Zero Kilometer

Name: Zero Kilometer
ISBN: 9787570231768

王族Yangtze River Literature and Art Publishing House · ChinaApr 2025

3.5

Word count: 243K words
Chapters: 49
ISBN: 9787570231768

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Summary

The novel Zero Kilometer is based on the author's own experiences and focuses on the automobile battalion of the Ali Military Subdistrict stationed at Zero Kilometer in Yecheng. It tells the story of driver-soldiers such as Tian Yihe who, while carrying out a mission in the Kunlun Mountains, encounter snowstorms, altitude sickness, and physical illness in succession yet still conduct arduous patrols.

When hungry, they persevere with their bodies; in dangerous places, they persevere with willpower; facing arduous tasks, they persevere with faith. Even at the cost of death, they must reach the highest border post, must keep the boundary marker firmly standing on the border line, and pass on the spirit of border soldiers.

Editor's review

Zero Kilometer is writer Wang Zu's latest collection of narrative essays. Taking the "Zero Kilometer" road marker in Tashkurgan County, Kashgar Prefecture, Xinjiang, as both a geographical and spiritual starting point, it unfolds a deep act of writing about the frontier, memory, and life. This is not a travel essay in the conventional sense; rather, through the author's more than twenty years of accumulated life on the frontier, it deftly stitches personal life experience together with vast geographical space and thick layers of history, constructing a humanistic field full of detail and warmth. Wang Zu's prose is spare and textured. The Pamir Plateau, Tajik herders, border patrolmen, and even a weathered stone in his writing all transcend simple landscape description to become vessels carrying time and emotion. Reading this book, one feels not merely curiosity about "faraway places" but a quiet power of inward exploration. Using the highly symbolic coordinate of "Zero Kilometer," the author explores the spiritual questions of "starting point" and "destination" for modern people. In an increasingly mobile contemporary society, this book offers a spiritual high ground for gazing and contemplation. Its literary value lies in its success in elevating local knowledge into a life philosophy of universal significance; it is a sincere work combining geographical depth with humanistic warmth.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers with a strong interest in frontier culture and geographical-humanistic narrative
Urban dwellers seeking inner calm and spiritual travel amid a fast-paced life
Literature lovers who enjoy writers such as Shen Congwen, Li Juan, and Liu Liangcheng and appreciate plain yet poetic prose
Deep readers with high expectations for "travel literature" or "nonfiction writing"

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting tight plotting, strong dramatic conflict, or fantasy adventure
Fast readers seeking only concise travel tips or practical information

Reading tips

Read in a relatively quiet period without interruption to immerse yourself in the slow, deep narrative rhythm the author builds.
Keep a map of western China or the Pamir Plateau at hand while reading to establish a clearer sense of space and deepen the reading experience.
Do not rush; try reading chapter by chapter, pausing briefly after each to savor the images and emotions contained in the text.

About the publisher

Yangtze River Literature and Art Publishing House China · Founded in 1955

Founded in Wuhan in 1955, Yangtze River Literature and Art Publishing House is a literary publisher under Hubei Changjiang Publishing and Media Group. Public information is limited, so the following focuses on the publishing directions reflected in the books in our database. The press publishes modern and contemporary Chinese literature, classical literary studies, translated foreign literature and educational works. Its catalog includes Chen Yinke's Studies on the Origins of Sui and Tang Institutions and On Tang Political History and The Unofficial Biography of Liu Rushi, Lao She's Camel Xiangzi and Four Generations Under One Roof, and Selected Essays of Lu Xun, as well as translations such as Yasunari Kawabata's Snow Country and educational writings by Sukhomlinsky. Its publishing character lies in balancing literary classics with scholarly works, with attention to textual editing and the accumulation of major authors' works; its author resources span leading modern writers, historians and foreign authors.

版权信息
第一章：走向界碑
1
2
3
第二章：下山的人
4
5
6
7
第三章：遥远的约会
8
9
10
11
第四章：领命上山
12
13
14
第五章：山崖上的光芒
15
16
17
18
第六章：巡逻路上
19
20
21
22
23
第七章：生命禁区的树
24
25
26
27
第八章：无法见面的亲人
28
29
30
第九章：一支驳壳枪
31
32
33
34
第十章：无言的告别
35
36
37
后记

FAQ

Is this book fiction or nonfiction?

Zero Kilometer is a collection of nonfiction narrative essays. It is based on author Wang Zu's long-term life experience and on-the-ground observation in Tashkurgan County, Xinjiang. The content is highly documentary, but its literary expression raises it beyond ordinary travel writing or reportage, giving it strong humanistic reflection and artistic color.

What is the author Wang Zu's creative background?

Wang Zu is a well-known writer long rooted in Xinjiang, whose work focuses largely on frontier nature and culture. He is not a brief visitor but a recorder and thinker with more than twenty years of frontier life experience. This deep immersion in life keeps his work from being superficial and gives it a distinctive regional insight and existential weight; his previous works have also been well received.

What exactly does "Zero Kilometer" in the book refer to? Does it have a special meaning?

"Zero Kilometer" literally refers to a road milestone in Tashkurgan County, Kashgar Prefecture, Xinjiang, marking the starting point of a road. In the book, the author gives it rich symbolic meaning: it is both the starting point of geographical exploration and the origin of spiritual return; it represents the beginning of a specific journey and also metaphorically evokes the search for life's origins and cultural roots. It is the core image running through the entire book.

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About the author

王族 Author

Wang Zu is a Chinese-language author about whom limited public information is available; details such as nationality and dates of birth and death are not clearly recorded. Five of his works are held in the collection, including North China Gate, Zero Kilometer, God's Own Reserve, Su Wu (in the Chinese Pioneers Story Series), and A Brief History of Masterpieces: The Formation and Transmission of 16 Classics (in the Poetry Thinker Reads Classics series). These titles suggest that his writing spans documentary literature, prose and miscellaneous essays, biography, and war and military subjects, touching on frontier regions, historical figures, and the formation and circulation of classic texts. The titles North China Gate, Zero Kilometer, and God's Own Reserve point to an interest in borderland scenery and military life, while Su Wu turns to retelling the stories of historical worthies, and A Brief History of Masterpieces reflects a concern with how literary classics are transmitted. Overall, his writing moves between documentary and prose forms, combining historical and regional experience; given the limited material, a fuller account of his life and work cannot yet be given.