The "Valley of the Cats" at the world's rooftop....

The "Valley of the Cats" at the world's rooftop through the lenses of shepherds...

Founder of Wild China Film and famous wildlife photographer Xi Zhinong has been organising photography classes to shepherds and local park rangers to catch the beauty and diversity of flora and fauna in Sanjiangyuan National Park (三江源) on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in Qinghai province.

The National Park at the size of Germany with an average height of 4,700 meters is best known for containing the headwaters of the great rivers of Asia; the Yangtze, Yellow, and Mekong rivers. Many areas are off limits for people except for some local shepherds and park rangers to let nature flourish in full glory. Only about 64,000 rural people are living in this huge area.

One of the natural jewels is Angsai township, "the valley of the cats" where local herders know best where to find the snow leopards and other indigeneous animals. Together with the photography training by Xi Zhinong , they are our window to this exclusive natural paradise.

An estimated 2,000-2,500 snow leopards are now living in the national park with the population strongly growing through conservation and environmental protection measures.

#china #chinesenature #chinanature #qinghai #chinawildlife #environment

Source Sixthtone