Grassland Patrol Officer
Source: People's Daily Author: Wang Jiangjiang
The car drove to the Nalati Sky Grassland. Along the way, there were cold and rapid rivers, they flowed from distant snow mountains, scouring the riverbanks with cold stone and dry wood.
This trip is specially to investigate the Nalati Sky Grassland. Along the way, guide Ma Jun drove while introducing us: 'Look at the houses on the hillside, they used to live here, but now most of them have moved down the mountain.'
After passing through the valley, the vast expanse of green grass stretched into the sky. Located in the new area of Xin Yuan County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the Nalati Sky Grassland has an average altitude of about 2200 meters. Here, pine trees stand tall, reaching into the clouds, while mist slowly rises from the forest. Here, the annual rainfall can reach 800 mm, which is conducive to the growth of grass, and the livestock carrying capacity is very high, and there used to be 'Deer Palace' named after it.
A piece of grass, milk curds are drying on it, old wooden racks hang dried lamb. At this time, Ma Jun stopped the car, saying he wanted to visit an old friend who lived here.
Warm sunshine shines on the blossoms of oleander, a child is looking at something with his eyes. I looked in the same direction as him, a small marmot was digging a hole and pushing dirt out of the grass underneath.
The child got up and ran into the house to greet the family.
Soon, an old man pushed open the wooden door and came out. Ma Jun said he was called Aibeti Biye, he is the patrolman of this grassland. Aibeti Biye with a tall and burly figure, shook hands with us one by one. His hand was worn by the years, like the bark of a forest tree, his eyes were swift and deep.
Behind the old man is his dwelling. To be precise, it's a dilapidated yurt. The yurts of the Kazakh people are high and spacious, shepherds usually make yurts with wooden branches as railings and dome tops, and weave grass fences around the wooden frame, and finally pack the formed outline with felt. The top of the yurt generally has a folding window, so as to be illuminated and ventilated. Shepherds need to change their summer pastures and winter pastures, and every time they move, they need to move all their belongings, so this convenient disassembly and construction yurt is their preferred choice.
We bent down and entered the house. Looking around, the walls are decorated with typical traditional patterns. The house is kept very clean, and the light from the skylight shines in. Under the skylight is a cast iron stove, shepherds can collect dry dung to make fire, for cooking and heating. Inside there are various utensils and various food. On one side of the door is a wooden barrel specially made for making yogurt wine.
The old man's wife brought us fermented yogurt, a slight wine smell floated in the yogurt, it tastes slightly sour. Aibeti Biye told us his story: he started working as a forest ranger in the forest in the early twenties. After 10 years of working in the forest, because of age, he turned to work in grassland patrol. And this has been nearly 20 years.
Grassland patrol is an important task for ecological protection. Here, the mountains, water, forests, grass and lakes and wild animals all need daily patrol. The main responsibilities of grassland patrolmen are to take care and repair the grassland fences, grassland grazing restrictions and ecological management, grassland fire prevention patrols and grassland rodent and insect information collection and reporting. Every day, Aibeti Biye rides a motorcycle to patrol the Nalati Sky Grassland's protective fence, and does not stop all year round.
Every year, from November when the winter comes to April of the following year, people usually live in the winter pasture, which is the flat ground below the mountain. After that, they transfer to the summer pasture in the sky grassland, and build yurts. From the conversation, I learned that every year, the old man is the last person to dismantle the yurt and move to the bottom of the mountain.
The yurt is dismantled, and the transfer is completed, but the patrolman still needs to patrol. Compared to summer, winter transportation is not so convenient. The government provides patrolmen with motorcycles, but the old man still prefers to ride horses. At that time, the vast snow covered the grasslands, the sheep had been herded, only the cold wind swayed the old man's clothes.
The patrolman's salary is not much, and the old man also raised some sheep, he can make money by selling grass. But in the old man's opinion, the most important thing is to protect this grassland, which is to protect his own home.
As the sky darkened, the sound of cooking came from outside the yurt. The old man's wife was preparing a sumptuous dinner for us. We didn't want to disturb them too much, so we thanked them and left.
The grassland is also protecting his home.
As the sky darkened, the sound of cooking came from outside the yurt. The old man's wife was preparing a sumptuous dinner for us. We didn't want to disturb them too much, so we thanked them and left.
The car drove along the Nalati Sky Grassland's highway to the bottom of the mountain, the vast sky and the wilderness wind made people feel incredibly comfortable. The road in the distance has herds of horses, they are grazing peacefully, the wind blows across the grasslands, also swaying the horse's mane. Small marmots followed closely behind the horses.
