Many participants of the "Ten Years Overlooking Hami" Photography Culture Week and the annual "Sweet Whispers to the Galaxy" Festival, held in Hami last month, were not newcomers to this prefecture in the eastern part of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

Among them was Li Qing, a photographer from the converged media center in Panzhihua city, Sichuan province, who also leads a local livestreaming institution. Li first visited Hami in 2015 for a drone photography competition. When the culture week extended an invitation to him to return, he eagerly accepted it.

"In 2015, I was awestruck by the vastness and splendor of Hami's landscapes," Li said. "The Gobi Desert, the grasslands and the mountains are a treasure trove for a drone aerial photographer. I was thrilled to have another opportunity to capture their beauty."

Dai Jianfeng, one of the country's top astrophotographers and an influencer with over 3 million online followers, attended the annual "Sweet Whispers" event in 2022. This year, he returned with a specific goal in mind: to capture the Hami Solar Thermal Power Station.

This impressive project features a mirror field with a reflective area of 696,751 square meters and a 220-meter-high molten salt tower for heat absorption, creating a stunning spectacle under a clear, starry night. "In 2022, the organizers didn't include the solar thermal power station in our itinerary," Dai explained. "This year, my main objective is to visit the site on a clear night."

Zhou Bo, an experienced astrophotographer and cofounder of the China StarVision Alliance — a platform supporting nearly 1,000 Chinese astrophotographers and businesses related to dark sky tourism — has been hosting the livestream sessions for the "Sweet Whispers" festival since 2022.

This year, he felt somewhat pessimistic about the livestream's online traffic. Unlike previous festivals, which coincided with the annual Perseid meteor shower in the summer and typically attracted many of the country's stargazing enthusiasts to Hami, a premier dark sky tourism destination, this year's event was not aligned with a major astronomical occurrence.

Wang Junfeng, a seasoned astronomy photographer, online influencer and cofounder of the CSVA, has been a frequent visitor to Hami, capturing its various landmarks through his lens. Since 2020, he has also been one of the festival's organizers. "This year we decided to postpone our festival to collaborate with the culture week," he said. "But trust me, Hami will surprise us with its wonders in a different season."

Shifting focus

After the culture week and the festival — jointly organized by the government of Hami prefecture, China Image Group, Economic Observer News and China National Travel magazine — kicked off on Sept 20 at Hami city's Zuo Zongtang Fenghuangtai Historical and Cultural Park, the organizers had to inform over a dozen participating professional and amateur drone aerial photographers that drone flights would be prohibited for the following week. This temporary ban was implemented due to security concerns related to the celebration of the 70th anniversary of Xinjiang's founding.

The organizers quickly decided to shift the event's focus to astrophotography and photography cultural exchange, a change that all participants embraced without difficulty.

"We are all photographers," Li remarked. "Even without our drones, we can still capture images with our cameras or even our mobile phones."

On the morning of Sept 21, Hei Ming, a renowned documentary photographer, delivered a lecture on humanist photography to Hami's photography enthusiasts in the local converged media center. Cui Yong, a senior photographer from Hebei province, presented a lecture on landscape photography using drones.

The group headed to Xishan township in the city's Yizhou district and checked into a resort in a quiet village. About an hour's drive from downtown Hami, the village is hidden in a valley in the eastern Tianshan Mountains and offers a view of rolling mountains tinged by autumn leaves and a vast plain stretching to the city.

Zhou and his colleagues initially planned to livestream their night watch at the resort. However, a thunderstorm dampened their enthusiasm, forcing them to abandon the plan.

Wang, undeterred by the sudden weather change, set up his mobile phones and cameras in a corridor of the resort to document the rainy night sky.

Midway through his recording, he heard thunder and lightning and went outside to check on his equipment. To his surprise, one of his mobile phones had captured a spectacular scene: a lightning bolt streaking across the skyline of Hami city, resembling a dragon swimming on the horizon. On Sept 22, the short video of the dragon-shaped lightning quickly went viral on the Chinese internet, captivating viewers with its dramatic imagery.

Hami's surprise for him had arrived swiftly, but not unexpectedly.

Learning astrography

The highlight of the event unfolded on Sept 22, just before the autumnal equinox, as the group ventured deep into the Pterosaur-Yardang Dahaidao Scenic Area in Yizhou district. Renowned for its wind-eroded Yardang landforms, this site offers an ideal setting for stargazing and astrophotography, boasting vast, flat expanses of desert rock formations and minimal light pollution.

After dinner at the campsite, some members of the group began readying their equipment, while others provided on-site instruction in astrophotography to eager participants. For some drone aerial photographers, this was their first attempt at capturing the starry night. Armed with newly acquired skills, they set up their cameras, zoomed in on the clear Milky Way, and began to enjoy the art of dark night photography.

Following the teaching session, the astrophotographers disappeared into the darkness, each selecting a unique observation point in the heart of the Gobi Desert. There, they captured stunning panoramas of the galaxy, the bright stars of Orion, the zodiacal light of the autumnal equinox, the Rosette Nebula, and the Lagoon Nebula.

Zhou and his team livestreamed their observations, offering millions of viewers around the world a real-time glimpse into the serene yet majestic beauty of the Hami desert's starry expanse.

Li managed to capture some "satisfactory photos" on the Milky Way. "Hami's starry skies are incredibly beautiful," said the Sichuan photographer. "I am happy to harvest my first group of astrophotos."

The following day, stunning photos and short videos of Hami's starry night began capturing attention across the Chinese internet.

Another surprise

The group moved to Gaojiahu village in Barkol Kazak autonomous county. The hamlet, with a population of barely 200 people, is right in the heart of Gaojia Lake Wetland.

Located 20 kilometers from the town of Barkol, the wetland covers a total area of 59,400 hectares and is one of the region's breeding and stopover sites for migratory birds.

Following the development of the wetland into a national 4A-level tourist attraction, most of the villagers' homes have been transformed into guesthouses and restaurants to accommodate the influx of tourists.

According to Liu Xuehua, an official from the Publicity Department of the Hami Prefecture Committee of the Communist Party of China and coordinator of the event, the scenic area attracted nearly 350,000 tourists from January to August, generating an operating income of nearly 3 million yuan ($420,000) and establishing the village as a popular tourist destination.

The group members were accommodated in two of the village's homestays. They were soon drawn outside to the plank trails that wind through the wetland surrounding the village, enticed by the calls of common cranes flying overhead.

It was the peak of the autumn migration season for many waterbirds. Thousands of common cranes, ruddy shelducks, and several species of geese gathered to feed on the newly harvested wheat fields around the wetland, moving from one patch to another. Consequently, the airspace above the wetland was bustling and quite noisy.

The photographers quickly dispersed across the wetland, each finding their own unique angles. Dai Jianfeng embarked on a long trek through the wetland without his cameras.

"Gaojia Lake Wetland is a perfect place for drone aerial photography," he said. "For us astrophotographers, the light pollution around the village might be a bit intense. But in such a beautiful place, I can temporarily forget my work and simply enjoy myself."

Wang Junfeng borrowed a threewheel motorcycle to explore the scenic area, searching for ideal locations for livestreaming and nighttime observation. At a crossroads near the wetland's parking area, he encountered a local farming family sun-drying wheat on the paved road.

The wheat on the road formed a golden heap, creating a striking contrast with the lush green wetland and the distant snowcapped mountains. Wang captured the scene with his mobile phone, taking photos and short videos.

"Today is the country's 8th Chinese Farmers' Harvest Festival," he said. "I think I've found an interesting angle to salute the festival."

With his keen sense as an online influencer, Wang's short videos on the subject quickly gained traction, climbing onto the hot search lists of several social media platforms.

Happy ending

The event concluded on Sept 24, and while most participants headed home, Dai and another astrophotographer planned to continue their work by visiting the Hami Solar Thermal Power Station. However, Liu Xuehua informed them of some bad news — the power station was closed for repair and maintenance.

She also shared some good news: they had the option to visit the country's largest linear-Fresnel CSP (concentrated solar power) integrated energy demonstration base instead. "The 100-megawatt project just achieved full-system grid connection on Sept 18," Liu said. Equipped with 260,000 reflectors and covering a solar field area of 800,000 square meters, she added, "It's a site worth visiting on a clear night."

They did. Dai's works on the energy project under the starry night topped the premium content chart of a major news platform, with 2.38 million reads.

According to Liu, from January to September, Hami received a total of almost 21 million tourists, an increase of 17.62 percent compared to the same period last year. Tourist spending reached 15.09 billion yuan, reflecting a growth of 27.40 percent.

Probably because of all the efforts made by the local government to promote tourism, during this year's National Day holiday, Hami received a total of 1.05 million tourists, an increase of 29.34 percent compared to the same period last year. Tourist spending reached 806 million yuan, marking a growth of 43.95 percent.