Old Mancheng: That Reunion That Seemed Like a Lifetime Ago

"Old Mancheng: That Reunion Like a Lifetime" is based on the ruins of Gongning City in Urumqi and tells a love legend that spans 160 years. In 1864, Haidar, a young Hui nationality, and Gegesule, a Manchu nationality, fell in love during the siege of the city, but were separated by life and death due to ethnic antagonism, leaving only the promise of "reunion in the next life." In 2024, Lin Yuan, a graduate student in the Department of History, and Shen Qingyue, a student in the Department of Gardening, met at Xinjiang Agricultural University. They fell in love with each other because of their joint participation in the Laomancheng ruins protection project, and gradually discovered that each other was the reincarnation of Haidar and Suler. In the process of protecting the ruins and restoring the historical truth, they not only brought the dust-laden heroic love to light again, but also adhered to their love and ideals in the face of real challenges, and finally made a promise for this life in front of the ruins that witnessed the past and present life. Through dual time and space narrative, the novel interweaves historical memory and contemporary growth, and explores love across time and space, the healing of historical trauma, and the reconciliation of multi-ethnic cultures.