Malha Mountain Mouth.

Whoever has not set foot to the Qomolangmo tends to think it is a world of sterile whiteness devoid of any life. My trip there in May last year, however, showed it to be a world full of life.

Zholma: Solar Energy Stove



Zholma is director of the Wildlife Protection Office of the Tibet Forestry Commission. But she lives in an area inaccessible by highway and without power. For generations, her family chopped groves in the Qomolangmo to provide firewood, and they deemed this is as only natural and saw nothing bad in it.

Advanced in her thinking compared with other family members, however, Zholma bought a solar energy stove in Lhasa to upgrade the family cooking system.


Life of Tibetans living at the foot of the Qomolangmo.

Surprisingly, however, her family members refused to use it on the grounds that the sun works very hard and it is sinful to make it cook for them.

"Whether the sun will feel tired if he is made to cook for the us is open to discussion. However, it is fact that vegetation on the slopes at more than 4,000 meters above sea level is being destroyed. This points up to the need to adopt substitute fuel for cooking," she argued.

My Sun Grows Up in the Car

Purqoin, deputy director of the Xigaze Qomolangmo Protection Bureau, is a big man, who cannot afford tostay at home several decades per year as he has a heavy work schedule.


Qomolangmo viewed from Tingri.

"My wife works as a porter in a granary, and has difficulty taking care of our sons. I had to take my elder son with me when I went on an inspection tour of the Qomolangmo area.

"He grew up in the car from 3 to 5 years old. The trips were an ordeal instead of an enjoyment for him. The eldest is 10 years old, and I feel sorry for them today."

Talking about his work geared to protect the eco-environment in the Qomolangmo area, however, Purqoin said he has no regrets.


A Very Simple Wedding Ceremony

Du Qixia, a 1997 graduate from Tibet Institute of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, came from Yuncheng, Shanxi Province. Out of her love for the region, however, she decided to settle down there.

Du married and the couple has a daughter who is now two years old. For work's sake, the girl was brought back to Shanxi to be cared for by her grandmother when she was only eight months old.

"I haven't seen my daughter since," Du said.


Wild yaks in a nature reserve.

"My husband works in a forestry station in Gyilung, which is a dozen miles from our home. He is too busy to come back home every day.

"He comes back home once a week. When there is the need to go into the forests, his absence will be longer.

"He came from Zhangjiakou in Hebei Province.

"We make over 2,000 Yuan a month. The sum is barely enough to cover our daughter's needs and support our parents."


Wild donkeys in a nature reserve.

Worries for Environment

Chen Xianshun, director of the Tibet Environmental Protection Bureau, is a graduate from the Chongqing Institute of Architectural Engineering. He and his fellow workers worked out a plan for construction of the Potala Palace Square in 1998. Before he took up the present post, he served as vice-mayor of Lhasa City.

Chen made great contributions to the city planning of Lhasa, but he is now involved in environmental protection.

Talking about the Qomolangmo region, Chen told how the Tethys Sea receded and high mountains rose up forming land and leaving behind many lakes.

"In the Qomolangmo area, one can easily find marine pebbles and sands.

"Exposed to alpine winds, the rocks weather at a quicker pace and sands shift in large tracts for dozens of km or even some 100 km, settling in river valleys or mountain gullies.

"I discover sand dunes growing during these years.

"With an elevation of 4,500 meters on average, Tibet, covering an area of some 1.2 million square km, has a fragile eco-system.

"We made an investigation last year and found the overall eco-environment is degenerating. With the rise in atmospheric temperature, the snow line of Qomolangmo moves up, the wetlands at its foot degenerate, and some lakes dry up.

"With faster economic development, the urban population is growing and creating more pollution. How to seek a harmonious existence between man and nature is a pressing issue to be settled."

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WANG YONGCHENG