Text amp; Photos by Zhang Xuedong

THE LAST HERDSMEN

Text amp; Photos by Zhang Xuedong

In the intersection leading to the second ranch of Shandan Horse Ranch stands the statue of a herdsman on a horse in a snowstorm. People who travel past the statue all know that the land contributes to the numerous victories in Chinese military history.

Photo by Wang Mei

Located in the north slope of Leng Long Ridge at Qilian Mountain, Shandan Army Horse Ranch is the largest in Asia (and the largest one in the world after Don River Horse Ranch after former Soviet Union collapsed). Since the establishment of Shandan Army Horse Ranch by Huo Qubing, a distinguished military general in the Western Han Dynasty(202 BCÐ8 AD), it has played crucial roles in the military, technological, and cultural aspects. The ranch belongs to the region of Zhangye on the Silk Road, the only city in China that is named after the country's national defense strategy and will (cutting off the Huns' path and extending the Western Han's power to the western regions). Local people proudly told us, quot;Our very fi rst ranch manager was General Huo Qubing.quot;

For over one thousand years, Shandan served as a royal horse ranch, as well as a critical border defense site, supplying horses to the central armies in every dynasty. After the New China was founded, Shandan as the logistics department for the Chinese People's Liberation Army continued to deliver the best horses to cavalry all over the country, supporting national defense and economic constructions. Herdsmen of generations raised a new breed called quot;Shandan Horsequot; that works for both pulling and riding. Shandan Horse won the fi rst class of National Science and Technology Progress Award; it was written in Encyclopedia of China and made an indispensable contribution to the development of People's Republic of China.

After lunch, the herdsman Ma Shanhu recalled and told the reporter about the time when he ran into wolves. One night he bumped into a few wolves when he let the horses out. He rode on a horse, driving the group of wolves away.During the next few days that followed, there were always wolves harassing his herd and even hurting the horses.午饭后，牧马人马山虎向记者回忆起碰到狼的故事，他有一次晚上放马碰到了几只狼，他骑着马把狼群赶得分散了。后来几天，每当他放马的时候，总会有狼来他的马群骚扰，甚至伤马。

With the arrival of the 21st century, military modernization has been progressed at full speed.The arm of cavalry got abolished. Shandan Army Horse Ranch withdrew from the military history after serving its last military role and handing the whole assets to enterprises directly controlled by the central government.

As the old-time glory faded along with the slow transition of economic industries, everything seemed to be in declinein Shandan. The ranch no longer required large amounts of herdsmen which put anxiety on local residents' faces. The only thing reminiscing about the military was the sound of horn played in governmental institutions. Local people had to leave their hometown for seeking jobs. Students in the only elementary school in the area continuously transferred to schools in the county or in the city. quot;Our fathers worked on the ranch and we grew up on the ranch; we still have much love for the land. However, as you can see,we cannot afford to let our children live this life under the situation,quot; said a local herdsman to us in an interview a few years back. He was fi lled with pity and helplessness at the remark.

1. Prescribe medicine for horses. The veterinarian is one of the 20 herdsmen.Some of the herdsmen have acquired basic experience of prescribing medicine for horses after long years of ranch work.给马配药治病，兽医就是那20个牧马人中的一位，他们中的几个在长期的牧马工作中有了一些基础的给马用药的经验。

2. Harness a horse套马

After struggles and adjustments for over a decade,Shandan Horse Ranch was dawned with a second chance for economic development. A tourism system focusing on quot;horse culturequot; was rapidly built thanks to the longtime horse breeding and the advantage of steppe ecology. quot;Kulong Gorgequot;is a scenic site in Shandan that has both steppe and primeval forest landscapes. There is a clear lake next to the gorge where many birds inhabit including ruddy sheld ducks and black-necked cranes; this is how the lake got its name, Luanniao(the name of a kind of bird) Lake. Situated in the outskirt of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Shandan Horse Ranch tends to be chillier all-year round and its average temperature is around 20℃ in summer and fall. It has become the place to go for those who want to get away from summer heat and take a vacation because of the extraordinary environment without urban plant pollutions and characteristic recreations such as horse riding, horse racing, and equestrian events.

A group of 20 people is managing over 1,500 horses living and breeding on this land. A horse racing contest is held in August every year and 30-year-old Wang is a member of the local team. His eyes lit up and he became eloquent when it came to the topics of horse; the previous melancholy in him was nowhere to be seen. quot;What I deal with the most at work are horses. You must trust the horse you ride on; and the horse will trust you back. There are rat holes covered by grass on the steppeÐa good horse will avoid them when it runs and you won't fall. Speaking from the perspective of life and death, the horse is like a comrade to you.quot; This was said in mandarin with heavy north western accent, but we can sense vividly the special bond the local people have with the horses that are like the love of their life and their comrades. The pureness and perseverance are owned by the steppe and the herdsmen.

Since the authority announced the slogan quot;we want both golden and silver hills and green mountains and clear water as wellquot; in 2012, the value of ecological civilization has been further emphasized. Two years ago, a renovation project started in Qilian Mountain Natural Reserve. At the fringe of the natural reserve,Shandan Horse Ranch went through extensive modifi cations as well. Yurts and cabins were removed from the scenic site to a new location;and horse related activities were still allowed and promoted. The quantity of cattle and sheep bred by the individuals decreased and the farms were given up for steppe restoration. Due to the limit of service capacity, the number of tourists is under strict control.Today most of visitors are backpackers and amateur photographers who take Lanzhou-Xinjiang Second Railway to western destinations like Zhangye,Dunhuang, and Xinjiang and stop over on their way.If they shouldn't make a stopover, they wouldn't have the chance to see the beauty of the glacier, the steppe, and the spectacle of numerous stampeding horses in the Great Northwest.

In the morning, the amateur photographers put the cameras in place and wait by the pond. A large herd of horses run from afar. A robust rider,persistent as it used to be, can be seen vaguely through the dust stirred up. At last, a clear sound of whipping is heard, which is the last trace the last group of herdsmen leave in the world!