In the summer of 1980, a well-known scientist left a note that read, "I went east to find a well," and mysteriously disappeared into the Gobi Desert.
He was Pengam, one of the greatest scientists of the last century. In order to find him, the state has organized four large-scale searches, but 41 years have passed, and he has not heard from him.
Pengam
Some say he committed suicide in the desert. Others say he was murdered.
There are even more bizarre claims that Pengam found a Pisces jade pendant and traveled to ancient times.
There are many opinions, and his disappearance has become the largest unsolved case after the founding of the People's Republic of China, and it has not been answered so far.
So, what did Pengam go through 41 years ago in Lop Nur ?
Drought and no grass, wind and sand rolling, vast and distant, a desolate, this is Lop Nur . Located in the eastern part of the Tarim Basin in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, although the climate is now very harsh, more than a hundred years ago, Lop Nur was also rich in water and grass, and is the second largest inland lake in our country, covering an area second only to Qinghai Lake. The prestigious Loulan Ancient Kingdom was established here.
Lop
However, from the 1920s and 1930s onwards, the tarim River became smaller, and the water area of Lop Nur gradually shrank, and by 1962, the entire Lop Nur had dried up into the Gobi. With the disappearance of the ancient kingdom of Loulan and the spread of legends such as the Pisces Jade Pendant, this place is gradually full of mysterious atmosphere.
In 1949, a plane from Chongqing to Urumqi disappeared during the flight, and it was not until 1958 that it was found in Lop Nur and all the people on board were dead. No one knows what the reason for this plane came here, but some people suspect that this is the so-called parallel space-time node, and the ancient country of Loulan is going to another time and space. It was once described as another "Bermuda Triangle" in the world.
Ruins of the Ancient Kingdom of Loulan
The protagonist of the story, Peng Jiamu, is a well-known scientist in the last century, specializing in biochemistry and plant virus research. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Peng Jiamu came to Lop Nur in 1964 to investigate, and found that there were rich mineral resources in the outer areas.
This is undoubtedly great good news for new China, which is often maliciously blocked by powerful countries in international trade. Even Japan, after the establishment of diplomatic relations with China, has developed a strong interest in Lop Nur . But how to develop it here became a big problem at that time.
As a discoverer, Pengam went to Lop Nur twice. The next two times, one was when Pengam was the crew consultant for the Sino-Japanese co-production of "Silk Road", and the other time was at the beginning of the summer of 1980, Pengam, as the leader of the expedition, went to Lop Nur in search of a special mineral resource. It was this time that Pengam went to Lop Nur and never came out.
China-Japan Co-production of "Silk Road"
The survey was organized by Chinese, in addition to Peng Jiamu, who was a biochemist, several scientists in several fields of specialization, such as chemistry, botany and hydrology, as well as 2 soldiers. With the experience of the previous two expeditions, Pengam was ready and confident about the expedition. It may be because of this sufficient confidence that they later took it lightly, underestimated the harsh environment here, and fell into a predicament.
In the first period of these three investigations, everything went very smoothly. Pengam and his party collected water samples and soil from all three rivers flowing through Lop Nur as planned, and after studying the mineral composition of them, they made significant discoveries. Soil samples contain a lot of potassium, and Lop Nur is indeed a treasure trove of rich mineral resources.
Although the wind and sand were raging, but everything was calm, Peng jiamu and his party completed their inspection plan ahead of schedule and came to a small town called Milan in southern Xinjiang on June 7 to temporarily rest. This crossing, the first successful crossing of Lop Nur in human history, is of great significance. The smooth progress of the plan made the members of the expedition feel sincerely happy.
Since it took less time than expected, and there was still a lot of time left before the end of the expedition scheduled before departure, Pengam decided to strike the iron while it was hot and made a very bold decision - to return to Lop Nur again with the expedition team, but this time the route was different from the previous one, and he wanted to go from the east of Lop Nur to the north, in order to try to open up a new road for future expeditions.
Although the team members had not yet gone to the excitement of successful inspection, after listening to Pengam's plan, they still rationally raised objections. Because although their expedition was completed relatively early and smoothly, at the same time, the supply supplies carried by the expedition team were running out. In particular, the drinking water prepared by everyone can not support them to carry out another investigation. The Gobi Desert in the summer is far more dangerous than other seasons, and the candles they carry are baked and melted by the heat here without being lit. The expedition members felt that Pengam's plan was too hasty, so they did not support it.
But Pengam had already made up his mind. It is understandable that he would make such a decision. He had a malignant tumor in 1957 at the age of 32, but after a period of treatment, the disease was cured to a certain extent. Peng jiamu has experienced the ups and downs of life, cherishing those rare opportunities more and more, and wants to use his limited life to make more contributions to the country.
The team members saw that Peng Jiamu was so stubborn, so they chose a compromise method, hoping to ask the Xinjiang garrison for help before leaving, and let the troops replenish their lost supplies. However, in this era of underdeveloped technology, even if the local garrison sends supplies and support, it will take a lot of resources. Pengam was very reluctant, and at his insistence, the expedition members finally agreed to his request, but with one condition, that is, when the water or oil was half used up, they must immediately return to the same way to protect the lives of all people.
Pengjiamu readily agreed, so after resting for a few days in the southern Xinjiang town, on June 11, 1980, Pengjiamu and his party took enough oil and water for 7 days to set off again. But this time it didn't go as smoothly as expected.
They traveled for 3 consecutive days, traveling less than 200 kilometers, but half of the oil and water they were carrying had been used up. According to the agreement before departure, the expedition team should return the same way, but Peng Jiamu thought that it was better to step up and continue to move forward. But this behavior seriously led to the dissatisfaction of the players.
In the reluctance of the team members, they walked to the 9th day, at which time almost all the supplies were bottomed out, the remaining oil could not support them to return the same way, and only half a bucket of water was left. The deputy captain, a hydrologist, went out with a map marked with the distribution of water sources, and finally returned in despair that there was no water at all.
Peng Jiamu had no choice but to give up his insistence and send a distress signal to the Xinjiang garrison. On this day, a group of wild camels passed by them, and the expedition members who had not eaten meat for several days joined forces to catch one of them and ate a full meal on the spot. The distress signal was also sent, and the stomach that had been wronged for several days was also satisfied after a full meal, and the members of the expedition were in a good mood waiting for the arrival of the rescue troops.
Xinjiang Garrison
However, Peng Jiamu, who sat in it, was somewhat abnormal, and slowly became speechless during the meal. During the night break, he lay alone outside the camp, looking a little depressed. As a captain, he was refuted by the players, and it was right to be in a bad mood, so the players did not take his performance to heart. The next day the garrison gave a reply, and the members of the expedition were very happy. But not long after, the vice-captain found that Pengam was missing.
Everyone thought he was going to solve the physiological problem, but they didn't wait for him to come back. The team members became vigilant and looked around, only to find a note written by Peng Jiamu on the car:
"I went east to find the well. Peng, June 17. ”
Note left by Pengam
The team members immediately divided into two groups, one way to look for it, and the other to stay in the camp and wait. The convoy that went out to look for it found Pengamu's footprints about 1 km to the east, but continued to move forward with the footprints, but they could no longer find the footprints when they came to the saline land. Seeing that it was getting dark, the convoy had to return.
Later, the team members examined Peng jiamu's luggage and found that he had taken a water bottle with him, but left important anti-cancer drugs in the camp. And the date of the note he left behind was changed, probably two days ago. The helicopter of the troops who came to the rescue flew low, searched for a long time, and found no trace. Pengam disappeared into the Gobi desert out of thin air.
When the news of Pengam's disappearance reached the central authorities, it received great attention, and the leaders at that time sent military planes to search for it, and the people of the whole country were also paying attention to the progress of Lop Nur. But more than ten days have passed, how many rabbits there are in the Gobi Desert, the army has investigated clearly, but Pengam's whereabouts are still fruitless. In the end, the head of the investigation had to regretfully declare that the search had failed.
Some people suspect that Pengamu did not disappear, but defected to the United States, but was opposed by Pengam's family and many scientists in the country. Pengam's sincerity toward China should not be questioned, and this claim is a complete rumor.
There is also a bizarre theory that Pengam found a Pisces jade pendant and was teleported to ancient times. But the so-called Pisces jade pendant was actually found by archaeologists from the tomb of the Princess of Liao after Peng Jiamu disappeared many years later, how could Peng Jiamu get the cultural relics that had not yet been unearthed. It was agreed that imposing mysterious events on scientists was the greatest disrespect for scientists like Pengam.
After investigation, scientists believe that the Lop Po Ne Desert is very mobile, and Pengamu should have been washed away and buried by the local quicksand after dehydration. He may have been prepared for the worst by the time he left the camp, so he didn't even bring anti-cancer drugs. In 2016, a dried body was found near there, suspected to be the remains of Pengam. The authorities wanted to conduct a laboratory investigation, but Pengam's son refused to provide a DNA sample, and the matter was later closed.
In 1982, Pengam was posthumously recognized as a revolutionary martyr by the state. Although he did not complete his investigation of Lop Nur, his spirit was respectable and his contribution was worth remembering.