Decoding the sands of time

Independent

30-05-2025

The Taklamakan Desert, China's largest desert, in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, was once central stage for numerous legends along the ancient Silk Road. However, as environmental conditions changed, the once-thriving human settlements were abandoned, standing in the wilderness with only sand and wind as companions. It was not until the late 19th century when foreign explorers ventured into the desert that people began to uncover many of its cultural heritage sites.
After more than a century, professionals are visiting these sites one by one. They tread on the sand, braving strong winds and enduring scorching sun as they work to investigate and document their conditions.
They belong to a team of the fourth national census of cultural relics in China, which records the cultural heritage in the Taklamakan Desert, especially in its heartland.
'Many of the sites lie deep in the heart of the desert, inaccessible by regular vehicles like those used by other census teams,'' says Hu Xingjun, head of the team, who is also a researcher at the Xinjiang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology. 'We organised a team focusing on these sites. This ensures we fulfil the census mandate of 'taking census of all those that should be covered'.'
The national census began in 2023 and will end next year. Field investigations started in Xinjiang in May last year. Census takers visit the sites to survey and map them using real-time kinematic devices, take aerial photos with drones and other photos recording details, measure the size of sites, collect specimens and record detailed information in the census database.
With more than a dozen members, the team's work started recently and was due to run until the end of May.
Team members must repeatedly enter the desert, often for several days or even weeks at a time. They usually invite experienced drivers to form a fleet of sport utility vehicles stocked with fuel, food and water, equipment and daily necessities to enter the desert's depopulated zones, rest in tents, and survey each site firsthand.
Matyvsup Emirhazi, 31, a team member and a researcher at Hotan Museum, says they have to make careful plans for each day in the desert, follow plans strictly and carry supplies for several extra days beyond their initial estimates to deal with unexpected situations.
In a desert in which footprints are easily left, they pay close attention to not leaving traces in their photos. 'We usually take the panoramic photo at first, without entering the site,' Matyvsup says.
'We then set foot on the sites to measure and take photos of details.'
They are especially careful with protecting the environment by burning garbage and taking away items that cannot be incinerated.
At the end of every day's work they report the all-clear with satellite phones to cultural heritage authorities.
Another team member, Matkasim Tumir, 57, says they often have to save water, a scarce commodity.
Sometimes camels join to help carry goods and materials. 'In the past when we didn't have SUVs, camels played a big role helping us carry goods,' Matkasim says. 'I still think they're the best partners you can have in the desert, because vehicles can break down or struggle with sand dunes, but camels' adeptness at traversing the desert is unmatched.'
Ediris Abdurusul, 74, an archaeologist who has led nearly 100 expeditions in the desert over the past 46 years with no notable mishap, works as a consultant with the team. He has led many breakthrough discoveries in Xinjiang, including the excavations of the Xiaohe cemetery, a site of Bronze Age cultural remains from 4,000 to 3,400 years ago. He is also renowned for the discovery of a naturally preserved female mummy called the 'princess of Xiaohe' 20 years ago.