Abstract: In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, China experienced significant transformations in its state structure and territorial attributes, largely due to the expansion and impact of Western colonialism. One of its primary challenges was to make the shift from the territorial conceptualizations and allegiance patterns of the ancient Chinese tributary system to those of modern sovereignty. This evolution underscored the significance of the ‘frontier,’ which became a focal point and a challenge in 20th-century Chinese political life. It also motivated literary and artistic exploration of the Northwest frontier during the 1930s and 1940s. This article begins its discussion from the essential concept of “construction of landscape.” It examines how various strategies and narrative modes of frontier representation during that period facilitated the integration of the Northwest into China's territory within the nation-state framework. Concurrently, it sheds light on the remarkable heterogeneity within the Northwest landscape. These disparities not only reflect the intricate interplay of political, social, and intellectual dynamics in cultural practices and landscape production but also underscore the diverse undercurrents and discursive competitions within Chinese nationalism at the time.

Key words: the Northwest, frontier, landscape, nationalism