[muppet]

Thanx to riasbaixas,

HeMu villages in the Kanas River system in Xinjiang, China


all pix http://home.wangjianshuo.com

Originally Posted by riasbaixas

2009.02.01


















Located in Burqin County of Altay City within the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and sharing borders with Kazakhstan, Russia and Mongolia, Kanas Nature Reserve boasts a beautiful natural ecosystem formed by lakes, rivers, glaciers, forests, and grasslands.
HeMu is a village within the vicinity of Kanas Lake. It is largest of the 3 villages of the Tuvans (TuWa people). There are about 2100 Tuvans in the area. Their origin is a mystery, though many believed that they were Mongolian descendents of the troops of Genghis Khan. They are semi-nomadic people who keep cattle and horses.
The Tuva Mongol of Hemu Village lives in frame houses half-buried in the ground to resist the chillness of winter. They believe in Buddhism and have well preserved the traditional beliefs of their tribe. Religious and traditional festivals are always jolly and busy, while the landscape tempts every visitor come back to experience the wildness of nature.
Hemu Village, located in North Xinjiang, has been ranked by China National Geography as one of the six most beautiful villages in China. With tourism, the village is opened to outsiders. However due to its inaccessibility – it is cocooned by the heavy snow during the 7 months of winter – hopefully changes will be kept to a minimum even in time to come. Due to the long winter in the area, Hemu is open for tour only from June to October every year. The best time to visit is mid-May to June for its mountain blossom and fress grass before they are eatten by goats and cow; and September for its colourful autumn scenery. July and August are holidays and are crowded by local Chinese tourists.