Celestial Spring Station stands towering outside Jade Gate Pass. Known as Celestial Spring Post in the Han Dyn…
Celestial Spring Station stands towering outside Jade Gate Pass. Known as Celestial Spring Post in the Han Dynasty, it was renamed Celestial Spring Station during the Tang. Located on the route from Anxi to the Western Regions, it handled correspondence, military affairs, and transport.
The station sits in a valley where a spring cascades down verdant cliffs like silk, thus earning its name "Celestial Spring."
During the Zhenguan reign, the Tang army rebuilt the station walls, erected watchtowers, and constructed stables. Frost-tipped spears gleamed in sunlight; iron cavalry thundered through dust and smoke. When northern winds swept the desert, couriers raced with tiger tallies, the jingle of camel bells mingling with the clink of swords and sabers.
Later, tribes from the Western Regions invaded, severing all communication. Celestial Spring Station stood guard over the barren expanse until war consumed it. Arrow scars remain etched in stone; bloodstains still mark the bricks.
Today, approaching the ruins, one only sees the dried traces of the lonely spring and overgrown weeds. Broken walls and tiles, dust and smoke everywhere, abandoned carts lie like a forest, and no human trace remains.