Zhuofu Grassland

Zhuofu Grassland

Zhuofu Grassland

Zhuofu is the name of a highland meadow, floating like a dream over the plateau of Weining.

This is an ancient plateau. Many, many years ago, when the nomadic Yi people moved eastward and their swift horse hooves first stepped onto this land, they planted the seeds of today’s pastoral dreams. The ancient Yi people called this plateau “Luhong.” By then, the sounds of pastoral songs had already soaked into the bitterness of the land and the misty, rain-like melancholy. They began to be enchanted by a different kind of charm than that found on the Qinghai Plateau.

People from Weining often introduce Zhuofu as if showing off a hidden beauty, weaving in phrases like “New Zealand experts,” “New Zealand sheep breeds,” and “highland livestock farm established by the provincial agriculture department.” These terms may not sound glamorous, but once you ascend the plateau at over 2,700 meters above sea level and see endless fields of corn, potato seedlings, white-flowered bitter buckwheat, and pink-flowered sweet buckwheat, you’ll understand—this is the last beautiful, tear-inducing pasture of the plateau people’s “pastoral song.”

It’s not a long journey—just over 50 kilometers of mountain road from downtown Weining—but we felt as though we were heading toward a beautiful piece of history. Along the roadside, the mountain agriculture has its own unique charm. Especially enchanting are the bitter buckwheat with its white flowers, bearing a manly character, and the sweet buckwheat with its pink blooms, exuding a feminine grace, sprawling across the mountains, valleys, hills, and ridges, adding splendor to the land of Weining. When we entered Zhuofu Grassland, a deep sense of familiarity washed over us. The endless green and the feeling of boundless freedom were as comforting as the clouds in the sky. Even before our jeep stopped at the center of the grassland, we could see the pasture, the flocks of sheep amid the lush grass, and the dream deeply rooted in our hearts since time immemorial. Most of us come from a nomadic cultural background. Settling on the land has brought us great blessings, but it also distanced us from the nourishment that ancient songs once provided to our souls… It helplessly transformed into a dream. Stepping onto Zhuofu is like stepping into that dream.

Location

Zhuofu Village, Xueshan Town, Weining Yi, Hui, and Miao Autonomous County, Guizhou Province