Description
Yaks, prairie, nomads – symbols of the local culture. For Tibetans, farming highland barley is an essential part of their everyday life.
Highland barley have nourished Tibetans for generations. It is the main grain used in the Qinghai-Tibet plateau. People here use barley to produce a variety of food. It is of course a staple, consumed in many forms, and an integral part of a traditional Tibetan dinner. Interestingly, it can also be transformed into an alcoholic beverage, a type of barley beer called chhaang. An all-time favourite alcoholic beverage in Tibet and other Himalayan regions.
At the feet of tall mountains the rivers run. The most picturesque villages reside alongside. Animals forage through the fields while people are busy harvesting barley. Tibetans are getting ready for winter on the prairie.
Every year around September, highland barley is ready for harvest. It turns from green to golden when ripe. Farmers wielding sharp sickles are getting ready to harvest.
On the bank of the river, boats made of cattle hides are drying in the sun. Records show that Tibetans started making cattle hide boats in this region more than 2,500 years ago, in the Tubo period (600-900 AD).
Today, fishermen from Junba village, the only surviving fishing village in Tibet, still row the cattle hide boats to fish and celebrate. Close your eyes and imagine their singing, dancing and celebrating life.
