A Tale of Two Cities Supporting Xinjiang

It has been a full year since Zhou Mingyu finished his work in Xinjiang, and he never expected that he would return to Shihezi on such an ordinary autumn day.

Pushing open the door to the management committee's meeting room, a familiar atmosphere wafted out.

"Director Zhou, you've finally arrived!"

Ding Xuemin was the first to stand up, still holding a stack of reports in her hand, which emitted a faint crab smell.

Zhou Mingyu laughed: "Your hands look the same whether you washed them or not."

"How could I possibly have time to wash!"

Ding Xuemin placed the report on the table, with the words "Annual sales of Tianshan snow crabs exceeded one million yuan" standing out prominently.

"Guess what? Our crabs have not only established themselves in the East China market, but they've also been sold to Northeast China via the Dalian shipping route. People there only recognize the brand of Tianshan snow water."

Li Chao brought over a box of apples from the side. The bright red peels still had morning dew on them. "Come on, have a taste!"

The third batch of Shihezi Red grapes, organically certified and transported via cold chain, is now selling for 20 yuan per jin (approximately 0.5 kg) at Beijing Hualian Supermarket, and demand still exceeds supply!

As he spoke, he took out his phone and opened a video tracing the origins of the orchard.

On the screen, 350 fruit trees that were once on the verge of death in a sandstorm are now laden with fruit, their branches almost bending under the weight.

Do you remember that sandstorm?

Li Chao's voice was a little choked up: "If it weren't for the five thousand yuan you paid for fertilizer to save the trees, Director, and if it weren't for Researcher Lü's technical support, these trees would have been gone long ago."

Now, each cooperative household has seen an increase in income of 30,000 yuan, and the experimental building has also trained more than 50 local technicians.

Zhou Mingyu took the apple; it was heavy, just like the weight of the past year.

Han Jidong, looking travel-worn, pushed open the door and entered. Before he could even put down his backpack, he grabbed an apple and took a big bite: "Sweet. So sweet!"

He chewed as he said, "The shipping route hasn't let you down. The freight line from Shihezi to Dalian is fully booked every month."

Your apples, Lao Ding's crabs, and Teacher Guzalinur's cultural and creative products took up most of the cabin.

Han Jidong took a document out of his bag. "Take a look at this, 'Standards for the Operation of Frontier Branch Airports'!"

The tough challenges we faced back then have now become a model that the Civil Aviation Administration wants to promote nationwide, and all three pilot airports have succeeded.

The meeting room door opened again.

Zhou Hongmei and Zhou Yi entered wearing white coats, followed by several representatives of ethnic minority village doctors.

Simayi Maimaiti, an elderly man, held up a medical kit and said, "Dr. Zhou, look."

The old man said in broken Chinese, "This is our improved portable medical kit. It is powered by solar energy and can be used for three days in the pastoral area."

We've turned the acupuncture formulas you taught into a bilingual rhyme. If the elderly in the village have back and leg pain, the village doctor can cure it with just two acupuncture needles.

Yerbol, standing nearby, added, "The 'health gatekeepers' they've trained have already covered five pastoral areas, and their remote consultation system has saved eight critically ill patients in six months."

Looking at the table full of achievements, Zhou Mingyu felt a warm feeling well up in his heart.

A copy of Tianye Group's EMAS certification certificate rests on the corner of the table, next to an operation report of the green certification green channel; Ding Xuemin's crab pond ecological aquaculture technology manual has a hand-drawn blessing knot pattern by a Kazakh villager; in Li Chao's deep processing workshop photo, the fruit vinegar and crispy chip production lines are bustling with activity.

"But that's not what moved me the most."

Teacher Chang Peng's voice came from the doorway.

He held a book of poems in his hands, the cover of which read "The Passion of a Young Man from Liaoning".

"Look, these are the children's new poems."

She turned the pages of the book, "Students from Dalian wrote 'The Promise Between Cotton and the Waves,' and our students responded with 'A Confession Between the Gobi Desert and the Stars.'"

She turned to a page with a cotton branch bookmark design by Abudu: "The cultural and creative studio now has more than 80 students, and its products have entered reading clubs in Dalian through the Liaoning-Xinjiang cooperation platform."

The children now talk about Dalian like it's their own relative.

Han Jidong took out his phone again and opened a video.

The scene shows the fresh food section of Dalian Airport, where the counters for Tianshan snow crabs and Shihezi red crabs are crowded with people, and sales assistants are using their mobile phones to scan traceability QR codes to explain the origin information to customers.

The camera then cuts to Shihezi Airport, where herders on horseback deliver boxes of agricultural products, their faces beaming with smiles brighter than the sunshine.

"With the air route open, people's hearts are also connected."

Han Jidong remarked with emotion: "The long-term agreement on Liaoning-Xinjiang cooperation has been implemented, enabling talent exchange and technology sharing. The bridge we built back then is now full of people."

Zhou Mingyu picked up an apple from the table and took a big bite.

"The fire didn't go out after we left." He looked out the window.

At the green certification service window downstairs in the management committee building, people were queuing in an orderly fashion; in the distance, on the Gobi Desert, photovoltaic panels reflected dazzling golden light, forming a scene he had never imagined, together with the red fruit in the orchard and the silver-white airplanes at the airport.

Ding Xuemin patted him on the shoulder: "Old Zhou, do you remember when we first came here?"

You said we came here to plant trees, not hoping to enjoy the shade ourselves, but only hoping that future generations will have fruit to eat.

Now look, the branches are laden with fruit.

Li Chao interjected: "It's not just about the fruit. It's about the entire ecosystem."

The technology has been preserved, the talent has been trained, the market has been opened up, and the brand has been established.

This is true self-sufficiency.

Zhou Hongmei said softly, "And health."

Elderly people in pastoral areas no longer need to ride horses for two days to the county town when they get sick; village doctors can solve most of their problems.

This is the most tangible change.

A moment of silence fell over the conference room. Everyone was looking at Zhou Mingyu, waiting for him to speak.

Zhou Mingyu held up the apple in his hand, its surface still bearing his teeth marks: "A toast to this land, a toast to the days we fought together, and an even greater toast to those who took up the baton and continued to make this beautiful story possible!"

Everyone raised their apples and clinked them together like wine glasses.

Amidst the crisp clinking sounds, the wind from Shihezi blew in through the window, carrying the sweetness of apples, the clarity of the lake water, the distance of the shipping routes, and that warmth that transcends mountains and seas and never fades away.

Han Jidong suddenly remembered something: "Oh right, the person in charge in Dalian said that they are going to organize a Liaoning-Xinjiang youth exchange group next spring, so that children from both places can visit each other."

The children of Shihezi go to see the sea, while the children of Dalian come to see the Gobi Desert.

Jiang Hengli said excitedly, "That's great!"

I'll go and inform the students right away so they can start preparing for their junior tour guide training.

Our children will tell their friends in Dalian stories about the poplar trees and the cotton fields in all four seasons.

"And there are crab ponds and orchards!" Ding Xuemin and Li Chao said in unison.

Zhou Hongmei smiled and said, "Then I will organize the village doctors to prepare a health class to teach the children basic first aid knowledge."

Looking at this group of people—no, looking at this group of comrades who were still passionate and still planning for the future of this land—Zhou Mingyu felt an indescribable emotion welling up in his heart.

Has the aid program to Xinjiang ended?

Yes, in form.

Their terms ended, and they returned to their original positions.

But in reality? This bond is already firmly tied.

Apples from Shihezi have appeared in supermarkets in Dalian; snow crabs from the Tianshan Mountains have made their way onto dining tables in Northeast China; medical kits in pastoral areas are now powered by solar energy; standards for border airports are about to be adopted nationwide; and children from both regions are engaging in dialogue through poetry…

"Passing on the torch," Zhou Mingyu murmured.

"What?" Ding Xuemin didn't hear clearly.

"I say, the torch must be passed on."

Zhou Mingyu raised his voice: "The fire we started has now become a prairie fire. And this fire will continue to spread."

The meeting ended, but no one was in a hurry to leave.

They were also discussing plans for next year, how to deepen cooperation, and how to cultivate more local talent.

Zhou Mingyu walked to the window and looked at the city that had risen in the Gobi Desert.

When he left a year ago, he felt reluctant, worried, and uncertain. Did we really leave anything behind?

Now he knows the answer.

What they left behind was not just a few shipping routes, industries, and technologies, but more importantly, proof of a possibility—proof that collaboration across mountains and seas can create tangible changes, that sincere dedication can ignite an inextinguishable flame, and that even the most distant places can become closer through human connection.

"Director Zhou, what are you daydreaming about?"

Li Chao walked over and handed him a new apple. "Take a few home and let your family try them."

Tell them, this is the sweetness we planted in Shihezi.

Zhou Mingyu took the apple and held it in his palm.

This apple is so heavy, as heavy as a year's worth of longing, as heavy as all the hope and future of this land.

But he knew that what was even heavier was the responsibility on the shoulders of those who took over the baton, the inextinguishable light in their eyes, and the deeply rooted vow in their hearts, a vow that resonated with the mountains and seas.

And this is exactly what all those who came to Xinjiang to help with the aid of others wanted to see most—that when we leave, this place will still be thriving; and when we look back, the people here will be smiling as they head towards a more distant future.

The torch is passed down from generation to generation, and life continues endlessly.