In this Chinese name, the surname is Peng.
Peng Jiamu was a Chinese biochemist and explorer who disappeared in the Lop Nor Desert in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China on 17 June 1980. He left his expedition's camp to search for water and was never seen or heard from again.
Background[]
Peng Jiamu was born in 1925 in the Guangdong Province. He graduated from Central University of China (now Nanjing University) in 1947 with a degree in biology and joined the Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry, where he studied and worked under Cao Tianqin.
In 1956, Jiamu joined several scientific expeditions to the Xinjiang region that were organized by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In these expeditions, he catalogued species of flora and fauna and measured potassium accumulation in the Lop Nor desert. In 1979, he became vice president of the CAS. He was known to be ever optimistic and relish the thrill of traveling by both modern and old-fashioned means, including on foot and by donkey, canoe, or car. In his words, "Science is to walk a road not traveled by other people."
Disappearance[]
On 12 June 1980, Jiamu led an expedition into the Lop Nor Desert. It encountered early challenges because they went during one of the harshest times of the year. The team's cars sometimes plunged into soft riverbeds or moving dunes. They had limited food, water and fuel to support their arduous travels by foot and vehicle.
On 17 June, Jiamu left his expedition's camp to search for water alone and was never seen or heard from again. He wrote of his intentions on a note and did not discuss his plans with anyone. He left with two cameras and one water bottle.
Investigation[]
Jiamu's disappearance shocked China, and the Chinese government in return launched an expansive rescue effort that was widely covered by the Chinese media, who declared him a martyr for science. There were multiple searches with tens of helicopters and vehicles and hundreds of soldiers and police, but neither he nor his remains could not be located. Between 2005 and 2007, six mummies and skeletons were located in the desert, with one mummy turned up where he went missing. However, DNA ruled out the any of the remains to be him.
It is believed that Peng Jiamu died of either an accident or from exposure and is buried in the dune sea of the desert. However, some people do not think his disappearance was an accident and it has been the subject of conspiracy theories. The Lop Nor Desert was the site of nuclear weapons between 1959 and 1996 and was a restricted military zone, and people could simply not roam freely. This leads some people to think he stumbled on something he should not have seen and was killed to prevent witness testimony.
Others believe he defected to or was kidnapped by the United States, the Soviet Union, or aliens, although what their motive is to do so is unclear. A son of a top Chinese Communist Party official claimed he saw Jiamu at a restaurant in Washington, D.C. Still one colleague suggested he was terminally ill with cancer and went out to die in the desert. Although he had a tumor back in 1957, he appeared to have recovered from it.
Since his disappearance and presumed death, Jiamu was memorialized with a modest stone memorial that has his name in red strokes of Chinese script.
Media[]
A TV documentary series named Searching for Peng Jiamu covered the events up to and after his disappearance.
Xia Xuncheng, an associate of Peng Jiamu and former director of Lanzhou-based Institute of Desert of the CAS wrote a book called "Travel with Peng Jiamu."
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