Heading to the Plateau
In July, Shen Qi led a volunteer team of two graduate students to Xining.
The city's mayor warmly received Shen Qi and his delegation at the city hall and invited the Yenching University volunteer team to a banquet.
"Thank you for your hospitality, Mayor Gao, but let's skip the meal and head straight to Mado County to carry out our social service work." Shen Qi politely declined Mayor Gao's invitation to dinner, his heart already set on Mado County, the Source of the Yellow River.
"We won't eat out; we'll just have a simple meal at the city government's canteen." Mayor Gao was very hospitable. When receiving Great Scientist like Shen Qi, it was essential to arrange for him to have a good meal in the Provincial Capital before he set off.
"Keep it simple." Shen Qi felt embarrassed to continue declining, so he took the two graduate students to have a working lunch at the city government.
During the meal, the city's leadership team toasted Shen Qi, saying that Professor Shen had to drink this bowl of barley wine, as it was a local custom for entertaining distinguished guests.
They're drinking before even starting work.
Shen Qi is a man of strong principles. He drank the bowl of barley wine, respecting the local customs and traditions.
"Distinguished leaders, I've already drunk the welcoming wine. Drinking any more would be a violation of work discipline." Shen Qi could easily drink a whole jar of barley wine, which was quite good, but he only had one bowl and that was Shen Qi, after all, he had work to do.
"I understand, I understand. Professor Shen is indeed Great Scientist who is strict with himself." The city's leadership team greatly admired Shen Qi, and they chatted happily over tea instead of wine.
Shen Qi led a team to Mado County to carry out another social service project.
Mado County is a national-level poverty-stricken county, lagging behind in infrastructure, economy, and education.
Since 1999, Yenching University has dispatched graduate student teaching teams to western regions of China, including Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, and Tibet, to carry out voluntary teaching activities.
A graduate student from the Mathematics Department at Yenching University came to Mado County in 1999 to teach. He has been working there for more than 20 years without complaint, dedicating his youth to the development of western China.
The graduate student passed away last month from cancer.
He completed an article a week before his death, the core of which was. "From the richest county to the poorest county, what exactly have we done to Maduo?"
Shen Qi had great respect for this teacher who graduated from the School of the Big Mathematics Department. He led two graduate students to the place where his predecessor had once fought, firstly to carry on the glorious tradition of Yenching University, and secondly to conduct on-site investigations to find out why the richest county had become an impoverished county in just over a decade.
Shen Qi's trip to western China was half social service and half scientific research.
A rugged SUV drove away from the Xining Municipal Government building, with Shen Qi and two graduate students inside.
Shen Qi noticed that there were two SUVs leading the way, followed by three more of the same model. The vehicles leading the way and bringing up the rear all had license plates starting with "Qing O".
Shen Qi was displeased. "We're going to the grassroots to provide services, not to show off. What's the point of having so many vehicles following us? Tell them all to go back and stop following us."
There were four people in the car: Shen Qi, his two companions, and the driver.
The driver wasn't an ordinary driver; he was Mayor Gao's number one driver.
The driver was tasked with an important mission by the mayor: to escort Shen Qi and his party safely to Madoi, and then to bring Shen Qi back to Xining safely.
As the driver drove, he explained, "Professor Shen, the province and city attach great importance to your support mission in the west, so they have sent a team to Madoi to assist you in carrying out your work."
"We appreciate the good intentions of the province and the city." Shen Qi picked up the walkie-talkie in the car, dialed a channel, and called out, "Attention all units, this is Shen Qi. Except for vehicle O00020, all other vehicles, please turn around ahead and return to the city and provincial governments."
Vehicle O00020 was the one Shen Qi and his group were riding in. Shen Qi personally gave the order for the other vehicles to return.
After a moment of silence on the walkie-talkie, a voice came through. "Hello Professor Shen, this is Yao Ning, Deputy Director of the Provincial Department of Education. The instructions from the province are for our field team to assist Professor Shen in completing this in-depth grassroots activity."
Shen Qi politely said, "Director Yao, please ask the province to assist by arranging local personnel familiar with the situation in Mado County. That should be enough. To reiterate, all units, this is Shen Qi. Except for vehicle O00020, all other vehicles, please turn around ahead and return to the municipal and provincial governments immediately."
Silence fell again on the walkie-talkie.
Two minutes passed, and the Qingdao convoy passed a U-turn intersection, but not a single car turned around and went back.
Two minutes later, probably after Director Yao had finished consulting with his superiors, he said into the walkie-talkie, "The reception staff in Mado County have been arranged. Professor Shen, please be sure to pay attention to your safety."
At the same time, the vehicle leading the way for Shen Qi's car moved to the far left lane to make way for Shen Qi's car.
Shen Qi was satisfied. "Thank you."
The convoy that had been escorting Shen Qi had all withdrawn, and Shen Qi and his group sped off towards Madoi.
Madoi is located in GLCZ Autonomous Prefecture, with an average altitude of over 4,000 meters.
Outside the Mado County stands a snow -Gezige Ya Mountain, the source of the Yellow River, China's mother river.
Mado County, located in the Yellow River Source, boasts abundant natural resources. Local people once proudly said, "Mado is full of treasures; there is grass on the ground, fish in the water, and gold in the sand."
The grass is not ordinary grass; it is Cordyceps.
The fish is no ordinary fish; it is the very precious Yellow River Naked Carp.
Gold is the familiar gold, and the gold produced in Maduo is famous throughout the country for its color and purity.
Those who live near mountains live off the mountains; those who live near water live off the water.
Maduo was blessed with abundant and precious natural resources, which made it the richest county in the province in the 1980s.
However, just over a decade later, by the late 1990s, Maduo had transformed from the richest county in China into a nationally designated poverty-stricken county.
What exactly did we do to Madoi?
It is obvious that the main reasons for Mado's poverty are overgrazing, mining, and fishing.
The scenery along the route from Xining to Maqin was captivating and magnificent, and Shen Qi and his group were in high spirits.
Two graduate student volunteers took photos with their phones, and Shen Qi was also taking photos.
At dawn, I stood on the green pasture and saw the divine eagle bathed in the glow of the morning sun.
Like an auspicious cloud flying across the blue sky, it brings good fortune to the Tibetan people.
This is a magical road to heaven; the song describes it very realistically.
Upon entering GLCZ Autonomous Prefecture, the azure sky cleansed the soul, and the snow-capped mountains stood proudly in the distance, making even the non-religious Shen Qi want to worship them.
The grassland stretches as far as the eye can see, with cattle and sheep scattered across the lush green carpet. They graze and roam leisurely, while herders ride horses and sing songs. The sky is vast and the fields are boundless, the wind blows the grass low and reveals the cattle and sheep.
"The scenery is picturesque." Shen Qi opened his laptop, admiring the scenery outside the car while retrieving meteorological observation data from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau region provided by the National Meteorological Center.
Combining Numerical Analysis and mathematical models, Shen Qi calculated that the negative value region of the third mode is concentrated in the southeastern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, while the positive value region appears in the northwest.
After passing Maqin, the vehicle turned northwest, heading towards its destination – Mado County.
Mado County is larger than the capital, but has a population of just over ten thousand.
Upon entering Maduo County, the scenery changed drastically.
The rolling grasslands are gone, replaced by ever-growing deserts.
The wind continued to blow, and the cattle and sheep had vanished, but instead a cloud of dust was stirred up.
"Seeing is believing, the desertification here is very serious." Shen Qi frowned, looking out the window at the yellow-green land, his fingers flying across the laptop keyboard.