Celebrating the golden autumn with grand festivities. On the occasion of the 76th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and the deepening advancement of cultural enrichment in Xinjiang, the Kunlun Music City·Muqam Art Season — Desert Music Festival was successfully held at Kaersu National Desert Park in Shache County, Kashgar Prefecture, Xinjiang.
This music festival represents an upgrade in Shanghai's cultural assistance to Xinjiang, transitioning from "blood transfusion" to "blood generation," and from "delivering culture" to "cultivating culture." Using music as a medium and interactive experiences and cultural activities as carriers, the event leverages the unique tourism resources and cultural heritage of the Kaersu Desert to create a comprehensive music carnival integrating musical performances, cultural experiences, and sightseeing tourism.
The initiative focuses on building the core cultural tourism IP of "Kunlun Music City·Muqam Art Season," effectively extending Shache County's tourism consumption chain. Simultaneously, it further constructs an innovative model of deep integration of diverse cultures while introducing corresponding market mechanisms to enhance the localization of the regional tourism industry, creating a high-level platform to showcase the fruitful practical results of cultural enrichment in Xinjiang.
Arriving through the sand, gathering for music. Every afternoon at 5 PM, amid continuous crowds and cheers, the desert music festival began with great enthusiasm, with the venue packed and bustling with activity. The event site featured multiple art installations for visitors to choose from. The "I LOVE SHACHE" themed photo spot, decorated with Adilai patterns, fully displayed the charm of intangible cultural heritage; colorful giant stone formations created a "dopamine" color palette that instantly awakened full energy at first sight; tilted pottery jar designs created surreal spatial aesthetics, drawing continuous praise from visitors; the children's playground contained colorful treasures, creating an immersive parent-child experience space; sundial light and shadow changed scenery with daylight, tracing circular "annual rings" in the sand sea.
Additionally, the event site simultaneously set up multiple immersive interactive experience zones, creating rich and diverse interactive scenarios for visitors. The venue carefully created vendor markets and canopy rest areas, establishing immersive consumption scenarios where local agricultural products, handicrafts, and specialty foods reached tourists through this platform, effectively broadening income channels for farmers and merchants.
As the performance reached its climax, thousands of drones rose in response, illuminating the night sky. From the initial glimpse of Yarkand River's snow-fed waters to the melodious tunes of the Twelve Muqam, a story about the Silk Road gradually unfolded in the night sky. This performance developed its narrative along a vertical timeline from the ancient Silk Road to the modern China-Europe Railway Express, presenting modern Shache's prosperous development under technological empowerment.
As the drone performance concluded, bonfires began to rise, with local residents and visiting tourists forming circles around the fire, singing and dancing together. Although the three-day desert music festival has concluded, the rhythm of the sand sea, the brilliant starry sky, and the joy of gathering have created profound resonance transcending time and space.
The seeds planted, platforms built, and concepts introduced by Shanghai through cultural enrichment in Xinjiang have taken root and sprouted on this fertile land. Shanghai's assistance to Shache is advancing from traditional project construction toward deeper cultural resonance and emotional connections.