Ruins of the Gai Zi Post Station

Ruins of the Gai Zi Post Station

The ruins of the Gai Zi Post Station are a cultural tourism attraction.

Ruins of the Gai Zi Post Station

During the Western Han Dynasty, the famous diplomat Zhang Qian undertook two missions to the Western Regions, opening up the “Silk Road.” This further expanded trade between China and countries in West Asia, South Asia, and Europe. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, in order to promptly monitor military intelligence along the borders and transmit military orders and documents, the imperial court established a network of post stations densely scattered along the “Silk Road.” Using the Silk Road as the main artery, the postal route was extended westward to areas north and south of the Tianshan Mountains. A famous frontier poem from the Tang Dynasty reads: “One post station passes another, post riders flow like stars; setting out at dawn from Xianyang, arriving at the Long Mountains by dusk.” The Poet Sage Du Fu also wrote, “The postal station transmits urgent orders, travelers chasing one another,” describing the prosperity of transportation and communication in history.

On the China-Pakistan Highway leading to the Khunjerab Pass and onward to Pakistan, there is a renowned post station from the Han Dynasty — the Gai Zi Post Station, located near Gai Zi Village in Bulunkou Township, Aketao County, Kizilsu Kirghiz Autonomous Prefecture. The surging Gai Zi River flows down from the depths of the Pamir Plateau, truly crashing against the banks with waves that stir up thousands of snow-like spray. Roaring and rushing all the way, its momentum is extremely spectacular. Standing on the winding road in the Gai Zi River Valley and looking across the river, you can see a stone wall built on the opposite hillside, covering an area of over 10 acres. In the center of the wall stands a stone house with a construction area of about 40 square meters, exuding a rugged, primitive beauty. It is no more than 3 meters high, with a roof covered in dark brown slate, and the marks of ancient stone carving are still clearly visible. The *Chinese Scenic Spots Dictionary*, published by Shanghai Lexicographical Publishing House, has this entry about the Gai Zi Post Station: “In the Gai Zi Brigade by the Gai Zi River, there are three connected stone houses, now collapsed. From the ruins, it is evident that they could accommodate dozens of people at the time. They played an important role on the ancient Congling Road of the Silk Road.” This Gai Zi Post Station is the very one we are introducing — the ruins of the Gai Zi Post Station in present-day Aketao County.

Time flows swiftly, and years pass slowly. Although the ancient Gai Zi Post Station has now fallen silent amid the rubble and weeds, with no more sounds of galloping horses, bustling crowds, blazing bonfires, or lively scenes, it still conveys a message to visitors from China and abroad: that as early as the Han Dynasty, there were government-run post stations on the Pamir Plateau. On the cliffs to the east and west of the ancient Gai Zi Post Station, there are two slender, winding paths like threads, stretching into the distance like umbilical cords. The arduous efforts of our ancestors in pioneering this ancient path are deeply moving, inspiring endless admiration and reverence. Around Gai Zi Village, a heroic and tragic story is still passed down to this day.

Legend has it that during the Han Dynasty, there was no road connecting Shule (present-day Kashgar) to Qiepantdou (present-day Taxkorgan). Officials and merchants traveling between the two could only sigh in despair at the mountains before turning back, leaving behind boundless regret. A Han official stationed in Shule, anxious and urgent, petitioned the imperial court and then personally led 100 soldiers to conduct an on-site survey in the Gai Zi River Valley. Determined to open up this east-west passage, he solemnly vowed in front of the towering mountains and great rivers: “If the road isn’t opened, I will not return alive!” He gathered 300 soldiers and 500 local farmers and herders to work day and night. Leading by example, he endured hardships without fear. Even after having his leg bone shattered by a huge boulder, he had several soldiers carry him to the road construction site for inspection. His lofty selflessness deeply moved the soldiers and civilians, boosting their morale enormously. Soldiers who came from inland to serve at the border for ten years did not return home, and after eight long years of hard work through spring and autumn, this crucial passageway was finally opened. Meanwhile, the Han official himself transformed from a vigorous young man into an aged figure with white hair, resembling the snowy peaks of the Kunlun Mountains.

To provide envoys, officials, merchants, and postal couriers with shelter from the heat and cold, as well as protection from wind and rain, local officials built a post station near Gai Zi Village — the very ancient Gai Zi Post Station that we can still see today. Unfortunately, on the day the post station was completed, the Han official, exhausted from overwork, fell gravely ill and eventually passed away in the Gai Zi River Valley. With his dying breath, he repeatedly instructed that his body should not be carried back to Shule but buried nearby the Gai Zi Post Station, so he could remain close to it and witness the bustling activity of envoys, officials, and merchants coming from east and west.

Since the Han Dynasty, the ancient Gai Zi Post Station has remained in use for thousands of years, providing food and lodging for passing merchants. Until the end of the Qing Dynasty, a Uyghur man named Maimiti Ajii from Gai Zi Village still ran an inn and canteen here, warmly welcoming travelers. To this day, elderly residents of Gai Zi Village still vividly recount stories of Maimiti Ajii with great enthusiasm. Standing at the ancient Gai Zi Post Station, gazing at the coal-smoke-blackened walls inside the stone house and the piles of embers still faintly warm beneath your feet, one cannot help but feel the profound depth of history and the serene passage of time...