Living amid the mountains
Updated: 2015-03-06 11:41
By Cui Jia in Urumqi(China Daily USA)
Two Tajik women milk a cow in June 2013. The milk from cows and sheep are daily wnecessities for the Tajik ethnic group. |
In February 2007, he met Arimaner, a Tajik herdsman living in the Khunjerab area, which borders Pakistan and at an average altitude of 4,800 meters. Arimaner was about 16 at the time. The soldier and herdsman became friends.
Wang visited Arimaner's house again in November. Arimaner is now a father of two young daughters. Wang recorded the daily life of the family and their fellow neighbors and friends in the westernmost corner of China.
The Tajiks are actually Caucasian. Arimaner has a Roman nose and deep eye sockets. The Tajik men also called themselves "sons of the sun".
Most of the time, Arimaner and the male family members go deep into the mountains to herd their sheep and yak, leaving their wives and children behind. Tajiks treat their livestock like family members. Kicking or beating the animals is prohibited.