On the journey of thousands of miles- A journey to Xinjiang 

        The ancients said that "reading thousands of books and traveling thousands of miles" is a way for people to increase their knowledge and understand the world. In June of early summer, I traveled more than 9000 kilometers from Shanghai in the east to the northwest frontier, and completed a short but substantial journey in the frontier.

        The Ili River Valley at the foot of Tianshan Mountain is the largest Lavender producing area in Asia with fertile land and abundant sunshine. The first stop of this trip is the valley with abundant specialties. Standing in the field of lavender flowers in full bloom, the purple sea of flowers rippling with the wind in the bright sunshine makes people intoxicated. Is enjoying, in the field of vision suddenly jumped into two figures, in the flower sea bow busy. They are the owners of this flower sea. Every time when lavender flowers are in bloom, a large number of tourists come here. Although they are happy to bring pleasure to the tourists, many people trample and pick flowers and plants at will, which makes them sad. They have to cut weeds in the field and protect the tourists at the same time, because this flower sea is their main economic source. Few tourists who pass in a hurry understand the owner of the flower garden Toil.

With complex thoughts to continue to move forward, the road is on both sides of the boundless field, in front of a large number of people suddenly appeared, there are many police in order to maintain. It turns out that this is an open-air market, which gathers the products of the fields, mountains and forests, grasslands, rivers and lakes, as well as a variety of small commodities. The people in the market are in groups, leading their families, enjoying the delicious food and looking for the things they need. Although the environment can't be compared with the clean supermarket and vegetable market in the city, it is natural and warm, but it reminds me of my childhood. There was a similar market in my hometown at that time. Although there were not many products and commodities, people from all over the country gathered together, and the smile on the faces of men, women, old and children was unforgettable. Today, people are gradually moving to cities and towns, and their living environment is greatly improved, but they can no longer find the simple happiness of the past.

        I left the market and went on. On the way, I ran out of drinking water, so I stopped at the roadside to have a rest and buy some water. An old Uyghur woman happened to walk out of a colorful house and water the garden at the door. The old woman called me, "do you want to rest? Come to my house. "I said," no, I'll get some water, and I'll go in a minute. "The old woman quickly walked up to me." my child, you have come to my door. How can you buy water elsewhere! Come in, I'll get you some water. "He said, taking my arm and walking home. I had to step into the gate.

It turns out that this is a half back type courtyard. Like the gate, there are many flowers and trees planted in the courtyard. There is also a semi open kitchen, a living room and master bedroom, and a second bedroom. The whole house is half made of stone and wood structure, half made of colored steel tiles. The floor of the room and the courtyard is only a simple and solid earth surface. It is also equipped with simple furniture and little electrical appliances. I thought it would be good to drink some boiled water. The old woman asked the young and old people in her family to introduce me to her. At the same time, she brought out the fragrant milk tea and dishes of special pasta. She invited me to taste them one by one. Such enthusiasm made me feel at a loss. Although all of them are Uighurs, except for their grandson, who can speak Chinese fluently, others only know simple Chinese, which does not hinder their enthusiasm. We chatted with each other for more than two hours. I found that it was late, and I was about to leave. The old lady and her family kept me again and again. They had to entertain a rich dinner. I could only politely refuse again and again. Before going out, the old lady turned out a small gift and thrust it into my hand. I also found a small ornament from my body as a gift in return, so I set out at ease. It's so simple that even the poor family show their sincerity and enthusiasm to me that I can't help thinking about their attitude towards life? What's the difference between us?

        Facing the afterglow, we embarked on the journey again. Before midnight, we arrived at the top of a snow mountain with an altitude of about 3000 meters. It was surrounded by snow mountains. The snow on the surface of the mountain set off the whole sky like day. The scenery was very beautiful, but the four shepherds we saw later eclipsed the beautiful scenery.

The snow mountain here is frozen for up to eight months every year. Only from June to September can it pass through, and shepherds can bring sheep to enjoy water and grass. At the top of the snow mountain in the middle of the night, the temperature is as low as seven or eight degrees below zero. Four Shepherds are carrying more than 1000 sheep, and their faces are covered with wind and frost. In fact, there are only three or forty year olds, but they look like five or sixty year olds. They learned from their mouths that the original way of labor was not entirely for the sake of life, but also for the sake of not wanting to lose the traditions of their ancestors. In the fight against nature, they were more awed by life.

This trip to the western regions, of course, has countless beautiful sceneries, but what impresses me deeply is those simple people whose words, deeds and life style have brought me great impact, and also helped me to constantly think about and revise the direction of life, which has really benefited me a lot!