Sands of time: Hundreds of Chinese recreate Silk Road scene to mark founding of People's Republic

Hundreds of Chinese have recreated a traditional Silk Road scene by riding camels through the Gobi desert to mark the founding of the People’s Republic.  

Tourists celebrated the week-long national holiday atop caravans of camels on the singing sand dune at Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Spring nature park near Dunhuang in the country’s northwest. 

More than 400 camels raised by local farmers live at the site, which once sat astride two major trade routes of the ancient Silk Road, all year round and help recreate a traditional caravanserai scene along the oasis’ stark sand ridges.

The annual National Day celebrates the founding of the People’s Republic of China, proclaimed by Mao Zedong on October 1, 1949. It is celebrated over seven days and sees millions of Chinese ditch the cities for family homes or visits to major tourism sites. 

Though China’s National Day is celebrated on October 1, festivities across the country last for seven days – known as ‘October 1 Golden Week’ – and include a flag raising ceremony in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, fireworks and some years a military parade. 

Soldiers perform a small parade in Tiananmen Square every fifth October 1, with a full-scale display every ten years. Meanwhile cities are lit up every year with firework displays and light shows sponsored by the government as embassies, banks, restaurants and factories all close down to mark the anniversary. 

The week-long holiday is usually one of the busiest of the year and saw an estimated 16 million people embark on train travels around the country on October 1, 2018, alone, with a further 113 million travelling around the country over the seven days. 

In previous years more than 140,000 people from all over the country have gathered at Tiananmen Square in the capital city before sunrise – some arriving as early as 8pm the night before – to watch the flag raising ceremony to kick off the celebrations. 

Located 6km from the city of Dunhuang and on the edge of the Taklamakan Desert, the UNESCO World Heritage site would have been one of the first places reached by merchants travelling west to China along the ancient Silk Road and acted as a final rest stop for traders before they reached the city.

The site is known for a remarkable fresh water oasis in the shape of a half moon – known as the Crescent Lake (Yueyaquan in Chinese). It is home to the Mogao Caves, also known as the Thousand Buddha Grottoes, a temple complex and UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The oasis, which is believed to have existed for 2,000 years, was in danger of disappearing beneath the sands until the government stepped in to save it by starting to refill it in 2006. 

The lake’s survival in the middle of the desert is believed to be due to its low altitude, while its position is also thought to prevent excess sand from the surrounding dunes falling into it.

Next to the lake is a traditional pagoda and a street lined with souvenir stalls. The site is popular with tourists who are taken on camel rides by guides to the peaks of the surrounding dunes.

Surrounded by high mountains, Dunhuang has an arid climate – and is extremely hot in the summer and cold in winter. Rain only occurs in tiny amounts and quickly evaporates, resulting in the desert landscape.