In the autumn of 2025, the 20th Ultra Gobi Series took place in Dunhuang, China. This extreme endurance trek, widely regarded among Chinese-language business schools as the premier Gobi team race event, spans four days and three nights across 121 kilometres of desert. It pays tribute to the Tang Dynasty monk Xuanzang, whose 1,300-year-old pilgrimage continues to inspire those who seek wisdom and purpose. Today, the Gobi is no longer a solitary path. It has become a testing ground for leadership, where business leaders from around the world confront their physical and mental limits while discovering the strength of collective effort. This year’s challenge brought together nearly 5,000 participants from 65 business schools worldwide—each undertaking not only a physical distance, but also a journey shaped by teamwork and shared commitment.

Prof. Chelsea Jiang Assistant Dean (Mainland Affairs) Professor of Practice (Management) Faculty of Business

PolyU Business School (PBS) returned to take part for a second time, this time with a full contingent of 39 members spread across four race categories—nearly double the size of its previous delegation. In the Ultra Gobi A, the team race category, the PBS team achieved a dramatic three-and-a-half-hour improvement in its race time. This expanded delegation reflected a deep sense of cohesion as veterans from Ultra Gobi 19 stepped into roles as team leads, coaches, and support staff, passing on experience to newcomers and exemplifying the value of intergenerational mentorship. Alumni, volunteers and sponsors also worked tirelessly behind the scenes, demonstrating the importance of service and shared commitment. Together, these elements form what management scholars call ‘team social capital’: the trust, shared knowledge, and altruism that enable groups to excel.

The Gobi’s winds, dunes, and salt flats offer a powerful test of leadership. Whether it was a fever-stricken teammate summoning their final strength to cross the finish line, or the entire team huddling in one tent through a force-nine sandstorm, the moments that mattered most revealed collective responsibility rather than individual endurance. In such extreme conditions, resilience shows itself in simple acts: stepping up for others, adjusting to the unexpected, and staying united when it counts.

The lessons of the Gobi resonate far beyond the desert. In a world shaped by rapid technological change and shifting expectations of leadership, Xuanzang’s perseverance offers a reminder of the qualities required of today’s business leaders. PBS advances these qualities through its commitment to Innovation-driven Education and Scholarship (IDEAS). Through its professional doctoral programmes, the School cultivates strategic leaders with cross-cultural competence, systems thinking, and a commitment to sustainable value creation, encouraging students to test cutting-edge theories against real-world business and societal challenges. The Ultra Gobi becomes an extension of this learning: a place where concepts of crisis leadership, team dynamics, and ethical decision-making take tangible form—in footsteps supporting one another in the sand, in a midnight consensus reached in a shared tent, and in the solemn promise, “We start together, we finish together”.

The Gobi is also a space for personal reflection. Stripped of titles, hierarchies, and performance metrics, participants reconnect with a sense of humility and purpose. Under the desert sky, Xuanzang’s vow — “I shall not turn back eastward, not even a single step” — sits alongside the wisdom of the Diamond Sutra: “All phenomena are illusory; only by seeing beyond appearances does one perceive truth.” Together, they offer a reminder that leadership is not about control, but about travelling with awareness and a shared sense of direction.

As the official description of the finish line at Gobi Spring poetically states:

“Quiet and serene, yet vital and flowing. Though silent deep in the desert, it was here that Master Xuanzang, like a stranded fish finding water, regained strength and was reborn.”

Gobi Spring is not simply the end of the trek—it is where every Gobi traveller begins anew.

The Ultra Gobi 20 may now be behind us, but its spirit has become part of PBS’s educational DNA. We are nurturing a new generation of business leaders grounded in national commitment, global vision, and a sense of responsibility for the world they serve. This generation will navigate future challenges with Xuanzang’s resolve and the strength of collective purpose.

Ultra Gobi 21 awaits!