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Where the wild things are


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Where the wild things are
By Ye Jun (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-09-21 08:14

Sitting comfortably in my air-conditioned office on this rainy day in
Beijing, it's difficult for me to imagine that just a few days ago, I was
traveling across the dessert, crossing snow-capped mountains and
encountering wildlife. A week ago, I joined 28 others on an excursion to
Altun Mountain National Nature Reserve (pictured below), in the southeast
of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The trip was organized by China
National Geography and supported by the local government. In attendance
were nine media from across China, including reporters from Beijing,
Shanghai, Guangzhou, Kunming, Taiyuan and Wuhan.

China National Geography organized the expedition just before publication
of its October issue, which will showcase the beauty of China's Northwest.

Luckily for us, the team was led by the director of the administration of
the nature reserve, as well as experienced members of the administration
and drivers familiar with the wild.

Most of the 10 reporters have done some traveling in China, including
journeys to Tibet.

But few had sojourned into such great wilderness as the Altun Mountain
Nature Reserve.

Spanning 4.5 million hectares, the conservatory is the biggest inland
nature reserve in the world, according to the administration. It was
first established in 1983 by the Beyinguoleng Mongolian Autonomous
Prefecture and was approved as a nature reserve in 1985.

It occupies land in the neighboring areas of Xinjiang, Qinghai and Tibet,
along the middle northern slope of Eastern Kunlun Mountain, a northern
extension of the North Tibet Plateau. Although Altun is not as famous as
the neighboring Hoh Xil to the south or Lop Nur to the north, it shares
similar natural features but on a larger scale.

We spent the first day flying to Korla, which is known for its sweet
small green pears, and the second day was spent traveling 460 kilometers
to Qarkilik County.

There, we visited a local village, saw original Euphrates poplars and
admired the landscape along the banks of Lop Nur in the northeast of
Qarkilik. Lop Nur was once China's second largest inland lake until it
dried up.

On the third day of the trip, we encountered Altun Mountain. It took all
day to make the 390-kilometer trip to get to the first place of
accommodation.

The trip was rougher than most team members were used to. Our Land
Cruisers meandered between valleys and deserts, and crossed pits eroded
away by floods and rain.

Our bodies bounced every which way during the bone-juddering journey.
Finally, motion sickness grabbed hold of my guts and squeezed with great
force. I had to clench my eyes shut for fear of vomiting before our
caravan reached the checkpoint at 9 am.

Frankly, there was a minute or two when I thought to myself, "how am I
going to endure the next several days?" But as it turned out, that was
the most trying day, and it provided me a great opportunity to acclimate
to my new environment.

The next day, we crossed a mountain pass at an elevation of 4,600 meters
above sea level. Aside from being a bit short of breath, my body did not
react adversely to being atop the plateau so far as I could tell,
although perhaps the high altitude aggravated my motion sickness.

Our persistence was eventually rewarded with the beautiful sight of
Ayakkum Lake. We came across the salt lake at noon on the fourth day of
our journey.

The sky was lavishly blue, but the lake was even bluer. Seagulls glided
freely above the water, which seemed to glitter with silver and gold.

Upon reaching a central protection station in Qiman Tag Township that
evening, we could see the Big Sand Spring and the Small Sand Spring - two
springs bubbling from sand dunes, which were unimaginably beautiful under
the sunshine.

There were only six herdsmen's families living in Qiman Tag
Township/village, because most of the others had relocated to areas
nearer to the city in order to better protect the nature reserve. Today,
there are only 3,000 sheep and goats in the area - one-tenth of what
there was before the relocation.

The village head, 48-year-old Kurban Aziz, raises 500 sheep and goats
here. But he hired a family to look after them, and now, he comes here
with his wife only four times a year - in March, July, September and one
time each winter. He now has a regular home in Qarkilik, where his
children attend school. He could sell 200 sheep and goats for 330 yuan
each.

Because of the reduction in human activity, wildlife in the nature
reserve can flourish undisturbed, roaming the land and grazing on its
plentiful grass.

Yang Yinlin, director of the Administration Bureau of Altun National
Nature Reserve, says that there are now 37,000 Tibetan antelope, 20,000
more than in 1995. The wild yak population has increased by 3,200 since
1995 to 5,800, while the population of wild donkeys has increased by
22,000 since 1995 to reach 39,000.

There are more than 360 species living in the reserve. Most of the flora
are simple in structure, and, as is characteristic of plants endemic to
dry, high altitudes, they grow low to the ground.

In addition to living treasures, the area is also rich in minerals. Gold,
bronze, jade and Iceland spar are among the most precious of the 40
minerals found here.

The administration has had to work hard to prevent poaching and regulate
mining, expeditionary and traveling activities on the reserve.

Currently, annual admittance to the reserve is capped at 300 people.

Travel and expedition activities require approval from the government of
the Beyinguoleng Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture.

According to Mu Guijin, researcher at Xinjiang Zoology and Geography
Institute, China Academy of Sciences, wildlife at the Altun Nature
Reserve has made an incredible comeback. One sign of this, Mu said, is
that animals such as Tibetan wild donkeys aren't as afraid of people as
they once were.

"But further scientific research is needed to see if we need to take
measures to regulate the size of wildlife populations and find a
scientific balance to protect biodiversity, rather than letting a certain
species' population grow unchecked and perhaps even grow rampantly."

Mu believes Altun will contribute to people's understanding of nature and
will serve as a treasure trove of biological and geological resources.

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