www射-国产免费一级-欧美福利-亚洲成人福利-成人一区在线观看-亚州成人

CHINA> Focus
Heaven on horseback
By Alexis Hooi (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-08-13 08:03

Heaven on horseback

Climbing toward the Altay mountains more than 1,500 m high. [Courtesy of Wutzala]

Prairie in the sky

Feeling our way up cliffs along precarious paths the next morning, the winding torrents of the azure river below us grew smaller with every careful step. Our steeds huffed and puffed as the air got thinner, getting their first real workout of the trip.

Only when we occasionally turned to look behind and below us, did we realize again that this was not something any modern form of transportation could achieve. We were going deeper and deeper into horse territory.

Beijinger Wutzala, the 36-year-old chief editor of the China Equestrian Association's website, put it most succinctly: "You can see from this trip that, whatever area on land wheels cannot go and human feet cannot endure, horses reign supreme."

Once we got onto the other side of the mountain, the wide grasslands of high Altay began to open up before us.

Our horses rustled through flower beds, including purple patches of lavender that perfumed the whistling air of the prairie, where cows, sheep and other grazers also reveled in their freedom.

We disrupted ruminating herds of camels that appeared to be contemplating a setting sun, just before reaching the Qia'erbasi campsite where, as the only group of humans for miles around, we danced around a bonfire deep into the night.

Heaven on horseback

Morning at the Qia'erbasi campsite. [Alexis Hooi/China Daily] 

Surrealism in stone

We woke up to an overcast sky the next morning, when a stubbornly hidden sun failed to warm the chilly air. But the bad weather made the mutton porridge and salty milk tea we had for breakfast taste better as we geared up to face the cold.

At around noon, heavy rain and poor visibility hit our group, already halved by those who chose to return to camp to wait out the wet weather. Those that stuck to the paths soon found themselves amid sharp rock outcrops, granite-gray points and edges that punched through the fog. Local herders call this place the "Strange Stone Forest in the Sky". Our horses' steps slowed as we passed these surreal sentinels on the edge of the steppes.

The other members of the group had an equally magical time. Guests of a Kazak household not far from the campsite, they donned traditional ethnic costumes, tasted homemade mare's milk and bore witness to a friendly horse race on the prairie.

All had stories of the steppes to tell when we returned to the campsite in the evening as boots, gloves, chaps and hats were dried around a comforting campfire.

Heaven on horseback

Camels on the prairie atop the Altay mountain range. [Alexis Hooi/China Daily]

Home free

The Tu'erge grassland is one of the largest prairies of Altay, where herds frolic unfettered. This is where you give free rein to your horses, whose blood has been fired up from four days in the open. Our pack stretched longer as riders veered off to explore Kazak yurts, chase sheep flocks, or simply bask in aimless abandon.

Then as you canter and break into gallops for hours on end through the wide plains, you realize that horse herder Wushiliu's claims are true - even on this last leg of our journey, the sturdy Kazak horses don't break a sweat.

Riding on soft pasture under a cloudless sky, you also begin to understand why pastoral nomads such as the ones on the Tu'erge would never choose to stay in one place - because there is more than enough under the heavens to satisfy every individual's desire to roam the earth.

As dusk settled, we rode triumphantly into the ancient Mongolian-Tuvan (Tuwan) village of Hemu, situated on the banks of a fierce river that shared its name and beautifully hemmed in by mountains densely forested with conifers. Hemu is famous for its mist-shrouded sunrises and was fully opened to the outside less than a decade ago, but tourism is already sprouting in the form of hotels, restaurants, bars and grocery stores.

We left Hemu the next morning, saddened by the end of our journey, but assured of the well-kept secrets beyond the village that our horses helped us discover.

Heaven on horseback

Dawn at Hemu Village. [Courtesy of Zhang Ping]

Heaven on horseback

Dawn at Hemu Village. [Courtesy of Zhang Ping] 

Heaven on horseback

   Previous page 1 2 Next Page  

 

 

主站蜘蛛池模板: 国产高清免费观看 | 91成人免费观看 | 国产成人毛片亚洲精品不卡 | 在线观看一区二区三区四区 | 久久久久久国产视频 | 国产三级日本三级日产三级66 | 一级做a爱片久久蜜桃 | 手机看片自拍自自拍日韩免费 | 香蕉521av网站永久地址 | 成人免费视频一区 | 精品久久中文字幕有码 | 米奇精品一区二区三区在线观看 | 美女曰皮 | 给我一个可以看片的www日本 | 国产欧美日韩综合一区二区三区 | 日韩午夜三级 | 国产美女主播一级成人毛片 | 美国一级毛片完整高清 | 国产成人亚洲合集青青草原精品 | 九月婷婷亚洲综合在线 | 一本色道久久爱 | 国产亚洲精品久久精品6 | 男女交性拍拍拍高清视频 | 在线精品视频播放 | 偷柏自拍亚洲欧美综合在线图 | 久久久久久久国产精品视频 | 欧美a级在线观看 | 国产精品国产自线在线观看 | 国内精品91久久久久 | 精品日韩欧美一区二区三区在线播放 | 国产精品久久毛片蜜月 | 狠狠干香蕉 | 国产人成精品 | 久久99热久久精品91 | 精品无码三级在线观看视频 | 欧美最猛性xxxxx亚洲精品 | 亚洲一区二区三区免费在线观看 | 日韩视频精品在线 | 特黄毛片 | 91热久久免费频精品黑人99 | 欧美国产成人免费观看永久视频 |