介绍:
Located at north-eastern Tibetan Plateau, Qinghai Lake is the largest inland saltwater lake in China. Surrounded by boundless grasslands, this sky-blue water mirrors snow-capped mountains. The Chinese National Geography bestowed upon it the title, the most beautiful lake of China.
Yet in recent years, overexploitation and overgrazing have left deep scars in this marvellous beauty.
Growing up beside Qinghai Lake, local herdsman Namjia had left home to pursue business ventures. He didn't come back until 1997. When he spotted Xiaobohu, a wetland that used to be his childhood playground, the Tibetan was heartbroken by what he saw.
"When I was a kid, fragrant flowers and lush grasses thrived here. You could find different birds everywhere. But when I came back, springs dried up and birds were all gone. I cried the moment I stepped in here."
Namjia decided to do something for his beloved lake. Giving up his business and selling most of his livestock, this former merchant started to plant grass and restore headwaters to save the local ecosystem.
But his endeavour had a rough start.
"Since this area is next to Qinghai Lake, its soil alkalinity is extremely high. So when springs dry out, the soil become so stiff that no one could dig it through. I brought a pump and watered the land. I didn't start to dig until the ground became moist."
During the years when Namjia was far away from home, Qinghai Lake has become one of the most popular attractions in northwest China, visitors have littered huge amounts of rubbish.
Since then, picking up the garbage along the lake has become part of Namjia's daily routine.
"I have been doing this for almost twenty years. See, this piece of plastic has been here for a while. The mud buries it really fast. If the plastic stays here longer, it will gag the water and contaminate the land."
The herdsman says that in the beginning, when he led his families to pick up wastes, relatives and friends did not understand and even felt embarrassed. But gradually, as the land has become much marshier and lush meadows have begun to border the lake, more start to join him.
Now, Namjia stores all the garbage he collects in a warehouse at his home.
"There is no waste sorting in this area. All the construction trash, household waste and plastics are buried together. I didn't know how to deal with them at first. Now we have volunteers. These young people will come to my house to sort and dispose waste scientifically. "
Now, walking around the once-barren and arid Xiaobohu, you can hear the swish of grass against the wind and the gurgle of clear springs.
Yet as a child of nature, Namjia knows what he does is far from enough. Qinghai Lake used to be the habitat of Przewalski's Gazelle, a rare species that could be only found in China. During the mid-1990s, due to overkill, the population of this endangered animal around the area once dropped to 300.
"When I was younger, there were lots of gazelles gathering on the east of Qinghai Lake. But at that time, people were unaware of the importance of protecting wildlife. During the nights of poaching, they drove cars to chase after the animals. The gazelles were knocked down by the vehicles. I remember there were lots of blood on the cars. I was terrified."
Nowadays, this ardent and devout conservationist spends days patrolling around pastures to find trapped and injured gazelles and gives the medical attention they need.
In the yard of his house, Namjia's son Sangye is playing with a gazelle, who was left behind by its herd in a wolf attack six years ago. Namjia took the fawn under his wings and the orphan has lived with the family ever since.
Sangye names the fawn Guozhou and hangs out with it basically every day. Watching his son frolicking with his furry playmate, Namjia says he wishes Sangye could follow his footsteps in protecting wildlife.
"I think maybe because he enjoys the company of Guozhou, he will gradually fall in love with all the Przewalski's Gazelles. In big cities, children don't have the opportunity to get in touch with wild animals. They don't understand the importance of protecting these lives. So when they spot an animal, they would ask: can I eat it? Does it sound terrible?"
Namjia is struggling to make a difference. In 2010, he formed a wildlife patrol team, which encourages locals to protect Qinghai Lake naked carp, a slow-growing fish facing overfishing and extinction.
22-year-old Lobsang is one of the members. He and other volunteers are responsible for collecting garbage and assembling local villagers to prevent illegal fishing and poaching.
"They get information from local TV network, wechat or other social media. They pass messages to each other. Usually we can call up to three, four hundred volunteers, one hundred at least. "
Namjia's efforts seem to be paying off, as more and more people realise the importance of protecting local wildlife and restoring the beauty of Qinghai Lake. Accordingly, during the hunting seasons, there are generally more than a thousand villagers willing to take part in patrolling.
Ms Pan is a veteran living in Xining, the provincial capital of Qinghai which is 46 miles away from the lake. She joined the patrol team a year ago and has become a fierce preservationist ever since.
"In my mind, protecting environment and naked carp is our bounden duty. It's extremely vital to protect the land that we live on."
As the team grows, Namjia has been put under the spotlight by the media. But facing the overwhelming praises, this Tibetan herdsman seems indifferent and unshaken.
Along one of the tributaries of Qinghai Lake, he builds a small altar which is piled up with inscribed stone tablets.
"There are prayers engraved on the plates. See, this is Water Sutra; that one is dedicated to the dragon god. Sutras are above human and animals are worshipped at the top of this altar. In that case, animals and eco-system are superior to anything else. "
British poet William Blake once said: "Great things are done when men and mountains meet." Sometimes, greatness could be achieved, when man and lake meet.
