Six years later, I returned to Hemu

Hemu Kanas Mongolian Township is located at the junction of Mongolia, Russia, and Kazakhstan, belonging to the border management area of Burqin County. Our Trumpchi self-driving team could only stop at the ticket office thirty kilometers away from Hemu Village, and then take a shuttle bus to get there. Hemu Village is situated in the Hemu Valley deep in the Altai Mountains, where an open valley flanked by mountain ridges is dotted with hundreds of Tuva log cabins, said to be the largest Tuva village in China. The Tuva people are a branch of the Mongolians. In fact, the real Tuva natives seldom live here. They have three sources of income: renting out the Tuva log cabins in Hemu Village to guesthouse owners, nomadic grazing in the high mountain meadows for pastoral income, and serving as border guards in the border management area, as well as receiving special government subsidies. They have been well taken care of by the Party and the government and have long since lifted themselves out of poverty and become wealthy. Li Juan's 'My Altay' has further promoted the popularity of Hemu and Kanas, attracting a large number of self-driving cars and tour buses, bringing travelers from all over the country to experience the landscapes, pastoral scenes, and human warmth depicted in the book. This is my second visit to Hemu. The last time was in the autumn of 2018, with classmates. At that time, autumn in Northern Xinjiang had already turned the birch trees yellow, and the golden birch forest was enchanting and heartwarming. The heartwarming golden birch forest, together with the drifting morning mist, the curling smoke from kitchen chimneys, and the babbling Hemu River, formed a tranquil picture of a pastoral scene in the northern countryside, which left a deep impression on me. Six years later, I set foot in Hemu again, where the summer vitality is as poetic and picturesque as ever. The summer here is different from the hustle and bustle and sweltering heat of other places; it has its own unique charm, quiet, peaceful, yet full of vitality. Once again at the viewing platform on the edge of the village, what comes into view is still the dense and tall birch forest. At this moment, the vibrant greenery and the birch trees standing on the flat ground, on the slopes, on the grasslands, and beside the clear and leaping Hemu River, are like guards protecting the land, surrounding the Tuva log cabins of Hemu Village, presenting a different beauty from the golden birch forest of autumn. In six years, the national economy has undergone tremendous changes, which have also affected Hemu Village in the Altai Mountain area. The infrastructure here is now complete, no longer just gravel roads, making travel here no longer difficult. The commercial atmosphere is strong, and only by standing on the hillside viewing platform, overlooking the Tuva log cabins nestled among the green mountains, can one find the peace and tranquility that one longs for in one's heart. This has an irresistible allure for lawyers who live daily lives filled with tension, anxiety, struggle, and a long history of navigating through the world! Traveling to Xinjiang with colleagues from the law firm, the most pleasant thing is to travel with young people. They are sunny and bright, youthful and splendid, just like the vibrant birch trees of Hemu in summer, swaying with the wind, like a hymn. Therefore, as an old-timer from a different generation, I am naturally influenced and my heart soars.