Travel series stirs an urge to explore iconic destinations

Thirty years ago, then-24-year-old Meng Fei was a young cameraman who boarded a train from Shanghai bound for the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, enduring three days and three nights across the Chinese heartland to reach Urumqi.

What awaited him was a three-month immersion in the landscapes and lives far removed from the city rhythms he knew — a land of sweeping deserts, towering peaks and a kaleidoscope of ethnic cultures.

Today, Meng is one of China's most recognized television hosts. This summer, his return to Xinjiang stirred a deep nostalgia for a region he once knew intimately. The mountains and open skies are still there, timeless and pristine, but Meng observed the profound changes in the lives of the locals.

This time, his role is different. He's not just a visitor; he's an "unofficial tour guide" and driver, heading westward with writer Liu Zhenyun, host Li Yajuan, stand-up comedian He Guangzhi, and actress Hani Kyzy.

Together, they're retracing historic routes that bridge China and Central Asia, journeying through Xinjiang to Uzbekistan's Samarkand and Tashkent. Along the way, they're visiting the ancient paths once traversed by Chinese Buddhist monk Xuan Zang in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), unveiling the storied beauty of the western regions in a modern retelling of the ancient Silk Road.