Why Travel Changes Our Fate
When I was young, I disliked traveling because my mom often told me, "Why travel? It just wastes money!" My parents were the kind of people who built everything from scratch in that era; their hard work and support changed the fate of our entire family. But those who lived through the times of constant hunger have a deep "sense of material scarcity," which marks that era.
During my high school summer vacation, I wanted to go on a spontaneous trip to Shanghai with my good friend, but my mom said, "No! You're a girl, traveling is too dangerous!" Back then, the high-speed trains were not as developed as they are now in China. If I had a 15-year-old daughter, I probably wouldn't let her go wild either.
So, when I was younger, I thought traveling was a waste of money, and it was dangerous too. It was better to just stay home, which is safe, helps save money, and efforts.
But deep in my heart, I knew travel was wonderful. When I was about 6 or 7 years old, our whole family went on a trip to Hainan Island for over 20 days, and that was probably one of the happiest childhood memories of my life. But sadly, after that, our family never went on a trip together again. From then on, "the joy of travel" was sealed in my memory, as if it was a privilege only for kids, and adults didn't deserve it, or shouldn't have it.
One day, I read an article that praised a father I deeply admired. He chose to close his company, sell the family house, and focus on spending time with his 6-year-old child, traveling all over China for a year.
So, I immediately made a bold decision—this summer vacation, to broaden my child's horizons, I'm taking him to Xinjiang to play! Note, this trip is to broaden my child's horizons. I'm not doing this for my own enjoyment. For my child, I would go through fire and water, and I can not feel bad about spending money on kid’s education!
Chapter One: The Xinjiang Journey
Before setting off, I was both anxious and tired, with no excitement or anticipation at all. Because we were about to start an unknown journey, and I was taking my 5-year-old son on an adventure, I, as a mother, was very worried about what would happen if he got sick on the road. The exhaustion was also due to the fact that we planned this trip ourselves, without joining a tour group. I can responsibly say that planning a trip to Xinjiang was the most complicated and mentally draining trip I have ever arranged in my life. There were so many fun places to visit, but each place was so far apart. Without careful planning, we might waste all our time on the road. Moreover, this trip included both the elderly and the young, a large amount of luggage, a tight schedule, constantly changing hotels, sometimes taking flights, sometimes taking trains, and long stretches of driving—wasn't this just asking for trouble? I wondered why people liked to spend money to suffer? Isn't that crazy? Plus, I had a sense of "mission"—all this effort and money were spent to broaden my child's horizons, so I felt a sense of self-sacrifice and exhaustion.
Suddenly, I started to counsel myself, asking myself:
You say it's all about broadening your child's horizons, but have you been to Xinjiang? Aren't you curious? Are your own horizons wide enough? Isn't it that you secretly wanted to go yourself?
Why can't it be that you travel to broaden your own horizons, and taking your child along is just a side thing?
This self-questioning moment made me excited. It made sense; why not approach this with a mindset of exploration, to see what in Xinjiang is different from what I imagined? So, I secretly gave myself a task—to record every day something unexpected that I learned about Xinjiang during the trip.
The trip began, and I quickly realized I didn't have time to record interesting things—there were too many, and I couldn't keep up! Moreover, everything about Xinjiang was beyond my expectations.
We first went to Tianchi in the Tianshan Mountains. Before we went, a taxi driver who had lived in Xinjiang for years warned us, "Tianchi isn't that great, it's just a reservoir! It's all just hype!" This made us lose interest in visiting Tianchi the next day. With no expectations at all, we arrived at Tianchi in Tianshan.
The lake's beauty shocked me, so much so that all the poetic expressions I could gather were reduced to, "Wow, this really is paradise on earth!" So, don't just listen to what others say—go see it for yourself.
Next, we went to Turpan. This was the city I was most nervous and uneasy about before we left, as we would be visiting the high-temperature Flaming Mountains and desert during the hottest time of summer, and I was worried about the elderly and children getting heatstroke.
When we arrived in Turpan, I received my first lesson—on the Karez System. Before we went, my ignorant self loudly asked, "What exactly is the Karez System? I’ve only heard that it's famous and a must-see." It wasn't until we got there that I learned the Karez System is one of the three ancient engineering wonders of China, alongside the Great Wall and the Grand Canal, and it has been around for over 2,000 years.
The Karez System is a unique ancient water system in Xinjiang, China, known as the "underground Great Wall." Simply, it involves digging "200,000 wells" to channel water from the snow-capped mountains to the farmland. Yes, 200,000 wells! These wells solved the water problem in dry regions. This system uses the shape of the land and gravity, requiring no external power, and has been functioning for thousands of years.
I was amazed that, as a Chinese person, I had never heard of the Karez System. Either it wasn't taught in the textbooks, or I had returned all the knowledge I learned to the teachers.
Visiting the grape farms of Turpan also opened my eyes. I had no idea there were hundreds of grape types, and that Xinjiang's Turpan is one of the few places in the world that produces grapes of such high quality, requiring very unique geographical and weather conditions. This is a very precious natural resource. The most famous grape farms are in Italy, France, and California in the United States, all of which have highly developed "wine industries." However, Xinjiang's wine industry is still relatively underdeveloped, still stuck in the low-profit "raisin" industry stage.
When we arrived at the Flaming Mountains, we experienced super intense high temperatures—the ground temperature was 73 degrees Celsius, a dry sauna feeling.
Then came the stunning desert adventure. Before arriving at the desert, all I could think about was riding a camel, and I would be satisfied. But when we got to the desert, we ended up on a desert safari—like a roller coaster ride in the desert. Absolutely wild.
The Turpan trip ended with me getting heatstroke while the elderly and children were fine.
Next, we visited the Ili General's Residence in Xinjiang. This place deeply moved me. It helped me to understand a chapter of history that should be engraved in the memory of every Chinese person. Xinjiang was completely occupied by Tsarist Russia for more than ten years, and it was Zuo Zongtang who, at the age of 63, when he should have been enjoying his retirement, set out to reclaim Xinjiang with his coffin, personally leading the battle against Tsarist Russia. What does it mean to set out with your coffin? It means going to battle with the readiness to die and be buried on the spot. And this was done with no financial support from the corrupt Qing government—Zuo Zongtang had to personally borrow 16 million silver coins (equivalent to 1.57 billion USD today) from Hu Xueyan under his family’s name. After enduring countless hardships and unyielding determination, he finally recovered most of Xinjiang’s territory.
Nowadays, it takes at least 13 hours to travel to Xinjiang by high-speed train from Beijing, but in Zuo Zongtang’s time, it would have taken at least three to four months, even on horseback! So, I can’t imagine how difficult that war must have been. If it weren’t for Zuo Zongtang, we would need a passport to visit Xinjiang today. Without Zuo Zongtang and Hu Xueyan, there would be no present-day Xinjiang. Zuo Zongtang’s selfless dedication, even risking his family’s entire fortune to reclaim Xinjiang, still leaves me in awe, with tears in my eyes and deep respect. It even makes me feel ashamed that I worry daily about my trivial personal matters.
These historical events might only take up a page in our textbooks, but being there in person allows you to glimpse even a thousandth of the full picture. Even that small glimpse is more powerful than a page in a textbook.
Then, we arrived at Sayram Lake, known as "The Last Tear of the Atlantic." Due to its geographical closeness to the source area of the Atlantic water system, the moisture that feeds Sayram Lake primarily comes from the western Atlantic warm air currents. These currents travel through Europe and Central Asia, finally reaching Sayram Lake, forming rain, which becomes an important water source for the lake. It is said that Sayram Lake captures the last drop of moisture from the Atlantic, hence the name "The Last Tear of the Atlantic."
When we walked into the crystal-clear waters of Sayram Lake and became one with it, we experienced a lasting sense of joy.
After spending a night in a Mongolian yurt beside Sayram Lake, we headed to the Nalati Grassland. When we took the aerial tram to the highest point of the grassland, the vast green landscape spread out before us like a giant green carpet covering the entire mountain, and my heart instantly felt much wider. Watching the yurts on the grassland and the freely running cows and sheep, I had a sense of peace, calm, and gentle feeling.
Chapter Two: What I Learned from Travel
Travel Makes Our Minds More Open
Although we didn’t stay longer in Xinjiang due to time constraints, it was enough to change my view of travel. The part of traveling that excited me the most was realizing that every place I visited was completely different from what I had imagined. No matter how many travel guides you read or how many opinions you hear about a particular spot, when you actually experience it yourself, you feel, “Wow, my imagination was like this, but this place is completely different!”
Every time I visited a new place, it gave my mind a shock, and the more shocks I got, the more open my mind became. You become more open-minded.
In the famous book Principles, Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio deeply explores the importance of "open-mindedness." He emphasizes that open-mindedness is the ability to actively seek out and consider different perspectives and ideas, which is crucial for the success of individuals and teams. It helps us better understand reality, make wiser decisions, and face challenges and seize opportunities more effectively in a complex and uncertain world.
Most of us can’t become truly open because we each live in a world created by our own minds. Influenced by our upbringing, social opinions, education system, media, and other factors, we create a unique virtual world in our minds and live in it, feeling safe and comfortable because we are the kings of this world. Travel is the light that opens a small crack in this world. It teaches us humility, sparks our curiosity to explore the truth, and when we can absorb different viewpoints with an open mind, we gain better judgment in major life decisions, making choices that are more beneficial to our personal growth.
Travel Trains Our Ability to Handle Risk, Accept Failure, and Turn Crises into Opportunities
There’s nothing that better simulates the real world than travel—it has both the beautiful sights we long for and unexpected setbacks.
For example, the lamb skewers in Xinjiang are famous worldwide, but my husband got diarrhea after eating them, probably because we went to a restaurant that wasn’t clean enough. We had dumplings at a restaurant near the Nalati scenic spot, and they were probably the worst dumplings in the world—so bad that it was unbelievable. I’ve never eaten dumplings so bad in my life—the skin was thick, the filling was salty, and their terrible taste could probably make the Guinness World Records! At a rest stop near Sayram Lake, we chose a restaurant where the food had ash in it, and the server claimed it was black pepper! Oh my gosh! We asked the restaurant owner for a refund and ended up eating hamburgers at the rest stop. Hamburgers became our most reliable choice.
But there were also warm moments that touched us. We returned to our guesthouse from the scenic spot at 10 PM, and the child was crying about being hungry. Because the area was remote, there was no food delivery at that hour, and the guesthouse kitchen was already closed. I asked the guesthouse owner if there was any simple food for the child, and they kindly made us fresh tomato and egg rice and even gave it to us for free. I think I’ll always remember that plate of tomato and egg rice—it was so sweet and delicious.
The scariest and most unpredictable event of our trip happened on the way back from Xinjiang to Beijing. Due to heavy rain in Beijing, our plane had to land in Taiyuan, Shanxi. We were all stuck in the small space of the plane, unable to move. The passengers were anxious and grumpy, constantly arguing with the flight attendants, asking when we could take off, only to be told that they didn’t know, it was uncertain, and we had to wait for the weather in Beijing to improve. By that time, it was already 9 PM. We had both the elderly and the young with us, which made me very anxious.
At that moment, I decided to give up on the plane and take the high-speed train instead, while staying overnight in Taiyuan and exploring the city the next day. While the whole family was anxiously waiting for our luggage, calculating the lost ticket money and the extra costs of accommodation and the high-speed train, I was already on a travel guide app researching a one-day tour of Taiyuan. If it had been the old me, I would have been the most frustrated, the most anxious, and the most distressed about the money. But this time, although I was still quite upset, deep down I had become more relaxed, accepting the situation, and even feeling happy about this unexpected turn of events, thinking that I had gained an extra experience. My husband, who grew up in the U.S., knew nothing about Taiyuan, so he asked me with no enthusiasm, “What’s fun in Taiyuan, Shanxi?!” Honestly, even though I grew up in China, I didn’t know what was fun in Taiyuan either. I had never considered visiting Taiyuan. Whenever I thought about travel, it was places like Hainan, Yunnan, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Xiamen, or Chengdu. Taiyuan? What’s there to do?
At that time (which was just a month ago), the game Black Myth: Wukong hadn’t yet taken the world by storm (which happened a month later), so Shanxi tourism promotion videos hadn’t yet flooded the internet. So, please forgive my ignorance. At that time, I had only heard of “Shanxi coal bosses.”
We first went to Jinci Temple, which has a 1,500-year history, dating back to the Northern Wei Dynasty, where they worship the founding monarch of the Jin State, Tang Shuyu. It felt like every random place in Shanxi had over a thousand years of history. The history here was so rich. And it was after Li Shimin (Emperor Taizong of Tang) worshiped at Jinci Temple that he launched a rebellion in Shanxi, overthrowing the Sui Dynasty and establishing the Tang Dynasty. And the “Tang” in Tang Dynasty is said to have a direct connection with Tang Shuyu, whom Li Shimin worshiped at Jinci Temple. Li Shimin admired Tang Shuyu greatly and wanted to be a wise ruler like him. So, doesn’t this mean that Shanxi is the birthplace of the Tang Dynasty?
Later, Black Myth: Wukong took the world by storm, and 27 out of 36 key game scenes were inspired by Shanxi. Why Shanxi? I was surprised to learn that Shanxi Province preserves over 70% of the wooden structures in China that date back to the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) or earlier, including rare buildings from the Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties. Especially Tang Dynasty buildings, like the Great Hall of Foguang Temple in Wutai Mountain and the Wooden Pagoda of Yingxian County, are rare treasures in the country.
Shanxi Province has more than 28,000 ancient buildings, including temples, Taoist temples, ancient towers, ancient residential buildings, ancient city walls, and more. Many of these buildings are listed as key cultural relics under state protection.
Shanxi’s Ming and Qing Dynasty ancient residential buildings are also well-preserved, with the most famous being Qiao Family Courtyard, Wang Family Courtyard, and Chang Family Manor in the Jinzhong area, known as “representative examples of Chinese residential architecture.” These were the homes of Shanxi merchants, who were the pioneers of Chinese banking and one of the most famous business groups in Chinese history.
And to see all of this would take months of travel, let alone just one day. So, we chose to visit the representative Taiyuan Ancient County, which was founded during the Western Zhou Dynasty and has a history of over 2,500 years. It is an important birthplace of Jin culture.
This brief one-day tour made me realize that when you come to Shanxi, you immerse yourself directly into the flow of history. The whole province of Shanxi is like a living museum spanning thousands of years of history.
I’m grateful for the heavy rain in Beijing, grateful for the plane that unexpectedly brought us to Taiyuan, Shanxi, and grateful for this fateful encounter with Shanxi. It was an unexpected journey destined to happen, further expanding my understanding, making me more humble, and fueling my curiosity and love for exploring this world.
A month after our trip to Taiyuan, Shanxi, Black Myth: Wukong was released, and Shanxi started gaining more attention from Chinese and international audiences, with a touch of destiny in the air.
Isn’t the magic of travel found in its unexpected events and uncertainties? These various “surprises” and “shocks” activate every cell in our body to respond, to feel, to learn, and to absorb, completing an important upgrade of our soul.
The Greatest Meaning of Travel is to Make Us Braver in Exploring the Unknown
A month after the trip, I’ve been thinking about what the meaning of travel is. Why wait a month? Because while you’re on the journey, immersed in the experience, you’re too close to it to truly understand the deep changes it brings you. Only after letting it settle for a while can you fully grasp its value.
Before the trip, I had convinced myself to find a job, maintain a safe, steady, and easily attainable life, and continue my entrepreneurial ventures in my spare time. After the trip, I suddenly realized that it was impossible to juggle raising a child, working, and starting a business—I would burn out. From my previous entrepreneurial experience, I already knew I wanted to spend a lot of time and energy learning and practicing being a mother, and “being a mother” is already the hardest job in the world. So, I couldn’t have any spare time to handle both a full-time job and a part-time startup.
Finally, I decided to continue with entrepreneurship. When I made this decision, I said to myself:
“Peggie Li, you’re really crazy!”
I think this is the strength that travel gave me, filling me with an intense thrill in facing the uncertainties of life.
Travel often pushes people out of their comfort zones and into unfamiliar environments. Whether it’s language barriers, cultural differences, or unexpected situations, you must quickly adapt and respond. This process of facing the unknown builds your courage to confront fear and uncertainty.
During travel, you inevitably encounter various unexpected situations, like getting lost, transportation problems, or changes in your itinerary. These situations require you to quickly find solutions and constantly adjust your plans. Each time you successfully handle a problem, your confidence and independence grow, gradually developing a sense of calm and bravery when facing challenges.
In travel, you have more time and space to think and reflect, gradually understanding your true needs and desires. This process of self-discovery helps you better understand your abilities and potential, making you braver and more willing to pursue your dreams and goals.
Chapter Three: In Conclusion
Originally, I traveled to Xinjiang to educate my child, but I realized that it’s us parents who truly need the education. If we don’t keep educating and improving ourselves, our limitations, feelings of inadequacy, anxieties, and fears will continue to pass down to our children, generation after generation. This is what’s called an "intergenerational curse." I’m grateful to my child for giving me a second chance to grow. Children don’t need to become what we expect them to be. Their mere existence is a miracle that we should continually be thankful for. The primary duty of parents is not to educate their children but to let trees grow into trees and flowers bloom into flowers. Educating ourselves well is the best education we can give to our children.
On this path of self-growth as parents, children are our best teachers.
This trip gave me a precious gift that cannot be measured in monetary terms.
As we age, the virtual world in our minds becomes more and more rigid, and our views on the world and various issues become increasingly unshakable. We have a word to describe this state—aging.
So, as Elon Musk said, the only way to prevent humans from becoming more foolish is through death, allowing younger people with more advanced understanding to take our place.
But travel can help us constantly challenge our fixed ideas and perceptions of the world. It helps us see our limitations, allowing our understanding of the world to keep expanding, making our inner world younger because we become more curious and daring to play and explore, just like we did when we were children.
Unlike when we were younger, traveling in middle age helps us understand more about who we truly are, rather than what the outside world expects us to be. A midlife journey is a journey to truly be ourselves—how exciting is that!
When we embrace an open mind and have enough courage to fully explore the unknown world, we make decisions that differ from those made by habit or fixed ideas, and our fate changes accordingly.
Travel is not only an exploration of the world but also an exploration of our inner selves. Inner exploration is much harder than exploring the outside world, and very few are willing to take on this risk and endure this hardship, but it is absolutely worth doing.
Community Question: What do you think is the meaning of travel? Has any trip ever brought a change in your life?