July 23, 2023 Heading West. At half-past eight in the evening, the scene in Hami is still that of the afternoon sun, casting slanted rays on the ground. Outside the train are deserts, slopes, blowing sand, scattered halophytes, and patches of green grapevines. I woke up from the sleeper bed at six in the afternoon, groggily looking out of the window at the changing scenery. Sun, heat, dryness were my expectations for Xinjiang....

July 10, 2023 On June 27th at noon, I arrived in Chongqing. I didn’t feel the rush of moisture from Chongqing as soon as I got off the plane—perhaps it’s quite different from the humid south in my impression. Instead, it was much more humid, but I found it quite comfortable, with a lingering moistness. We had the first meal cooked by Mom at Dream’s house: it could be said to be the first meal at a Chongqing household in terms of significance....