Field Notes, 2026
Zhoushan 舟山
地点：中国浙江舟山。
Zhoushan is an archipelago city on Zhejiang's East China Sea coast. This photograph looks across open water toward its island hills at sunset, with one small boat on the surface.
xj Roadlight|在路上
Archive Series
Field Notes
Short records from places along the route.
Field Notes, 2026
Bridge over the Yong River, Nanning 南宁邕江上的桥
地点：中国广西南宁。
The Yong River (邕江) flows through Nanning. This bridge carries road traffic across it, and at dusk its arch is reflected in the calm water below the deck.
Field Notes, 2026
Qulong Temple 曲龙寺
地点：中国青海共和县。
A large gilded stupa stands at Qulong Temple in Gonghe County, with open grassland around it.
Field Notes, 2026
Bridge over the Taolai River, Jiayuguan 嘉峪关讨赖河上的桥
地点：中国甘肃嘉峪关。
The Taolai River (讨赖河) runs through Jiayuguan. This road bridge crosses it on three arches, which are reflected in the still water beneath the deck.
Field Notes, 2026
A Village in Jiangsu 江苏乡村
地点：中国江苏。
The village is built along a small river. White-walled houses with dark tiled roofs stand on one bank and trees line the other, with the houses reflected in the still water.
Landscape Archive
Entries recording terrain and land. Subjects in this group: a plateau lake shore, a dead desert poplar, and grassland crossed by a road.
Landscape Archive, 2026
Hala Lake 哈拉湖
地点：中国青海哈拉湖。
Hala Lake is a high plateau lake in Qinghai, at an elevation of 4,078 m. Gulls stand on its gravel shore, with open water and a snow-covered mountain range on the far side.
Landscape Archive, 2026
Desert Poplar, Jinta 金塔胡杨
地点：中国甘肃金塔。
This dead desert poplar (胡杨) stands in sand at Jinta, its trunk bleached and split and its branches bare and twisted.
Landscape Archive, 2026
Grassland Road, Qilian Mountains 祁连山草原公路
地点：中国祁连山腹地。
A paved road crosses open grassland in the interior of the Qilian Mountains (祁连山腹地). Livestock graze at the roadside, with rolling brown hills ahead under a dark storm cloud.
Gobi Archive
Entries from the desert areas of Qinghai. Subjects in this group: Gate No. 5 at the start of Mars Highway No. 1, a yardang formation in the Qaidam Basin, and the ruined buildings at Lenghu.
Gobi Archive, 2026
Gate No. 5 — Mars Highway No. 1 火星一号公路五号门
地点：中国青海冷湖，火星一号公路起点。
Gate No. 5 is a steel sci-fi sculpture at the start of Mars Highway No. 1, at the Lenghu end of the road, conceived as a space-time portal from Earth to Mars. Below it, a tilted cube marked MARS carries an inscription telling of astronauts discovering a special sign, and a mani cairn of stacked stones stands in the foreground.
Gobi Archive, 2026
Yardang, Qaidam Basin 柴达木雅丹
地点：中国青海冷湖附近，柴达木盆地。
This layered rock pinnacle rises from flat sand in the Qaidam Basin (柴达木盆地), with lower eroded ridges around its base. A yardang (雅丹) is layered rock shaped by wind erosion over a long period in arid desert.
Gobi Archive, 2026
Lenghu Ruins 冷湖遗迹
地点：中国青海冷湖。
Only the walls of these buildings at Lenghu (冷湖) remain, without roofs. Rubble lies on the ground in front of the walls, with bare mountains behind the site.
Historical Archive
Entries recording historic structures in their present condition. This group currently contains one entry: a tower at Jiayuguan, Gansu.
Historical Archive, 2026
Jiayuguan Pass 嘉峪关关城
地点：中国甘肃嘉峪关。
Jiayuguan is the westernmost major pass of the Ming Great Wall, and construction began in 1372. This photograph shows one of its multi-tiered towers from below, with layered roofs, upturned eaves and painted beams.
Video
VIDEO RECORDSVideo records are filed in this section, separately from the still-image series. The entry below is filed under Historical Archive, 2026.
Historical Archive, 2026 · Video record
Jiayuguan Pass 嘉峪关关城
地点：Jiayuguan, Gansu, China.
Jiayuguan is the westernmost major pass of the Ming Great Wall, and construction began in 1372. The video was recorded at ground level inside the fortress, where the stone paving is heavily worn.
About
关于xj Roadlight (@xj_roadlight) is a photography and video archive documenting China on the road — its geography, its built history, and the ordinary places in between. The work is published on X, Instagram and Pinterest, organised into archival series rather than single posts.
The archive is written in English for readers in Europe and North America who may not know the local context, with Chinese place names kept where they add precision. Each entry gives its title and place, then one or two sentences of background that can be confirmed.
- Username
- @xj_roadlight
- Archive
- xj Roadlight | 在路上
- Subjects
- Landscape · History · Architecture · Heritage
- Language
- English, with Chinese place names
- Based
- China
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New entries are published first on X, Instagram and Pinterest, organised by series. Start with the account that fits how you read — the archive is the same on all of them.