Suzy Xu Shuang

The Tibetan semi-nomadic families I visited in 2011 live at the altitude around 4200 meters in Qinghai Province, China. They take care of yak and sheep most of the time on the plateau and return in winter to their brick houses which are made mandatory by the government.

 

Living on the plateau is not easy. The temperature varies dramatically from morning to night. Although it was summer in August, it felt like early winter in the morning when women and men started their day by working with animals. By the time the sun rises, women have collected a huge basket of dry yak shit for fire, milked all the yak, and made simple breakfast, usually some tea with butter and some pancakes. After the breakfast, men set off grazing and come back before sunset, while women take care of children and all kinds of heavy housework, such as taking water from the nearby shallow river and carrying the basket uphill to tents. After housework, usually in the afternoon, some women help each other making wool quit, and some kowtow for hours, praying and working out at the same time.

 

Despite the harsh geography, weather, food and sanitation circumstances, the life there is very peaceful and harmonious.