When childhood dream and reality collide

Chinggelt served in Puning Temple in Chengde, Hebei province, when he was 16 years old. He got married in 2008. [Photo/CFP]

Chinggelt is now self-employed in Wengniute, Chifeng. His childhood dream was to be a soldier. However, when he graduated from junior high school, he was selected among a dozen of other child Lamas to serve in Puning Temple in Chengde, Hebei province. In 2008 he returned to his hometown and married his beloved girl. "It feels more or less a pity that I failed to realize the dream of being a soldier," he says smiling.