On August 25, 1942, Chiang Kai shek arrived in Xining by special plane and met with Ma Bufang, a local power figure in Qinghai. This was the only time in Chiang Kai shek's life that he personally visited Qinghai. In the photo, the burly and tall figure in the middle is Ma Bufang, while on the right is Chiang Kai shek with a smile on his face and holding a baton. On both sides are accompanying military and political officials, and behind him are neatly lined up the troops of the Ma family army in Qinghai. This trip is part of his large-scale northwest border patrol: he first went to Lanzhou to hold a military conference in the four provinces of Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, and Xinjiang, then made a special trip to Qinghai for inspection, and then went to the directions of Hexi and Xinjiang. The War of Resistance Against Japan entered a stalemate stage, with the Burma Road cut off by the Japanese army and the northwest becoming a backup rear for the Nationalist government. The Yumen Oil Mine was the only wartime oil producing area in the country, and Qinghai and the Hexi Corridor were the northwest border barriers. Chiang Kai shek needed to win over the Ma family army controlled by Ma Bufang to stabilize the northwest defense line, and to requisition human and material resources from Qinghai to build the Qingkang and Qingxin highways and military airports, in order to support a long-lasting resistance war. At that time, Shengshicai in Xinjiang leaned towards the Nationalist government, causing a change in the pattern of the northwest region; Ma Bufang has long been separatist in Qinghai, with a high degree of autonomy in military, political, and financial affairs, making it difficult for the central government to directly control. Chiang Kai shek personally went to Qinghai as the highest leader to appease and win over Ma Bufang, strengthen the central government's jurisdiction over Qinghai, and weaken local independent forces. Upon learning that Chiang Kai shek was coming, Ma Bufang organized a city wide inspection, repaired streets, and set up venues. He showed utmost respect throughout the entire process, personally accompanying the inspection of the Qinghai garrison, accompanying visitors, hosting banquets and entertaining guests, personally pleasing Chiang Kai shek in every matter, and swearing to support the central government externally; But privately, the people and officials were strictly ordered not to accuse Chiang Kai shek of local corruption in Qinghai, and to monitor Chiang's words and actions throughout the process, strictly preventing the central government from interfering in Qinghai's internal affairs. Chiang Kai shek personally praised Ma Bufang's achievements in guarding the border, promised to supply military equipment, allocate construction funds, and recognized his governance authority over Qinghai; At the same time, we took the opportunity to demand that the Ma family's military uniforms be dispatched from the national unified military dispatch, coordinated with the construction of highways and airports, and accepted infiltration from the central military and political system. Ma Bufang fled after being defeated in 1949: After the People's Liberation Army liberated the northwest, Ma Bufang fled to Saudi Arabia with more than 200 people and huge wealth under the pretext of pilgrimage through Chongqing and Hong Kong, and later settled in Cairo, Egypt Appointed as an "ambassador" and then dismissed: in 1957, appointed by the Taiwan authorities as the "ambassador" to Saudi Arabia; In 1961, due to the scandal of forcibly occupying his niece Ma Yuelan, he was impeached and dismissed from office, refused to return to Taiwan for trial, and officially became a Saudi citizen Death in a foreign land: On July 31, 1975, he passed away in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia at the age of 72 and was unable to return to his homeland in Qinghai for life