The blue, beautiful world of Hol Xil
Print Edition
UPON learning about Hoh Xil’s successful inclusion to UNESCO’s World Natural Heritage List, Chuenpen Tashi got quite emotional — his father and uncle both died patrolling the pristine land.
Chuenpen is also a mountain patroller in Hoh Xil, located in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu in northwest China’s Qinghai Province. Hol Xil means “beautiful young woman, blue mountain” in Mongolian.
The site was added during the 41st session of the World Heritage Committee in Krakow, Poland, making Hoh Xil the 51st Chinese site on the list.
The area made into the UNESCO inclusion covers some 6 million hectares, including around a 3.7-million-hectare core area and 2.3-million-hectare surrounding area.
Hol Xil has an average altitude of over 4,600 meters, making it an ideal habitat for Tibetan antelopes. It is also home to some 230 species of wildlife, including Tibetan gazelle and wild yak.
Years of patrols have allowed the wild animal populations to grow, but also brought hardships for Tashi’s family. In 1994, his uncle was killed by poachers, and four years later, his father died while patrolling the mountain.
“I am just really, really happy for Hol Xil,” Chuenpen says. “I have been patrolling the mountain my whole life, and its inclusion on the UNESCO list definitely means a lot.”
Patrolling the mountain
Outside Hol Xil Protection Bureau, Chuenpen and his colleagues load food, quilts, and oil onto an SUV. Before the engine starts, he hugs and gives his family members a kiss.
A typical mountain patrol begins.
Currently, over 70 people are employed by the Hol Xil National Nature Reserve’s administrative bureau to patrol the mountains to protect the wild animals, and over 90 percent of them are of Tibetan ethnicity.
In the 1980s, Hol Xil was plagued by poachers who hunted Tibetan antelopes for their hides, which were made into shahtoosh shawls.
“During the craziest period, poachers drove trucks into Hol Xil, and slaughtered wild animals,” says Luo Yanhai, deputy head of the forestry police bureau. “Wild animals were skinned and their bodies discarded everywhere.”
Statistics showed that at the end of the 20th century, the number of Tibetan antelopes in Hol Xil had decreased from more than 200,000 to less than 20,000.
“In the past, the budget was tight, so when we patrolled, we lived in tents and lit candles for light,” says Chuenpen. “The tents were often attacked by bears.”
According to Luo, some of the patrollers’ guns and vehicles had been confiscated from poachers.
During the arduous patrols, they ate instant noodles and pancakes. Due to the high altitude, they had to use pressure cookers to cook the noodles.
“In winter, we would take some high-calorie foods like butter, but due to the cold, they froze easily,” Chuenpen recalls.
In 1996, the nature reserve was set up to protect the animals, and it was upgraded to a national level in 1997.
Thanks to intensive protective efforts, the population of the Tibetan antelopes began to increase over the years, and Hoh Xil currently has more than 60,000 antelopes.
Protection is expected to be strengthened after the reserve made into the UNESCO list, says Lyu Zhi with Peking University.
A regulation went into effect on October last year, protecting Hol Xil under the rule of law.
Meanwhile, the Qinghai provincial government has promised to stop poisoning small mammals like rabbits and rodents within the reserve. Local herdsmen will not be asked to relocate.
“We will try to leave the area intact and allow the species to thrive,” says Wu Dejun, Party chief of the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu. “We will also launch an education campaign to help raise people’s awareness to better protect Hol Xil.”
“I am proud of this land,” says Chuenpen. “I will carry on the task of protecting the mountain in the future.”
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