Efforts to Protect the Environment Have Paid Off

The neigh of horses reverberated in the air above the horse training ground in front of the villager service center of Xiashiba Village. Villager Zheng Xianrong considered this a “song” for a happy life.

“In the past, we raised sheep for sale and couldn’t afford to kill a sheep for food.” A few years ago, Zheng and most other villagers made a living on grazing cattle and sheep. However, overgrazing results in the grasslands’ deterioration, and they lived in straitened circumstances.

How could they find another way to prosperity? Based on field surveys, Cai Yaju a member of the poverty alleviation working team from the PLA Xining Joint Logistics Support Center, who once took part in pairing assistance for the village, found that the courier horse growing here is a rare species of a thoroughbred horse in China. A bit of training could make it a trotting horse with graceful postures and steady paces suited for riding. This kind of horse is supposedly sold well in places like Tibet, Sichuan, and Qinghai. Moreover, building horse training grounds could help locals increase their income while not posing a threat to the ecosystem.

After the completion of the gravel horse training ground in Xiashiba Village built by a unit under the PLA Xining Joint Logistics Support Center, villager Zheng Xianrong sold all his yaks and became the first in the village to start horse training business. From the year of 2015 to 2017, the PLA Xining Joint Logistics Support Center funded for several times the renovation of the horse training ground. A nice trotting horse trained by Zheng can be sold at RMB 50,000. Inspired by Zheng's success, more and more villagers have been engaged in the business.

“Many thanks to the PLA servicemen, they are guides leading me to becoming rich and living a better life,” said Zheng.

Zheng Xianrong, a?herdsman in the Xiashiba Village, takes care of his trotting horse. (PLA Daily/Liu Yibo)