Magnificent mountains against a bare backdrop. Here you will not see idyllic scenes of villages and cattle herders, or elaborate depictions of quaint bridges with tiny streams flowing underneath. Instead, the photograph conveys a touching story about mankind’s centuries of struggles against Mother Nature.
The Min River cutting through the Tibetan Plateau. The Qiangs live amidst the natural scenery and habitat formed between the main stream and branches of the Min.
There is a common saying among the residents of Qiang villages: People’s noses are practically knocking on the ground in front of them.“ This is because from where they live, the landscape looks like flight after flight of stairs.
Flowers growing on the high-altitude grasslands of Xiaoxinggou are blooming in summer.
A village in the mountainous region of Pan Xiaoxinggou. Snow Mountain in the background is the residence of a mountain god called Gerinangcuo. Mountain gods are what the Qiangs call “mountain-god bodhisattvas” in the legends that they pass on orally. In the villages, such legends have developed for hundreds and thousand of years. The older generation would tell the younger ones how the mountain boundaries were passed along, and that the purpose of worshipping mountain gods is to maintain awareness of one’s own territory.
Steep mountains and deep valleys. The Qiang people living on the edge of the valley not only have to endure various inconvenient situations in their daily lives, but also have to watch out for enemies coming from the west and the north. One can imagine that during a state of emergency, smoke signals would rise from the fortresses, and the villagers would spread the news and make rituals together to insure safety during an extensive period of war.
At first glance you might mistake this for a Chinese lion-and-dragon dance festival, but the costumes show that it is not. This is the dragon dance, a Qiang New Year’s celebration taking place in Niuweiba, Mao County. Dragons are part of the local folk religion, which is a combination of indigenous legends and Han cultural elements.
