BEIJING: Uyinga has been sharing videos about the daily life of her family living on grassland in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region on social media for the past six years. Besides learning about herdsmen’s daily routines such as grazing livestock and cooking traditional Mongolian food through the videos, viewers can observe the stunning scenery of the grassland while listening to the sound of the wind blowing.
“I don’t have any scripts. I just record the herdsmen’s normal life on the grassland in Xi Ujimchin Banner. And I think that’s the reason why people like them,” Uyinga, from the Mongolian ethnic group, said.
In her latest videos, her family is seen busily cutting grass in September that had started to turn yellow, and then storing it to feed livestock in the winter.
“As you can see, the grassland isn’t always green. Its beauty varies in different seasons,” the 29-year-old says in the video. “And we must get certain things done before winter comes, such as cutting the grass . As herdsmen, we have learned to respect nature and follow the rules of the grassland.”
Uyinga said she hopes the videos she has posted on social media can help more people gain insights into the life of herdsmen and bring members of different ethnic groups closer.
She’s also glad to see that more young women from the Inner Mongolia, Xizang and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous regions have started to share their stories about the beautiful pastures on social media. Their simple but colorful lifestyles have become increasingly popular in recent years with many people yearning to escape the grind of life in the country’s major cities, she said.
In 1995, Uyinga left her home on the grassland to study at the Inner Mongolia University of Finance and Economics in the regional capital, Hohhot.
After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in land resource management, she immediately decided to return home as she believed the vast grassland has more opportunities to offer than big cities.
“I was born on the grassland, and I have a free spirit. And the infrastructure such as roads and telecommunication on the grassland has been significantly improved, so it can be just as convenient to start businesses at my home,” Uyinga said.
Following the recommendation of a career adviser on e-commerce, she started to post videos about the life of herdsmen on social media in January 2018.
“There wasn’t any influencer posting about the life of herdsmen in Inner Mongolia back then. And my first goal was to clear up people’s misunderstandings about herdsmen,” she said.
Like many people from the region, Uyinga is often asked if locals ride horses to school and work.
“Many people aren’t familiar with life and culture on the grassland. In fact, the herdsmen’s life on the grassland has also been improved and modernized. At the same time, we have kept our traditions alive,” she said.
Besides enjoying the stunning sunrises and sunsets in the short videos posted by Uyinga, people are particularly interested in how her family prepares traditional Mongolian food, such as dairy products, milk tea and boiled meat.
One of Uyinga’s videos that went viral features her family storing meat for a harsh winter ahead. It has received more than 9 million views on social media platforms.
“I’ve never imagined people can be so interested in our normal routines. It has made me more determined to promote our rich culture and heritage,” Uyinga said.
She now has more than 1.18 million followers on the short video platform Douyin, but she said she doesn’t like to be called an influencer. “I am simply a recorder of the grassland and the lifestyle of the herdsmen,” she said. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
