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 horses stepped onto this land, they planted the seeds of today’s pastoral dreams. The ancient Yi people called this plateau “Luhong.” Even then, the sounds of shepherds’ songs had already seeped into the bitterness of this land and its misty, rain-like melancholy. They began to fall in love with a kind of charm different from that of 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 pastureland of the plateau people’s “pastoral song.”

　　It’s not a long journey from Weining County town — just over 50 kilometers of mountain road — but it feels like we’re heading toward a piece of beautiful history. Along the roadside, the mountain agriculture has its own unique charm, especially the bitter buckwheat with its white flowers, strong as men, and the sweet buckwheat with its pink blooms, delicate as women, sprawling across mountains, valleys, ridges, and slopes, making the land of Weining all the more magnificent. When we entered Zhuofu Grassland, a sense of familiarity from deep within enveloped us. The endless green and the feeling of boundless freedom were as comforting as the clouds in the sky. Before our jeep even stopped at the center of the grassland, we saw it — the pasture, the flocks of sheep among the lush grass, and the dream that has been rooted in our hearts since time immemorial. Most of us come from a nomadic cultural background. Settling on the land has brought us great fortune, but it has also distanced us from the nourishment that ancient songs once provided to our souls… It has helplessly turned into a dream. Stepping onto Zhuofu is like stepping into the realm of that dream.