The original singer of "The Pilgrim's Path," a song you've known for twenty years, isn't Han Hong after all?

In 2001, during the construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, lyricist Qu Yuan and composer Yin Qing composed the song right at the construction site. The temperature was extremely low at the time,their draft paper froze stiff, and the rough draft of a melody they had just composed was even blown away by strong mountain winds; the two had to chase after it through the snow for some distance before retrieving the draft.

On August 1st of that year—the Army Day—Tibetan singer Basang performed “The Heavenly Road” for the first time in an auditorium at a construction site located at an altitude of over 4,000 meters. As soon as he finished singing the first line, hundreds of railway construction workers in the audience had tears welling up in their eyes.This was the first public performance of “Heavenly Road,” and after that, memories of the song faded from the public eye for four long years.

 

In 2005, singer Han Hong paid 100,000 yuan to acquire the commercial performance rights to “Heavenly Road.” After signing the contract, she sat alone for a long time, thinking only that she could not let such a fine piece of work go unnoticed.She later performed *Heavenly Road* on the stage of the CCTV Spring Festival Gala. As the program aired, the song quickly became familiar to audiences across the country, and the public generally assumed that Han Hong—who had made *Heavenly Road* a hit—was the original singer.Basang, who rose to national fame in 1997 with “Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,” was a professional singer with the Tibet Autonomous Region Song and Dance Troupe at the time. As the original singer of “Heavenly Road,” she never spoke publicly about this experience; she simply accepted the relevant award certificates in silence and watched the live broadcast of the Spring Festival Gala without showing any signs of resentment.

The year 2026 marks the 20th anniversary of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway’s opening. When China Central Television (CCTV) produced a special documentary on the occasion, it released the original recording of Basang’s 2001 debut performance for the first time. After this footage went viral online, many viewers familiar with “The Heavenly Road” were taken by surprise.It was only then that people realized there was a little-known story behind *The Heavenly Road*, a song that had been widely sung for many years.

 

The creative foundation of “The Heavenly Road” stems from the real-life journey of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway’s construction. Basang’s first performance on the front lines of the project infused the song with an emotional core that resonated deeply with the builders; meanwhile, Han Hong’s promotion brought this work—which had originally been confined to the context of high-altitude construction—into the public eye nationwide.Both of their contributions are equally valuable; there is no question of one claiming credit from the other. It is simply that Basang, as the song’s original performer, remained unknown to the public for a long time.

 

After this chapter of *The Pilgrim’s Progress* was made public, many people learned about this part of history for the first time.The more life experiences one has, the more one comes to understand that works which stand the test of time are often the result of the collective efforts of many different people. Those who contributed behind the scenes deserve to be remembered by the public. If you believe this story is worth sharing with a wider audience, please share this post so that those who work diligently are not easily forgotten.