On the Gobi desert of Lenghu Town, Mangya City, in the Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai Province, stands a monument to the "Heroic Well Zhong Si 4," before which an old-fashioned oil pump jack has been still for many years.
In 1958, the gushing of crude oil here marked the beginning of the Lenghu Oilfield as one of China's four major oilfields at the time. Over the next 20 years, tens of thousands of oil workers gathered here, with vehicles coming and going incessantly, creating a bustling scene.
However, as resources gradually depleted, this town that flourished because of oil rapidly declined. Lenghu faced a dilemma common to many resource-based towns: after the resources are exhausted, where does the future lie?
Thus began an exploration of transformation for Lenghu, a quest to save it from the brink of disappearance.
"It was like an empty city." When Tian Cairang, then Deputy Director of the Haixi Prefecture Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, was transferred to Lenghu in 2015, the permanent population had dwindled to less than 300 at its lowest point, with numerous buildings vacant and the streets desolate.
Tian Cairang had only one thought at the time: "We cannot stand by and watch Lenghu disappear on our watch." After he and his colleagues carefully assessed all local resources and conditions, they pinned their hopes on developing tourism.
Yet, Lenghu's remote geographical location made this idea difficult to realize. Although some companies signed letters of intent, they withdrew after on-site inspections, deterred by the extremely harsh conditions, inconvenient transportation, and massive development costs, preferring to break the contract rather than invest.
In 2017, a chance opportunity led Tian Cairang to meet the head of a cultural company from Beijing. After seeing the unique landforms and astrophotography data from Lenghu, the visitor keenly suggested a path of differentiated development: to center on astronomical technology and planetary science, tell the unique story of Lenghu, and build it into a "must-visit" destination.
In August of that year, the "Lenghu Mars Town Project" was officially launched. Planned, invested in, and operated by the Lenghu Mars Town Culture and Tourism Development Co., Ltd., the project defined a vision to create a "de-touristified" tourism destination with technology at its core, radiating out to popular science, science fiction, and scientific innovation.
Almost simultaneously, Deng Licai, a researcher from the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was troubled by a problem. The international optical telescope project he was responsible for advancing, originally slated for a site in Delingha, urgently needed a new qualified site due to increasing light pollution from the city. However, several previously surveyed locations were unsatisfactory. It was at this moment that Tian Cairang found him, bringing astrophotography from Lenghu.
In October 2017, Tian Cairang accompanied Deng Licai's team on a field survey in Lenghu to find a suitable site. One ordinary night, they arrived at the foot of Saishiteng Mountain. When the group looked up at the sky, they were all struck speechless by the dazzling starscape. "The arch of the Milky Way was clearly visible, and I immediately felt confident," Deng Licai recounted, noting that despite having seen countless night skies, the view that night was the most beautiful he had witnessed at any potential observatory site.
Saishiteng Mountain, at an altitude of 4,200 meters, has treacherous terrain and was almost untouched before Deng Licai's team arrived. Each time they ascended, the team had to carry equipment along narrow paths, barely wide enough for two feet, climbing nearly 1,000 meters in elevation. With a cliff on one side and a steep slope on the other, every step was perilous.
In 2018, construction began on a gravel road to the summit of Saishiteng Mountain. The local government deployed helicopters to transport construction materials for the site's infrastructure and observational equipment. After three years of continuous monitoring, Deng Licai's team discovered that Saishiteng Mountain had a median seeing of 0.75 arcseconds, with high-quality clear nights accounting for 70% of the time and over 300 observable nights per year, with all key metrics meeting world-class astronomical observatory standards. In August 2021, this research was published in the top international journal *Nature*, propelling Lenghu into the global spotlight of astronomy.
Subsequent support followed swiftly. Starting in 2022, Qinghai Province included the Lenghu World-Class Astronomical Observation Base in its list of ten national-level scientific and technological innovation platforms to be cultivated and constructed, providing annual provincial financial support for science and technology. On January 1, 2023, China's first local regulation on dark sky preservation, the "Regulations on the Protection of the Lenghu Astronomical Observation Environment in the Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture," came into effect, establishing strict controls on light pollution for a core area of approximately 9,503 square kilometers.
As the Lenghu site gained international recognition, telescope projects from major research institutions and universities flocked to the area. To date, 45 telescopes from 14 projects by 12 institutions are under construction at the Lenghu Astronomical Observation Base, with investments totaling 3 billion yuan. Among the 33 telescopes already built, five, including the Mozi Survey Telescope and the Accurate Solar Magnetic Field Mid-Infrared Observation System, are engaged in scientific observation; 27 telescopes, such as the Multi-Application Survey Telescope Array, are in trial observation; and one telescope is about to begin trial observation.
While scientists gazed at the stars from Saishiteng Mountain, the concept of the "Lenghu Mars Town" at the mountain's base gradually transformed from blueprint into reality.
In 2018, the "Lenghu Science Fiction Literature Award" was launched, establishing science fiction as a calling card for Lenghu. In March 2019, China's first Mars research and study travel practice education camp, the "Lenghu Mars Camp," began operations. Visitors can stay in space sleep pods and participate in immersive experiences like "Mars Missions."
"Every July and August, Lenghu Mars Town enters its peak season for research and study programs, primarily attracting young people," explained Yuan Zhenmin, Operations General Manager of Lenghu Mars Town Culture and Tourism Development Co., Ltd. He added that in 2023, the "Lenghu Lab" was completed, equipped with three professional科普 telescopes, one of which is the largest APO telescope in Qinghai Province, capable of observing the Moon, planets, nebulae, star clusters, and binary stars.
"We offer expert-designed educational courses in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), along with Mars-themed missions. Young people from all over the country can not only observe sunspots through telescopes, learn about soilless cultivation in a chip farm, and handcraft Mars rover models, but also have the opportunity to visit the Lenghu Astronomical Observation Base and interact with scientists," Yuan said. What excites him most is that many children discover their life's calling here, aspiring to pursue research in fields like astronomical technology, aerospace, and planetary science.
Today, Lenghu has cultivated a unique industrial ecosystem centered on technology, with coordinated development in popular science, science fiction, and scientific innovation. This town is transforming from a single-resource-based settlement into a multifaceted scientific and cultural tourism destination.
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