Herdsman embraces tourism in North China, welcoming greener pasture

The vast grassland in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region is turning green. On a pasture, herdsman Hungerbator has just finished refurbishing and cleaning up a dozen yurts -- round tents that are traditional Mongolian dwellings -- to prepare for the upcoming peak tourist season.

Together with his family, Hungerbator runs an ecological pasture with an area of 13,700 mu (about 913 hectares) in Jarud Banner, Tongliao city of Inner Mongolia.

Along with the breeding of cattle and sheep, tourism is growing in the meadow. Entertainment activities unique to nomadic groups like horseriding and archery attract tourists, who can also experience feeding and milking cows, and brewing milk tea together with herders.

This fertile and vibrant land, however, was once very different. Back in 2014, desertification deteriorated as a result of inadequate rainfall and overgrazing.

"Sand covered many places, and no grass or trees grew," Hungerbator recalled.

In response, the local government encouraged herders to implement sheep number caps within the capacity of the grassland and increase cattle breeding, and supported them in developing other forms of business.

"Sheep tend to eat grass roots, while cows only eat the tip, which will not affect the growth of the grass," said Hungerbator.

At the end of 2016, Hungerbator sold more than 1,000 sheep to answer the call to restore the grassland ecology, which proved effective in mitigating desertification on his ranch.

To date, a total of 1.66 million mu of grassland have been restored, and 1.42 million mu of desertified land are under management in Jarud Banner.