Where is 月牙湾? Well, it refers to a bay at Changdao, Taiwan. The trouble is, F.I.R. is not singing about some beach resort in Taiwan. They are singing about some mystical crescent-shaped lake in the middle of the desert in Dunhuang, Gansu Province, China. It’s called 月牙泉.
The lyrics in this sound very romantic and a picture like the one below will inspire the poet in anyone who is not dying of thirst. You may remember that Japanese New Age musician Kitaro shot to fame with music inspired by the Silk Road.
I’m not sure why this mistake was not highlighted, but for someone who has been to 月牙泉, I noticed that something was not right straight away. It was a spring, an oasis; not some bay area facing the sea. Of course, I can still appreciate F.I.R.’s music. The trouble is, writing too much from fantasy and imagination can leave listeners like me unimpressed. To bring back memories on the Silk Road, I prefer listening to Kitaro.
