A Tibetan family on the Maoya Grassland

Atra herds his yaks on the grassland by riding a motorcycle along the highway. Like most local Tibetans, Atra and his family live by grazing. [Photo by Dong Ning/China.org.cn]

The Maoya Grassland is located amid the mountains to the west of Tangli County, Ganzi Prefecture, Sichuan Province. Sitting at an altitude of 3,800 to 4,500 meters, the area features beautiful natural scenery that changes with the seasons. It is home to plateau animals, such as yaks, and herbal medicines, such as Chinese caterpillar fungus. The local Tibetan population mainly lives on animal husbandry. Meals mostly consist of yak meat and milk, roasted barley flour, buttered tea and barley beer. The following pictorial record shows the life of a Tibetan family in which 55-year-old Atra, together with his wife and 10 children, live simply and harmoniously on this remote grassland. They have been living near the Route 318, a section of the Chengdu-Lhasa Highway, since the 1990s, when they escaped from their poor nomadic life.