luoyang. We have succeeded. This journey is extremely arduous but also full of passion and excitement!” Captain Jiang Xiaoliang of the camel caravan is overwhelmed with emotion. Just as the caravan set out with the original intention: this expedition is not only a geographical journey, but also a cultural trip retracing the Silk Road, a journey of gratitude for supporting Xinjiang, and a journey of ethnic unity to strengthen the consciousness of the Chinese nation as a community.
Tracing back to the prosperous times of the Han and Tang Dynasties, the ancient Silk Road stretched for thousands of miles. The ancient capital of Luoyang and Hami in Xinjiang are like two shining pearls on the Silk Road, both witnessing the prosperity of the Silk Road and the integration of civilizations. The East Tianshan Camel Caravan set off from the Balikun Grassland in Hami on August 22, 2025, and after more than four months of arduous journey, finally arrives in Luoyang as the New Year’s dawn broke. Along the way, the caravan braves sandstorms, endures scorching heat, and braves snowstorms, crossing the Gobi Desert, the Hexi Corridor, and the Loess Plateau, turning hardship into a poetic journey. This lingering sound of the camel bells also echoes the spirit of the Silk Road in the modern era.(Reporters Liu Jiayi and Xie Nana/Text, Zhang Guanghui/Photos)
