Soul of Gesang

Dr. Gu Mingxin wins the National Cultural Heritage Administration’s “Special Survey into the Fall of the Guge Kingdom” project with her research on artifacts from the Tubo period. She assembles a 12-member archaeological team, including experts in geology, religion, and Tibetan studies, to uncover the key clues behind how the Guge Kingdom, which flourished from the ninth to the seventeenth century, suddenly vanished.

- Before the team sets out, her Beijing-based fiancé, Chen Jingming, repeatedly asks whether the Guge ruins contain documents mentioning a “sacred treasure of the snowy region,” supposedly out of concern for the dangers of the plateau. He appears to be an investor in the cultural heritage industry, but his family was involved in illegal grave robbing in the past. He even secretly plants a tracker in Gu Mingxin’s archaeological kit. Though she notices his excessive interest in “treasures,” she does not press him, given their many years together.

- When the team arrives in Shiquanhe Town, Ngari, they face a supply shortage after their local supplier unexpectedly backs out. Jiayang, president of the Tibet Everest Group, suddenly appears and offers logistical support at no cost, including tents designed for the plateau, oxygen tanks, and a Tibetan doctor to accompany them. He also announces that he is suspending all company business to take part in the survey from start to finish. His involvement sparks gossip among the team, but he focuses solely on looking after Gu Mingxin: preparing butter tea to help prevent altitude sickness and correcting an inaccurate map of the Ngari region. During their first interactions, they clash professionally over archaeological strata and how local legends corroborate the evidence, but they also begin to build trust.