Relocation changing lives on plateau

Many herders opting for improved conditions in the city with better schools, healthcare

Even hardy herdsmen on the "roof of the world" sometimes find they may be pushing the limits of human endurance by trying to make a living above the clouds.

Rigzin, 49, from the Tibet autonomous region, is one of them.

Donning a lambskin smock and a fur hat, Rigzin cracks a whip to encourage his flock of sheep to move in a homeward direction. Then he stops for a selfie in front of his house - perhaps his final photo on the prairie he's called home for nearly half a century.

Thanks to a voluntary ecological relocation program in high-altitude areas, Rigzin, along with his wife, Karma Detso, and their son, has decided to leave their hometown in Rungma township, Nagqu, for Lhasa, the regional capital, to start a new life.

"I've been herding sheep and cattle for more than 40 years, and I thought my whole life would be just like this," Rigzin said.

A small television and a machine to churn ghee - a type of clarified butter - are the only electric appliances in his adobe house, which has stood defiantly against a snow-dusted mountainous landscape for decades.

Every day, the family had to make four trips to a nearby river to fetch water. In winter, when the river freezes over, they were forced to trek even further.

Rigzin needed to ride his motorcycle across the prairie to the township seat, about 30 kilometers away, to make a phone call or send a text message via cellphone.

Life in Rungma is anything but modern. Diseases such as rheumatism and heart disease are endemic.

White-haired elderly residents are rare, because the average life expectancy is no more than 60 years, much lower than the region's average.

Harsh natural conditions have also precluded any possibility of improving the standard of living of residents. Blizzards and heavy snows seal the mountain passes every winter.

Due to its remoteness, basic public services - including education and medical care - are not always accessible. The local primary school only offers education for students from grades one to three, and only four students from the township have been admitted to university in the past five years.

"One of our colleagues once joked that this area is not suitable for humans and should be left to wild animals," said Jamyang Paljor, the township's Party secretary.