Stargazing event promotes dark sky tourism in Hami

Stargazing at relic sites

In 2022 and last year, a group of CSVA astronomy photographers and livestreaming engineers visited spectacular landforms hidden in the Gobi Desert, lakes on the grassland or alpine meadows on the eastern Tianshan Mountains. Taking photos of or livestreaming the Perseids meteors raining down the night sky against spectacular and diverse backdrops, they promoted a few of Hami's natural attractions to millions of people.

"Hami is already considered as one of the country's top destinations for dark sky tourism," said Wang Junfeng, an experienced astronomy photographer, online influencer and one of the co-founders of CSVA. Since 2020, Wang has paid regular visits to Hami to take photos at its various landmarks and is also one of the organizers of the festival.

Jiang Chenming, another CSVA co-founder and an experienced astronomy photographer who was invited to attend the festival, told China Daily: "The annual Perseids meteor shower is like a New Year celebration for the country's stargazing enthusiasts. This year I am sure that I will meet some of our CSVA members stargazing at some scenic areas in Hami."

He did. At the Dahaidao scenic area, a site hidden in the Gobi Desert and known for extensive mesa landforms, he met two groups of CSVA members who visited Hami to witness the peak of the meteor shower.

Different from the previous two years, this year's event brought dozens of astronomy photographers and reporters to a few of the prefecture's little-known historical sites.

Among them include the Baiyanghe Han (206 BC-220) and Tang (618-907) Ancient City Ruin, the Taku Karez site and the Liaodun Fire Beacon Tower, three relic sites under national first-class protection.

"We expect to make more people know that besides diverse natural attractions, Hami also boasts a rich and well-protected cultural and historical heritage," said Liu Xuehua, an official of the Publicity Department of the Hami Prefecture Committee of the Communist Party of China. "They are valuable evidence of the country's long history of governance and jurisdiction in the region."