Northern Tibet Grassland

The Northern Tibetan Grassland covers an area of some 600000 square km, or about half of Tibets total area. It is called Changtang by local people. Changtang means northern grassland in Tibetan.As one of the five biggest pastures in China, Changtang Grassland is surrounded by the Kunlun, Tanggula, Kangdese and Nyainqentanglha mountains.

Nourished by Black River, the upper reaches of Nujiang River, Changtang Grassland is a paradise for the wild animals and plants. On the vast grassland, yaks and sheep can be seen everywhere. The grass 'Naza' growing on the grassland is a kind of short grass that has the highest content of protein among all grasses. That’s why the flocks and herds grazing on the grassland are fatter and stronger than in other places.

Changtang Grassland is culturally rich. The famous ancient Tang -Tupo Route ran through Changtang Grassland from south to north. The nomadic people here have created their own colorful, fascinating and long-standing nomadic culture characterized by ancient rock paintings, the Ruins of Yamtung (or Zhangzhung) Kingdom, long epic about King Gesar, Nyima Mound, prayer flags and ancient towers, etc, adding mysterious color to Changtang Grassland and making it irresistibly attractive.

Nomadic people's camps can be seen everywhere on Changtang Grassland. Besides the traditional yak camps, there are nylon camps of different shapes and sizes striped with different colors such as red, blue, yellow, green and white. On the top of many camps, multi-colored flags are waving to and fro in the breeze.

The best time to view this grassland is just after a summer shower, when the green land joins the blue sky in the far distance and the drooping white clouds float over the flocks and herds. As the tweeting of larks breaks the silence, hordes of Tibetan antelopes and kiang (wild ass) start a race on the pastureland, with their proud heads raised high.

The most attractive is the festival attire worn by herders, especially girls and middle-aged women. At festivals, most of the girls and middle-aged women wear gorgeous and expensive Tibetan gowns and hang a lot of tinkling trinkets with them, which is really a beautiful scene.