Summer nights on the Sankoh prairie in Gannan

When night falls, smoke spirals up from the kitchen chimneys of the orderly matrixes of houses in the settlement. Zhou fills her stove with sheep droppings, fuel which warms the room. The old man of the family sits on the brick bed, drinking tea and watching the news. The most beautiful place to the family is the Buddhist hall, which is well decorated and houses the figure of the Living Buddha. Butter-burning lamps are always lit.

Laburang Lamasery

Laburang Lamasery

A panoramic scene featuring Laburang Lamasery.

Sankoh prairie is 10km southwest of Laburang Lamasery, the reputed "school of Tibetan studies." Summer is the most bustling time on the prairie. Across the green grassland to the horizon, galsang flowers are blooming beautifully. Hundreds of thousands of Chinese and foreign tourists come here. Tsering and his classmates plan to open a Happy Pasture, a restaurantto sell butter tea, tsamba and local home-cooked meals and provide a shelter for the tourists.

Zheng Xiaomin, deputy director of the Xiahe County Tourist Administration, said that the county is developing smart tourism that allows tourists to "customize" routes and food. Last year, 1.12 million tourists visited; 45,400 were from abroad. The county earned RMB520 million from tourism, up 23.74% year on year.

At night, the teahouses on the streets of Laburang are crowded. Backpackers come and leave. They walk along Daxia River, and their shadows are lengthened by light cast from road lamps marked with Tibetan words. On the steps by the road, a Tibetan woman, who is fingering a rosary with one hand and turning a prayer wheel with the other, talks with a Hui girl sitting by her side. If you listen to them very closely, you will see that the Hui nationals here speak the Tibetan language fluently.

On the street to the Laburang Lamasery, there is a dazzling array of beautiful exhibits. Three Tibetan young men are sitting on the ground, playing mandolin while humming prairie tunes. The tunes are cheery and melodious, attracting backpackers and groups of monks who stop to enjoy the music. Occasionally, people put some money in the paper box in front of them.

In the still of the night, cool breezes come. A handful of people quiet themselves –and hurry home). The grocery stores by Laburang Lamasery have closed and several monks are kicking a soccer ball around on a school playground. Laughter comes. The moon is hanging in the sky. On such a summer night, people dream of their own prairie.

Xue Chaohua is head of the China Daily's bureau in Gansu.

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