In China, where there are people, there must be weather stations.
Before the onset of winter, the maintenance team of the Yutian County Meteorological Bureau of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region will go to the hinterland of Taklamakan to maintain three weather stations, which are located in the most difficult villages in China to reach. China Meteorological News correspondents Li Zhihong and Cui Zixuan accompanied him, and reporter Zhao Xiaoni followed up the report. Before leaving, the cadres and reporters who led the team said that whether they could return smoothly or not, "I don't know the bottom of my heart."
How difficult the road is, how wonderful the story is. This story full of dangers, scorching heat, and difficulties was sent to the editorial department of the "I am on the spot" column of the China Journalists Association, let's take a look.
I'm hereField | 50℃！The reporter did not turn on the air conditioner in the car, nor did he dare to open the window
The author of this article: Li Zhihong and Cui ZixuanZhaoXiao NioneThe Taklamakan Desert, which means "place where you can't get in and out" in Uyghur language, is often referred to as the "Sea of Death". Deep in the desert, there is a village called Dariyabuyi, which is more than 300 kilometers away from Yutian County, which governs this place, and the surrounding environment and road conditions are harsh. Known as the "Last Desert Tribe", this village was isolated for hundreds of years. In order to collect the most comprehensive and accurate meteorological information, the meteorological department must go deep into this "desert tribe" to set up weather stations against all kinds of difficulties and dangers. As journalists, in order to report on the most real lives of front-line meteorologists, we have the responsibility to conduct field visits. (b).
Before leaving, I searched a lot on the Internet for information about Dariyabuyi Village and ** to learn about the road and the old village.
Tang Bo, deputy director of the Yutian County Meteorological Bureau, said that when the station was built before, he deliberately found a local guide and rented a local off-road vehicle with good performance, but despite this, the round-trip was also difficult.
Tombo told me to prepare for the worst, and he didn't know if he would be able to arrive and return smoothly this time.
There is no cell phone signal, internet or power in the old village. "Be mentally prepared. He said.
These instructions are all from his own experience, and the hardships of building a weather station in Dariyabuyi are beyond ordinary imagination. When the meteorological department built the station, the village of Dariyabuyi was full of yellow sand, but not a single grain of sand could be used to build the station. The sand and stones used to build the station are purchased and transported from the county seat, and the site selection is in the depths of the desert, which is blocked by heavy sand and mountains, and cannot be reached by vehicles, and the materials used to build the station can only be carried on people's backs. On dog days, they work in the desert with temperatures over 40, and through the soles of their shoes, the yellow sand is scorching ...... over 50People suffer from heat stroke every day. 
(c).In the early hours of September 18, many people were already asleep, and the courtyard of the county weather bureau was still brightly lit — everyone was preparing supplies separately. In addition to the usual maintenance and testing tools, the vehicle is equipped with satellite**, a tow rope, a large barrel of gasoline, first-aid medicine and 5 boxes of mineral water ......Tombaugh said unpredictable things can happen at any time on the road, especially in the desert, and vehicles must have enough fuel and drinking water. We also fully charged our phones and devices, bought some snacks, and brought jackets for emergencies. Everyone is preparing as fully as possible for tomorrow's deep dive into the "Sea of Death". The beautiful sand mountains hide many dangers. In 2017 and 2019, two rounds of relocation were carried out in Dariyabuyi Village. Today, there are two Dariyabuyi villages in the Taklamakan Desert, one is the "old" village located 200 km from the G315 national highway and the other is the "new" village 91 km from the G315 national highway. Early in the morning of September 19, after maintaining the two meteorological observation stations in Xincun, we had a simple lunch in the wind and sand. At about 15 o'clock, we continued to march towards the old village. 
The vehicle drove slowly along the desert leading to Dariyabuyi. The undulating sand dunes covered with yellow sand and the fine sand rolled up by gusts of wind creep up, shaping the flat desert into impassable sand beams, connecting clouds and clouds, and the desert shrouded in floating dust has no end in sight, which is terrifying. 
Journalists travel through the hinterland of the Taklamakan Desert. Tombo told us that the 120-kilometer road from the new village to the old village is in the desert full of sand mountains, potholes and depressions, there is no fixed road, it does not look far, and even the best off-road vehicle takes more than 5 hours. Under the background of the reckless and strong wind, the road into the village is difficult and tortuous, and there are not only sand nests that may collapse at any time hidden in the desert, but also sand cliffs dozens of meters deep, once they fall, the consequences are unimaginable. Soon, the best performing off-road vehicles fell into a sand nest. It took an hour for the cart to pull the vehicle out of danger. 
Maintenance of automatic station vehicles passing through the sand ditch.
In the afternoon, the desert temperature is still above 30, and the temperature inside the car is over 50.
Due to the lack of power of the vehicle, the air conditioning in the car can not be turned on, let alone open the window for ventilation, at this time, the car is like a steamer, the heat wave outside the car and the bean-sized sweat beads rolling down the faces of the people in the car once again show us the power of the "sea of death".
In order to ensure safety, Tombo led the way in front, and on the walkie-talkie, he repeatedly reminded to keep the distance between cars, not too fast, and to avoid dangerous sections after rushing to the dunes, let alone too slow. I stopped and walked like this, and it was already 21 o'clock when I arrived at the village.
(iv).The seemingly everyday tasks are doubly difficult because they are in the desert. The old village observatory was built on sandbags on the other side of the river, and the desert is relatively flat with no obvious signs. The maintenance team set off from the old village, drove more than 10 kilometers along the river according to satellite positioning, and turned around more than 10 times, but could not find the weather station. The only way to get local villagers to lead the way was to move to the new village, leaving herders scattered across a vast area of oases, usually about 10 kilometres to a single household. In order to save fuel, the maintenance team divided into three routes to search on foot, and arranged for a driver to look for nearby herders. At about 13 o'clock at noon on September 20, we finally found the herdsman more than 20 kilometers away, and finally arrived at the weather station under the guidance of the herdsman. 
Rainfall sensor.
Capped with tipping bucket rain sensors, cleaning louver boxes, and temperature and humidity sensor ......This is the routine action of each unit to maintain the weather station, but in the depths of the desert, everything is not so simple, and the maintenance of the automatic station is not only a technical job, but also an individual work. Tang Bo told us that every time he went back after maintenance, he had back pain all over his body, and it took several days to recover. (5).For them, being recognized by the people is the greatest comfort and praise. It's a lie to say that you're not tired. However, the maintenance team of the county meteorological bureau went in and out of the desert like us, and also shouldered the task of maintaining and cleaning up the observation site, but they felt that they were full of energy, full of energy and high morale.
After cleaning the sand in the observation site, the faces of the reporters and the weather station staff were covered with sand.
Maintaining a weather station is not just a matter of hardship.
Although there is no major weather system in the desert in winter, through the weather station, we can better understand the meteorological factors such as snowfall, temperature and wind speed fluctuations in the desert in winter, which is very important for the local development of planting and animal husbandry safety, especially for the research on desert carbon sequestration and the climate mechanism of precipitation on the northern slope of Kunlun Mountain in recent years.
This is the main purpose of the construction and maintenance of the Dariyabuyi Weather Station.
On the one hand, it is for the safety of local villagers' lives and property and industrial developmentOn the other hand, the construction of the station along the northern slope of the Kunlun Mountains can support the safety of the Tarim River Basin and its ecological environmental protection and restoration.
Many of the weather stations are built in the suburbs far away from the bustling cities, and some are in the depths of the Gobi Desert where the annual precipitation is only a few tens of millimetersSome are built on islands with high temperatures, high humidity, lack of fresh water, and tropical stormsOthers stand on the top of the mountains covered ...... lightning and thunder, wind and ice
And the significance of these painstaking constructions is by no means limited to one site.
Grassroots meteorological workers have been fighting in the "front line" for a long time, and they have been sticking to it for decades, and for them, it is more about peace of mind, dedication to work, and love for their careers.