Tajik herdsman's life through the lens of a soldier (Part I)

Gulaxiami feeds her younger sister at home, Nov 24, 2014. [Photo by Wang Lie/chinadaily.com.cn]

Gulaxiami means beautiful flower in the Tajik language. The four-year old normally stays with her mother and younger sisters in the house or plays outside on the grassland surrounded by snowy mountains.

Like all Tajik children living in pasturing areas on the Pamir Plateau, she will be sent to boarding school in the county and receive free education when reaching school age. But for now she can play with her best friends - the family's shepherd dogs - because she has almost no other children to play with.

Sometimes Gulaxiami helps prepare family dinners by handing her mother food ingredients.