6_
West of Lhasa, an unimaginably long and arduous journey began.
This road belonged to National Highway 318, also known as the China-Nepal Highway, with an average altitude of 4,000 meters. Duo Ji drove in front, while Gao Xiang followed closely behind in another vehicle. Lao Zhang came over to sit in the passenger seat, taking over the wheel after Gao Xiang had driven for two hours. He chattered animatedly the entire way, seemingly unaffected by altitude sickness.
Sun Ruodi listened to his tales of traveling along the Qinghai-Tibet route with envy, and Gao Xiang also found it eye-opening. The only silent person in the car was Zuo Si'an. She sat in the back seat, continuously gazing out the window at the unfamiliar scenery. Even when Lao Zhang and Sun Ruodi tried to engage her in conversation, she would only mumble a vague "Hmm" in response.
They arrived in Shigatse to rest for the night and set off early the next morning. Passing through Puncogling Township (formerly an administrative division, merged with Lhatse Dzong in 1960 to establish Lhatse County), they reached the Gyatso La Pass. There, four peaks towering over 8,000 meters, including Mount Everest, dramatically appeared in their line of sight. They all stopped and got out to gaze into the distance. After Sun Ruodi pulled Gao Xiang aside to take a photo together, she beckoned Zuo Si'an to join them for a group picture. Zuo Si'an shook her head in refusal. Sun Ruodi whispered to Gao Xiang, "Does this child have some form of autism?"
"Nonsense."
"How is it nonsense? Look how indifferent she is even to her own mother. She didn’t say a word when we left..."
"That’s their family matter."
"Alright, but we’ve been together all these days. By now, we’re at least acquaintances, yet she’s spoken less than ten sentences to me in total."
"She’s still young, and it’s her first time traveling far from home. Be a little more patient with her, talk to her more, and she’ll eventually get used to communicating with you."
Sun Ruodi looked at him thoughtfully. He was puzzled: "What’s wrong?"
Sun Ruodi smiled. "No wonder you keep talking to her even when she doesn’t respond. I’m only realizing now that you can be quite attentive."
"Have I always come across as careless?"
"You’re not exactly careless, but I used to think you never put much thought into others."
"That’s even worse than calling me careless—it’s an indirect accusation of selfishness."
Sun Ruodi shot him a glare. "Stop it. You’re not selfish either. I don’t know how to put it... You’ve always been good to me, but... you’ve never been fully invested."
Gao Xiang felt a pang of shame. This was the first time Sun Ruodi had complained about him so explicitly, and he roughly understood what she meant. She was his first love, but he had matured early and never possessed the intense, all-consuming passion of his peers. He didn’t believe he could be as meticulous and devoted as his girlfriend hoped. He could only say softly, "Calling me out like this while I’m oxygen-deprived and forcing me to reflect deeply isn’t very humane."
Sun Ruodi was amused by his remark. Moreover, caught up in the excitement of the journey and in high spirits, she wasn’t truly holding a grudge. She turned away to continue photographing the scenery.
Gao Xiang walked over to Zuo Si'an, who was squatting off to the side, and crouched down beside her. He asked gently, "Are you feeling unwell?"
Zuo Si'an, pale-faced, hesitated for a moment before saying, "It’s a bit stuffy. I can’t catch my breath."
"The oxygen levels here are less than half of what they are inland. Feeling stuffy is normal." He unscrewed the cap of his water bottle and handed it to her. "Drink some warm water."She obediently took it, drank a couple of sips, and handed the water and canteen back to him: "Do we really still need to drive for six more days to get there?"
"If everything goes smoothly, it might only take five days. But we'll need to stop and look around in some places, and the journey might also get delayed. Anyway, don't worry. If you feel unwell, just get in the car and lie down. If there's anything you're not comfortable telling me, just talk to Ruodi. She'll take care of you."
She shook her head: "I'm alright. I was just thinking, if even breathing is this difficult, what would it feel like to live here long-term?"
"People adapt to their environment," he knew she was worried about her father and pointed at Duo Ji, who was standing leisurely in the distance. "Look at Duo Ji—he genuinely loves this place and doesn't find life here particularly hard."
She looked over just as Duo Ji glanced in their direction, waved, and flashed a bright, toothy smile. Gao Xiang smiled back and waved at him too.
"Ruodi loves traveling and always uses her holidays to go out. I'm different from her—since college, all my free time has been spent on work. Thinking about it now, I've had too little experience outside of work, and life has become rather dull. Not everyone gets the chance to come here, so try to let everything else go and just enjoy the journey."
He didn't expect a response, but she softly murmured, "Mmm."
After a short rest, they continued on their way. Leaving Lazi and getting on the Xinjiang-Tibet Highway, Gao Xiang took over driving while Lao Zhang switched off to rest. Despite his headache, Lao Zhang rubbed his hands together and said, "This time we're only going to Ngari, but when I have time in the future, I definitely want to travel this entire road."
Sun Ruodi looked at the materials in her hand and exclaimed in amazement, "My goodness, Lao Zhang, that's quite an ambitious goal. Do you know the Xinjiang-Tibet Highway stretches 1,179 kilometers from Gar County to Yecheng County in Xinjiang?"
"Right, along the way you have to cross five mountains over 5,000 meters, pass 16 icy mountain passes, 44 glacial rivers, and traverse hundreds of kilometers of uninhabited areas. It's the highest altitude road in the world, with the toughest conditions, and one of the most dangerous routes," Lao Zhang clearly had this memorized long ago. "I have a friend who drove this road solo and even drove all the way back to Beijing from Yecheng."
Sun Ruodi could only express her admiration: "I'll be perfectly satisfied just making it to Ngari." She turned to ask Zuo Si'an: "Xiao An, where's the farthest you've been before? And where do you most want to go?"
She was just following Gao Xiang's instruction to try to include Zuo Si'an in the conversation, but to her surprise, Zuo Si'an thought for a moment and replied: "When I graduated from elementary school, my parents took me to Beijing. The place I most want to visit is Kanas in Xinjiang. My dad said it's the most beautiful place he's ever been, and he promised to take me and my mom there when he had the chance."
"When I was your age, I only left the city for school-organized spring outings. I was so naive my mind was almost blank, with no imagination at all about the world outside."
Lao Zhang also laughed heartily: "Exactly, my childhood and teenage years were like that too. A friend of mine analyzed that this is probably why I later developed this compensatory desire to travel to every place I haven't been."
"Is there any place further away than here?"Although Zuo Si'an seemed to be talking to herself rather than posing a question that required an answer, Lao Zhang nodded firmly. "There must be. I firmly believe so."
Gao Xiang glanced at Zuo Si'an through the rearview mirror. She remained lost in thought, but her expression no longer appeared as dazed as before. He suspected it wasn't so much that his words had influenced her, but rather that communication is a fundamental human need. Traveling through such sparsely populated terrain, even seeing an oncoming vehicle would bring a small thrill. Not only the lively Lao Zhang, but even the usually quiet Sun Ruodi had become far more talkative than when they were in the plains. For a 14-year-old child, self-imposed isolation was bound to be broken eventually.
7_
Zuo Si'an's sole purpose in coming to Ngari was to see her father. Gao Xiang had neither knowledge of nor longing for Ngari; he was merely accompanying her to fulfill this wish. Lao Zhang had long aspired to see all the world's landscapes and experience the limits of life. Sun Ruodi, like the young couple from Northeast China, Daming and Xiaoyun, eagerly wanted to explore a novel world. Meanwhile, the 28-year-old southern girl Shi Wei yearned to find faith and spiritual sustenance. Everyone came with different purposes—whether hastily embarking on the journey or thoroughly preparing—yet upon setting foot on this vast land spanning over 300,000 square kilometers with an average altitude of 4,500 meters, they all felt the same awe.
Here, the sky was a pure, deep blue, with massive white clouds seemingly within reach. The sun appeared exceptionally brilliant, not setting until 10 p.m. Gazing out, all colors were rich and vibrant, the air exceptionally fresh, yet it made their hearts beat faster, forcing every movement to slow down.
On this plateau where towering mountains converge and great rivers originate, the landscape is diverse. The journey traversed endlessly long canyons, passed continuous snow-capped peaks, and alternated between vast grasslands and desolate, uninhabited Gobi deserts. Just when the wilderness outside the window seemed interminable, emerald-green or deep blue lakes would suddenly appear. The brilliant starry sky, monasteries shrouded in mist, fluttering five-colored prayer flags, Mani stones, Tibetan pilgrims prostrating in devotion, solitary tents in the wild, innocent smiles of Tibetan children, and the solemn, majestic sacred mountains and lakes—all imprinted themselves in their minds.
The magnificent scenery filled them with wonder and ecstasy, while the wreckage of trucks by the roadside constantly reminded them to abandon all fanciful illusions; the shadow of death was never far away. Headaches and chest tightness from oxygen deprivation troubled everyone incessantly. The diet was monotonous, accommodations were often shared beds in small county towns, and there were no conventional sanitation facilities—only simple teeth brushing and face washing were possible.They spent nearly all their time on the road, continuously heading toward the next unfamiliar place name displayed on the road signs. The journey was more treacherous than anticipated. Long stretches of the highway were poorly maintained, making the ride extremely bumpy. Rough gravel roads would mysteriously disappear at times, forcing them to navigate carefully by following tire tracks. On the fourth day, both vehicles suffered flat tires in succession. With no spare tires left and no villages in sight—neither ahead nor behind—they had no choice but to stop where they were. Shivering in the biting cold wind, they anxiously scanned the horizon, spending most of the day waiting for a passing vehicle to rescue them. Late at night, a large truck finally arrived, towing them for two hours until they reached a temporary resting spot consisting of two tents. The tent owners, a Tibetan couple, hospitably squeezed everyone in together. Just as they had barely settled down, Zuo Si'an suddenly screamed outside, her voice filled with uncontrollable terror.
They hurriedly grabbed flashlights and rushed out. In the chaotic beams of light, they saw her standing not far from the tents, curled up into a ball.
"What happened?"
"Did she see a wolf?"
"Unlikely. There are Tibetan mastiffs here—wolves wouldn’t come near."
Zuo Si'an remained curled up for a moment before barely managing to reply, "There was a mouse. It suddenly jumped out."
Everyone was taken aback, then couldn’t help but laugh. Sun Ruodi chuckled, "Xiao An, it’s just a mouse. Was it necessary to scream so horrifyingly?"
Gao Xiang also laughed, "Hey, you scream at cockroaches as if you’ve stumbled upon a murder scene."
Sun Ruodi shot him a glare and was about to retort when he intervened, "Alright, it’s freezing out here. Let’s go inside."
Once they were back in, he said to Zuo Si'an, "It’s fine. No one was laughing at you. It’s not unusual for girls to be afraid of mice."
She remained silent, but under the starlight, her face was deathly pale, clearly still in a state of extreme panic—far beyond a simple scare.
"What’s wrong, Xiao An?"
"I..." she stammered, finally whispering, "I’ve had nightmares about mice. Seeing one run so close suddenly just scared me."
He felt relieved. "It was just a dream. Don’t be afraid. Don’t overthink it. Let’s go inside."
She lowered her head and walked back into the tent.
The plateau’s weather was ever-changing—one moment calm and sunny, with warm sunlight bathing everyone, the next moment fierce winds carrying sand and dust howled past, making it impossible to keep their eyes open. At times, heavy snow would suddenly blanket the sky, covering everything and completely obscuring the road. Apart from Gao Xiang and Sun Ruodi, the others had some travel experience, but faced with the vast, featureless wilderness and no signs of human activity, even the bravest couldn’t help but feel a sense of fear.
The Tibetan driver, Duo Ji, demonstrated what seemed to them an utterly incredible skill: he could accurately determine the correct direction by relying on his memory of mountain ranges and lake positions. Lao Zhang marveled at this and specifically asked about the trick to it. Although Duo Ji spoke fluent Chinese, he couldn’t quite explain it clearly. Pressed for an answer, he could only scratch his head and grin sheepishly. Lao Zhang had to concede that it was an innate talent—something that couldn’t be learned no matter how hard one tried.Oh ho, dear friends, if you find 52 Book Lake great, remember to bookmark the URL https:https://www.52shuku.net/ or recommend it to your pals~ Please and thank you (>.<) Portal: Ranking List | Book Finding Guide | Qingshan Luotuo
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