EcoChina | Livestock migration: a glimpse of nomadic culture in NW China's Inner Mongolia
An aerial drone photo taken on June 14, 2025 shows Saintsogt driving the livestock on his way to the summer campsite on Ar Horqin Grassland, Chifeng City of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Bei He)
CHIFENG, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Saintsogt, 55, a herdsman in Bayin-undur of Ar Horqin Banner, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is busy with the annual summer migration covering a distance of about 100 kilometers. For the past four decades, he has completed the migration every year.
Saintsogt's pasture is a part of the Ar Horqin Grassland Nomadic System, which was listed as one of the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) sites by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on May 20, 2022. Herders here still keep the traditional nomadic customs today.
"The travel time has been shortened to three days from eight," Saintsogt said. "The rain makes pasture grow better, and the livestock have enough forage."
This year, herders from more than 1,200 households and 128,000 livestock in Bayin-undur joined the migration.
An aerial drone photo taken on June 14, 2025 shows herdsmen driving the livestock at night on the way to the summer campsite on Ar Horqin Grassland, Chifeng City of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Ma Jinrui)
A staff member of Gogodtai Han Ul national nature reserve counts the livestock entering the nature reserve in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, June 14, 2025. (Xinhua/Ma Jinrui)
Saintsogt's son operates a drone to check the number of the livestock on Ar Horqin Grassland, Chifeng City of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, June 13, 2025. (Xinhua/Ma Jinrui)
An aerial drone photo taken on June 14, 2025 shows herders waiting for entering the Gogodtai Han Ul national nature reserve in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Ma Jinrui)
Saintsogt's son (2nd R) drives sheep in rain on his way to the summer campsite on Ar Horqin Grassland, Chifeng City of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, June 13, 2025. (Xinhua/Bei He)
An aerial drone photo shows Saintsogt's son (L) riding a motorcycle to drive the livestock on his way to the summer campsite on Ar Horqin Grassland, Chifeng City of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, June 14, 2025. (Xinhua/Ma Jinrui)
Saintsogt gathers the livestock at the winter campsite before departing for the summer campsite on Ar Horqin Grassland, Chifeng City of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, June 13, 2025. (Xinhua/Bei He)
Saintsogt's wife drives the cattle on his way to the summer campsite on Ar Horqin Grassland, Chifeng City of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, June 14, 2025. (Xinhua/Bei He)
Saintsogt (R) has a meal with his wife and nephew at a Mongolian yurt on Ar Horqin Grassland, Chifeng City of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, June 14, 2025. (Xinhua/Ma Jinrui)
Saintsogt (R) talks with other herdsmen on their way to the summer campsite on Ar Horqin Grassland, Chifeng City of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, June 13, 2025. (Xinhua/Ma Jinrui)
Saintsogt's son seeks for a sick sheep after arriving at the summer campsite on Ar Horqin Grassland, Chifeng City of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, June 15, 2025. (Xinhua/Bei He)
An aerial drone photo taken on June 15, 2025 shows a Mongolian yurt of Saintsogt at his summer campsite on Ar Horqin Grassland, Chifeng City of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Bei He)
Saintsogt's wife arranges bedding at home before departing for the summer campsite on Ar Horqin Grassland, Chifeng City of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, June 13, 2025. (Xinhua/Bei He)
Saintsogt (C), his wife (R) and son pose for a group photo at their summer campsite on Ar Horqin Grassland, Chifeng City of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, June 15, 2025. (Xinhua/Bei He)
Saintsogt takes a newly born calf off the truck after arriving at the summer campsite on Ar Horqin Grassland, Chifeng City of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, June 15, 2025. (Xinhua/Bei He)
Saintsogt drives cattle in the rain on his way to the summer campsite on Ar Horqin Grassland, Chifeng City of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, June 13, 2025. (Xinhua/Bei He)
Saintsogt gathers the livestock at their winter campsite before departing for the summer campsite on Ar Horqin Grassland, Chifeng City of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, June 13, 2025. (Xinhua/Bei He)
Saintsogt hugs a newly born calf on his way to the summer campsite on Ar Horqin Grassland, Chifeng City of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, June 14, 2025. (Xinhua/Bei He)
Saintsogt fetches water at a spring at the summer campsite on Ar Horqin Grassland, Chifeng City of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, June 15, 2025. (Xinhua/Bei He)
Saintsogt's wife (L) helps her son to wear a raincoat on their way to the summer campsite on Ar Horqin Grassland, Chifeng City of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, June 13, 2025. (Xinhua/Bei He)
Saintsogt (R) shows his son how to get on the horse on their way to the summer campsite on Ar Horqin Grassland, Chifeng City of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, June 14, 2025. (Xinhua/Bei He)
Saintsogt's son wades through the water with two sheep on his way to the summer campsite on Ar Horqin Grassland, Chifeng City of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, June 13, 2025. (Xinhua/Ma Jinrui)
Saintsogt pushes his truck which is stranded in the mud on his way to the summer campsite on Ar Horqin Grassland, Chifeng City of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, June 14, 2025. (Xinhua/Ma Jinrui)
