There is a special group in the construction army of the Qinghai Tibet Highway - the Qinghai Tibet Camel Team. They have written one heroic story after another on the road construction with the spirit of selfless dedication and hard work, and achieved one legend and glory after another on the roof of the world.
In the early winter season, carrying the admiration for the heroic predecessors in road construction, the reporter used the form of "tracing" to pick up the memories of road construction on the Qinghai Tibet Highway in the bricks and tiles of the starting point of the camel caravan, among the sand and stones of the sky road, and to search for the sound of camel bells in the glorious years.
The sound of camel bells awakens the horn of road construction
Walking into the Mohe Camel Farm Qinghai Tibet Camel Team Historical Exhibition Hall located in Chaka Town, Ulan County, Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, one's thoughts are instantly drawn to that magnificent period.
Nearly 200 relevant historical documents and dozens of national level cultural relics are exhibited in the museum. The rusty shovel, the worn bucket, every article, and every photo are all affectionate memories and conclusive testimony of those passionate years.
Among the numerous exhibits in the exhibition hall, a rusty camel bell attracts the attention of tourists. This is the camel bell of the head camel that followed the Qinghai Tibet camel caravan into Tibet.
According to Zhang Cunhu, the director of the Qinghai Tibet Camel History Exhibition Hall at Mohe Camel Farm, this camel bell is not only the "fixed star" of the entire Qinghai Tibet camel caravan, but also the psychological support of the entire transportation team. Camel workers often say that as long as they can hear the sound of the camel's bell, they know that the advancing team has not dispersed and the direction of entering Tibet has not changed, "said Zhang Cunhu.
Xiangride Town, located in Dulan County, Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, was the endpoint of the road from Xining to Dulan before and after the founding of the People's Republic of China.
Dulan was once an economic and cultural hub in Qinghai Province, along the Tang Tibetan ancient road and the southern route of the Silk Road. A thousand years ago, the camel bell rang here. 70 years ago, it was the sound of the camel ringing that awakened the call to build the Qinghai Tibet Highway.
In 1953, in order to solve the food shortage of the troops stationed in Xizang, the Tibet Transportation Corps was established, and Mu Shengzhong, 43, served as the political commissar of the Corps. The transportation team has purchased over 20000 camels from Ningxia, Qinghai, Gansu, Inner Mongolia and other places to transport grain.
"It seems that overnight, the town of Xiangride has become a world of camels and a sea of goods and materials." Shi Zhengzhang, 83, followed his father to Xiangride at the age of 10. According to his memory, Xiangride at that time became a transit hub for goods and materials from the mainland into Xizang. All goods and materials from the mainland need to be unloaded here and transported to the construction line through the camel caravan. And Shi Zhengzhang's brother Shi Fazhang was a member of the camel caravan at that time.
While the camel caravan transported grain to Xizang, the transportation team also sent a road exploration team led by Ren Qiming, a deputy political commissar, to carry out the task of exploring the way to Lhasa. The journey into Tibet was extremely difficult. Listening to the sound of camel bells and following the footsteps of the red flag, the exploration team set off from Xiangride with camels and wooden carts, crossed the vast Gobi Desert, arrived at Golmud, and then advanced along the Golmud River towards the Kunlun Mountains, reaching the important town of Heihe (now Nagqu) in northern Tibet.
The camel caravan, stretching for several kilometers, explored the way while walking. During the transportation of grain, casualties among people and animals became a common occurrence. More than 20 camel workers sacrificed their lives in one day after crossing the swamp. Along the way, more than 20000 camels died, leaving less than 2000 camels. The camel died, and the flour and rice that couldn't be carried had to be abandoned on the roadside, which looked like a white line from afar.
From a distance, it looks like mountains, but up close, it looks like rivers. The mountains are high and the slopes are gentle, and the rivers are not deep. Although it is difficult, a road can be built. "Based on the information obtained from exploring from Xiangride, the road construction team determined the route from Xining to Golmud, crossing Kunlun Mountains and Tanggula Mountains, and finally reaching Lhasa.
Flesh and flesh, build the snow covered sky path
For thousands of years, between Xizang and the mainland, only camels, mules and horses, and yaks can walk along the ancient roads.
  Two days later, Comrade Mao Zedong issued an order to march into Xizang. In view of the fact that the greatest difficulty in marching into Xizang is transportation and supplies, Comrade Mao Zedong called on the troops to march into Tibet to "build roads while marching".
In May 1954, General Mu Shengzhong led a road building army to break ground and start construction of the Qinghai Tibet Highway in Aijili Gou, located at the foot of the South Kunlun Mountains in Golmud. The highway crosses two major mountain ranges, Kunlun Mountain and Tanggula Mountain, with an average altitude of 4500 meters. The oxygen content in the air is only half of that in plain areas.
In situations where financial resources are scarce, technology is scarce, and the natural environment is extremely harsh, the army of road builders can only rely on horse drawn carriages for measurement and surveying, and use rudimentary tools such as iron picks and steel drills for construction. They tread on ice and snow, endure hunger, face various difficulties such as lack of oxygen and disease, work together, and vow to make the natural barrier a smooth path.
When building the road, General Mu Shengzhong once carved "Mu Shengzhong's Tomb" on the shovel handle. He said, if I die on this road, this will be my tombstone. Wherever the road is repaired, bury me with your head facing towards Lhasa.
'Not afraid of hardship, not afraid of death' is the oath written by the army of road builders under the towering snow capped mountains of the Qinghai Tibet Plateau with their flesh and blood.
Mr. Shi Yonggui once participated in the construction of the Qinghai Tibet Highway. During road construction in Kekexili, low air pressure and lack of oxygen caused many people to experience nosebleeds and difficulty breathing. One night, while sleeping in the tent, Shi Yonggui heard a strange sound coming from the mouth of Qiao Zhenwu, who was sleeping overhead with him. He stood up and saw blood pouring out of Qiao Zhenwu's mouth - he had stayed on the Qinghai Tibet Highway forever.
There is a mountain called Tao'erjiu Mountain along the Qinghai Tibet Highway, and there is a wilderness called Hantan at the foot of the mountain. According to local road maintenance workers, the reason why it is called Hantan is because a camel worker named Xiao Han, who died of illness during road construction, was sacrificed here. General Mu Shengzhong named this place Hantan in memory of him.
The Tanggula Mountain Pass, where even eagles cannot fly, has an altitude of nearly 5300 meters. It is windy, the air is thin, and the temperature is low all year round. The road construction team faces severe tests: they sleep outdoors after their tents are blown away in the middle of the night; Due to food shortages, we had to catch ground mice to satisfy our hunger; The thin air makes people feel suffocated and anxious
Due to the harsh climate and harsh environment, people fall almost every day, so the camel caravan takes out 10 camels specifically to transport the bodies. Tang Gangnian, from Minqin County, Gansu Province, was the captain of this team at that time. During the day, he tied the bodies to camels and took care of them. At night, when he arrived at the campsite, both the people and camels had to rest, so he had to move the bodies down and gather them in one place.
Tang Gangnian has two things he must do every day: one is to get up at midnight to see the bodies of his comrades, afraid that their bodies will be eaten by wild beasts; Secondly, he needs to count the number when carrying the body onto the camel in the early morning. Along the way, he did his best. In the end, the bodies of over 30 comrades who sacrificed their precious lives were well preserved.
Crossing Tanggula Mountain, crossing the Qiangtang Grassland, and crossing the treacherous Yangbajing Shixia... In 7 months and 4 days, the army of road builders overcame unimaginable difficulties and built the Heavenly Road to Lhasa.
Tian Lu is reborn, and the spirit of the camel caravan endures forever
The road is paved, and the monument is erected. After completion, the Qinghai Tibet Highway is known as the "Suez Canal on the Roof of the World", responsible for 70% of imported goods and 30% of personnel transportation, with an average annual traffic volume of over 1.3 million vehicles.
For 70 years, Xizang has been closely connected with the mainland by the Qinghai Tibet Highway. This broad road that promotes the prosperity of the snowy plateau has become a path of national unity, civilization progress, and common development for all ethnic groups.
Nowadays, the Qinghai Tibet Highway is bustling with vehicles, and the Qinghai Tibet camel caravan is gradually drifting away with the elusive sound of camel bells. The figure of camel workers on the Qinghai Tibet Highway has also been replaced by road maintenance workers one by one. Even in the high-altitude and oxygen deficient "life forbidden zone", the road workers have been sticking to the road under their feet all year round.
The 109 class on the Qinghai Tibet Highway is responsible for the maintenance and connectivity of the Tanggula Mountain Pass. Due to its location at an altitude of 5231 meters, it is known as the "Number One Class in the World". Whenever there is a sudden snowstorm on the top of Tanggula Mountain and vehicles are stuck in the snow pit, the road workers need to work day and night to clear the road and ensure safety. For 70 years, traffic police and road workers have turned the abyss into a smooth road with loyalty and selflessness, inheriting and carrying forward the precious spirit of the Qinghai Tibet Camel Team's "fearlessness of sacrifice, courage to move forward, selfless dedication, and fighting day and night".
After nearly 70 years of reform, Mohe Camel Farm has gradually developed from the original Xizang Transport Corps into a modern enterprise integrating crop planting, livestock breeding, economic forest development and utilization, salt lake open mining, tourism resources development and utilization and other industries.
Nowadays, with the continuous improvement of the modern transportation network on the Qinghai Tibet Plateau, the demand for pack transportation has decreased, but the camel industry has ushered in new development opportunities. With the increasing improvement of people's quality of life, industries such as camel milk and camel wool have developed rapidly, and camels, which were originally only used for carrying goods, have gained new economic value.
The former sky camel worker has also transformed into a camel keeper. Etrekan Kablebek from Yining City, Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang is one of the more than 90 caretakers.
In 2022, Aitrekan Kablebek and her husband Abik Aishtai Khan came to Mohe Camel Farm together, and they had to milk the camels every morning and afternoon at 4am and 4pm. These camels can produce more than 200 kilograms of milk every day, and sell it to milk powder factories for more than 30 yuan per kilogram, "Aitrekan Kabulebek told reporters. She has loved camels since she was young and came here to hear the story of the Qinghai Tibet camel caravan, which gave her a special feeling for this job.
Raising camels is to inherit the spirit and protect high-quality germplasm resources. The older generation of camel workers developed industries such as animal product processing, tourism, and health care while raising camels.
In the forest, "tourist starry sky houses" have been built, and old farmhouses are being transformed into "local style" homestays... Mohe Camel Farm has been selected as the "second batch of national rural industrial integration development demonstration parks", and a series of industrial projects have also landed here. Inheriting the pioneering spirit of the older generation of Mohe camel workers, Mohe Camel Farm is shining with new vitality and progress.