images of life in a Tibetan village of the highest elevation in the world

Life in an highest-altitude village in the world

Tuiwa village with a elevation of 5070 meters,with only half amout of oxygen comparing to sea level,is the highest administrative village in the world,is located on the foot of Mengdagangri Snow Mountain,by the Pumoyongcuo Lake. In Feburary,the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is still in winter, waiting for the coming Tibetan New Year (Losar). A speech impaired woman, is walking on her way back to the village. Down the slope,she paused, looking to the distant view in which the Himalaya is standing quietly, perpetuallycovered by snow.

A Tibetan woman is sewing a wool blancket by using an ancient textile machine.The wool threads are made from sheeps and yaks.Every family in this village has this type of textile machine.And also the economy of this village comes from feeding sheeps and yak.

On Feburary 26th,a day near Tibetan New Year (also known as Losar) which is based on Tibetan calendar, when the first day of Tibetan New Year (also known as Losar) is March second,all wonen in the village came to the lake bank to do laundary.A mother and her daughter are climbing up the rocks with baskets of wet clothing.

A woman,the wife of a Lama is standing on the edge of the road,staring into the vehicles in the distance,with a hope of hitchhiking to her mother's home to give her a roasted sheep for her mother as prepared food for the Tibetan New Year (Losar) prior to the new year.

Tuiwa village

A Tibetan woman just finished cooking the lamb which is the best food for Tibetan New Year (Losar) for every household in the village.

It is already more than 10am in a day before the Tibetan New Year (Losar),a little girl is still laying in bed ,holding one yuan which was given by her mother to stimulating her to getting up soon,meanwhile, her mother is busy of housework.

A Tibetan woman is carring a bag of rubbish to a dump.For welcoming the Tibetan New Year (Losar),villagers usually get together to clean roads and the central squre .Now everything looks very clean in the village.

Finishing cleaning,people are enjoying their time in the small squre,a boy is playing bascket ball.Two women are chatting happyly.

The boy ,a grandson of the village head,is standing beaside the door.The painting on the wall implies prevent all evil spirit from the door.Beside the painting ,there is a poster of a popular singer Liyuchuen.On the oppisite wall there is a elephant with a golden ingot which implies collectting fortune.

Normally before the sunset,villagers gather in the temple to worship.In the picture,some kids are walking upstairs with a bowl of porridge.They are going to spray porridge to doors of the temple. is their manner of worship.

In the small village temple,a Tibetan boy is turnning a big pray wheel.It has been a Tibetan custom to turn the pray wheel.

Shepherd Mima ,the only shepherd in the village,34 years old ,who has two daughters.He is making a Tibetan scripture flag which will be set in the roof of his house.He just came back home from Laqiong island where he had been living in with more than 2000 sheep which is one third of the amount of sheep in the village.

On March first,Mima came to the island in Pumocuo Lake,He is carring the wooden support of his camp.Every year,villagers drive sheep to the center of the island where there is lush grass for sheep when the ice in the lake become thickest.

Prior to the Tibetan New Year (Losar),the most important thing is driving the flock of sheep safely back to the village from the island.A man is spraying dust to form a less-than-one-metre-width route for preventing sheep from slipping.The route is delibrately chosen by villagers.

A man is carring a sheep which injured its leg when it was walking on the ice.

The villagers who are behind of the group usually take the task of carrying quilts,blanckts,camps,fire pot with bullshit as fuel and so on.Some are holding little lamb.

At the beginning of March,ice starts to melt.It takes about one hour to drive the flock of sheep back from the island.The whole village becomes tranquil again after all people and sheep landed.The new year in Tuiwa is coming.