Video: Forging a familial bond by camelback at cultural crossroads

Dunhuang is not just an ancient oasis in an arid land, but a spring of love for my family.

The Silk Road settlement has not only inhabited an important position in global trade and cultural communication for centuries, but also has come to occupy a special place in my own heart and in my bond with my daughter in recent years.

That's because one of the most cherished memories Lily and I share was our trip to Dunhuang six years ago, when she was 7 years old. We came to film the fun short-video series, Desert Dream, about Dunhuang, the Silk Road and the Belt and Road, which won a national award and earned millions of views online.

Rather than just clipping together mundane montages of ports, cargo containers and trains, we designed a daddy-daughter cultural treasure hunt through Dunhuang. This led us to explore the Mogao Caves, night market and Crescent Moon Lake, and their role in cross-cultural communications in the past, present and future.

At one point, we're riding a camel across the Singing Sand Dunes, when Lily asks what cultural treasure we'll find next. I give her a hint: "It's under us". She guesses: a camel.

In the end, Lily buys a stuffed camel toy for her little brother, since he didn't get to ride a real camel like she did, personifying the spirit of sharing that the Silk Road and BRI embody.