Han Hai

The clouds dispersed and the rain stopped, revealing a clear and bright sky.

The sunset on the horizon illuminated the colors of the clouds, and the azure lake reflected the silhouette of the snow-capped mountains.

The waves stirred by the cruise ship pulled the tourists, lost in the scenery of the merging sky and water, back to reality. But upon returning to reality, the tourists were once again immersed in the enjoyment of the rippling blue waves and the gentle breeze.

Sunset, clouds, snow mountains, blue waves, gentle breeze, cruise ship.

Although it lacked the embellishment of flying birds, it was still breathtakingly beautiful. If a poet were here, they would surely be inspired to compose verses. Alas, among the tourists, there were no great talents like Li Bai or Du Fu, only exclamations of "Wow!"

To the point where Yue Yuan, unable to bear it any longer, recited a line himself to express his inner feelings.

"A lone smoke straight in the desert, a setting sun round over the long river."

The poem was recited, and the scene it depicted had a profound artistic conception, but it was completely unrelated to the scenery before them.

As expected, this immediately drew countless surprised glances, as if to say, "What kind of rubbish poem is that? It's not even as good as our 'Wow!'"

It ruined the mood.

Many men and women on the cruise ship's deck secretly shook their heads. It seemed no one with particularly thick skin dared to step forward and engage, and after a moment of silent disdain, they continued to appreciate the view.

Cruise ships, for the most part, carried tour groups, so this reaction was normal.

However, there are always exceptions. Just as Yue Yuan withdrew his gaze from the distance and turned back towards his cabin, a voice like an oriole's song stopped him.

"Good poem, good poem! Using Wang Wei's verses to describe this scenery might seem strange, but it carries a sentiment of drawing from the past to reflect on the present. It seems you understand history, handsome."

Drawing from the past to reflect on the present.

It sounded a bit odd, but it perfectly captured Yue Yuan's intention. He meant exactly that.

Following the sound, he saw a woman with a delicate demeanor and a beautiful face leaning against the railing of the cruise ship's bow, her eyes meeting his.

"I know a little, I know a little," Yue Yuan turned and walked towards the woman, greeting her with a question, "Are you on a tour group?"

"No, I came with classmates. It's a holiday, and I thought it would be nice to see this famous Han Hai, so I came," the woman revealed her pearly white teeth and smiled sweetly.

She seemed to be an outgoing person, though it was also possible that Yue Yuan's handsome appearance played a role.

Seeing Yue Yuan, a stranger, approach her, she showed no shyness. Instead, she waved her small hand in greeting and asked, "Are you on a tour group too, handsome?"

"No, I'm going to the Snow Region. I took the opportunity to see this Han Hai along the way," Yue Yuan, seeing the woman's openness, revealed his destination but not his purpose.

As he spoke, he naturally walked to the bow rail, standing to the woman's right, placing his hands on the railing and gazing into the distance. He glanced to his left, estimating that the woman was about a head shorter than him, around 1.6 meters tall.

"What's your name, miss?"

The woman turned, also placing her hands on the railing, and looked at Yue Yuan, blinking her eyes. "Shouldn't you introduce yourself before asking someone else's name?"

"Uh..." Yue Yuan paused, looked at her playful eyes, and pretended to cough. "Yue Yuan. Yue from mountain, Yuan from abyss."

"Xu Yanshi. Xu from 'xu', Yan from 'yan', Shi from 'shi', haha!"

The young woman named Xu Yanshi looked like she had succeeded in teasing a handsome man and smiled. It was then that Yue Yuan noticed she had two faint dimples on her cheeks.

Xu Yanshi no longer bothered to explain her name. She continued to gaze into the distance, bringing the conversation back to the Han Hai. "It's hard to imagine that this place used to be a desert."

Yes, this place was once a desert, known as the Taklamakan Desert, located in the Tarim Basin, and it was once the largest desert in inland China.

Han Hai, which originally referred to the desert, is now fittingly used for the existence of a large lake.

This great project was also named the Han Hai Project.

Fifty years ago, in the year 2053, the country, with its soaring industrial strength, finally brought its envisioned blueprint to reality and began implementing the Western Development version of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, namely, diverting Tibetan water to Xinjiang.

It involved diverting water from the Yarlung Tsangpo River to irrigate the Taklamakan.

To this end, the country, using absolutely world-class engineering technology, built a dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo River. Then, from south to north, it took over thirty years to excavate multiple sections and create an extremely long, continuous tunnel.

The tunnel was over 1000 kilometers long and thirty meters wide, connecting north and south.

Thus, Tibetan water flowed into Xinjiang.

The project cost over one hundred trillion Renminbi, more than a thousand times the Three Gorges Project of the last century and four hundred times the South-to-North Water Diversion Project. However, if the supporting facilities, relocation of residents, and the major conversion of roads in the former desert areas into underwater tunnels were included, the cost would be even higher. But the benefits brought by it were also obvious.

The Taklamakan Desert is located in the Tarim Basin, surrounded by the Tianshan Mountains, Kunlun Mountains, and Altyn-Tagh Mountains to the north, west, and south, respectively. The terrain slopes from west to high to east to low.

Therefore, after the Taklamakan transformed into the Han Hai, the northern, western, and southern sides, due to the protection of tall mountain ranges that retained moisture and meltwater, gradually formed a C-shaped oasis where they met the Han Hai over many years.

On the eastern side, due to the prevailing northwest winds that carried moisture eastward, part of the moisture was blocked by the Qilian Mountains, increasing precipitation in the Hexi Corridor and restoring it to its historical state as a lush land that nurtured the people of the Pre-Qin era.

The moisture that crossed the Qilian Mountains continued eastward, only to be blocked again by the Yin Mountains and Helan Mountains, while the north was blocked by the Altai Mountains. This brought abundant rainfall to these regions. The climate of the Badain Jaran Desert and Tengger Desert in these areas thus underwent significant changes, eventually forming a vast oasis.

Furthermore, some of the overflow moisture also nourished the Loess Plateau, and the water volume of the Yellow River increased accordingly.

Not only that, but due to the effective control of the Yarlung Tsangpo River's water, areas like Bengal in the southwest were spared from floods during the rainy season, and the Ganges River no longer ravaged Third Brother. The completion of such a great project was truly the Light of Humanity.

Of course, it also incidentally turned the former desert into a tourist destination, allowing Yue Yuan the opportunity to experience the sensation of sailing on a ship in the desert.

"This is a great era," Yue Yuan replied to Xu Yanshi's sigh.

Xu Yanshi's eyes were full of longing. "Yes, after graduation, I want to come here to work."

"As a tour guide?"

"Why would I? I'm a postgraduate student studying biodiversity research. I want to start my great career here!"

With climate change and the transformation of landscapes, life also changes. This is indeed a good place to research biodiversity and climate issues.

"Just kidding, then I wish you success," Yue Yuan offered his blessings before turning around. "Night has fallen, the evening breeze is cool, and it's time to return to the cabin to rest. It was a pleasure meeting the beautiful Miss Xu on this enjoyable journey. Until we meet again."

Unbeknownst to them, the sky had completely darkened. The shoulder-length hair beside him, swaying gently in the breeze, gradually blurred. Neon lights flickered to life on the cruise ship's deck.

"Uh, see you. Until we meet again," Xu Yanshi said, feeling a bit unaccustomed to the ancient farewell.

They had met by chance. Although their conversation had been pleasant, it wasn't enough for any immediate deep connection.

Yue Yuan didn't overthink it either. He genuinely wished the young woman success in her great endeavor.

After all, biodiversity research was a great undertaking, as was any research beneficial to society.

Yue Yuan returned to his room in the cabin. He didn't rush to change or wash up. Instead, he sprawled out on the soft bed, closing his eyes to rest.

It was now the year 2108. The Zhonghua Family, through the diligence and wisdom of its people, had created the Han Hai Project, an engineering miracle. The completion of this project had made "Infrastructure Demon" a globally recognized moniker.

Yue Yuan was immensely proud to be born in such a nation.

His journey to Han Hai was the first stop on his return trip after going back to Beijing. His ultimate destination, which he didn't reveal casually, was Callisto.

That was where he worked, and the experiences he had there previously were the main reason he was currently on Earth.

It was also the place that had changed his destiny.

Humanity today, while still unable to master controlled nuclear fusion, had achieved great success in fission technology. Fission rocket propulsion was fully mature, allowing humans to begin leaving their mark throughout the Solar System.

As a result, Zhonghua Family's astronauts could finally use the long-awaited title of "taikonaut."