A venerated mountain provides the backdrop for these horses.[Photo by Yang Yang/China Daily]

Those who want to see one of China's rarest animals face a journey that can be terrifying in parts

I finally woke up when my head bumped against the window of the car as it jolted down the rough mountain road. Behind us, the driver of the Toyota Land-Cruiser was hooting and shouting: "The rear tire! The rear tire!" Our driver brought the car to a slow halt on a flat section of the road.

We were on the only path leading deep into the mountains of what is regarded as the home of snow leopards, Niandu Village, in Angsai town, a remote place in Qinghai province among the wild mountains and rivers of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Our destination, where we hoped to see wild animals such as white-lipped deer, was still about 80 kilometers away.

The driver and the other three passengers of the car jumped out to see what had happened. The right rear tire was punctured. On such occasions I am next to useless, and my phone was picking up no signal, so I decided to take a short stroll in my thick down jacket and ski pants while the flat tire was being replaced.