An American couple, the elusive ounce and eco-friendly development

In 2016, China officially launched its first national park pilot project in Sanjiangyuan (Three River Source, also known as the "Water Tower"), the source of the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers. Covering 123,100 square kilometers, the pilot national park includes 53 villages and is home to more than 70,000 herdsmen.

In 2018, one of the 53 villages called Angsai, close to the habitats of many wild animals including snow leopards, got approval from the authorities to organize activities such as rafting on the Lancang River. It was part of the local government's efforts to enable local residents to participate in the preservation of the national park while increasing their incomes.

The household of Chodrol Palmo and her parents was selected as one of the host families in Angsai to receive tourists.

"I remember my parents were very excited when they learned that they could do something meaningful for our hometown. But they had no idea what they were supposed to do as the host family, because they only had experience of herding cattle and digging caterpillar fungus (cordyceps sinensis)," Chodrol Palmo said.

Nevertheless, her father, who is a member of the Communist Party of China, decided to take the lead in providing food and accommodation for visitors, and serving as their driver and guide.

As agreed, 45 percent of the income from each visitor or visiting group goes to the host family, another 45 percent goes to the village's collective fund, to be used to help improve other families' living standards, with the rest being used to protect wildlife.

According to Chodrol Palmo, her family's lot has greatly improved because of the host family policy. While previously they relied on grazing and digging caterpillar fungus and earned less than 10,000 yuan a year. "Now my parents have learned basic Mandarin and gained knowledge about the customs and traditions of different ethnic groups," she said.

Over the years, the number of host families in Angsai has increased to 22 with their combined income exceeding 2 million yuan ($273, 875) a year. But Chodrol Palmo's father is more happy to make new friends and act as their local guide than earning more money.

"I remember an American painter named Dar who came to Angsai with his wife to photograph snow leopards and stayed for about a week in our house. Every day, the couple ate together with my father and trekked through the mountains and forests to photograph wildlife," she recalled.

One day luck smiled on the American couple, Chodrol Palmo said. A snow leopard, a highly elusive animal, appeared all of a sudden at the spot where the husband and wife were waiting in the hope of spotting any wildlife. Dar was so moved after capturing the big cat on his camera's lens that he cried for a long time.

"Before leaving, he painted a picture of the rocky mountain especially for my dad and asked my dad to think of him whenever he looked at the painting," she said.

Measures such as the host family policy have, so far, benefited about 146,000 herders in Qinghai, and in more ways than one, shows the province's efforts to strike a balance between ecological conservation and economic development.