By Jiang Wenxuan

In September 2025, the chill of autumn began to settle in Altay, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. In Dabate Village, Arele Town, Qinghe County, as the first light of dawn broke on the horizon, herder Nurlanbek Hezer got up to prepare for another day of herding.

From nomadic herding to family ranching

With the sunrise, Nurlanbek arrived at his family ranch to check on the cattle and sheep as well as the condition of the pens. Upon entering the pen, he carefully examined the health of each lamb. "The first thing I do after getting up is to go to the pen for a check. Only after that do I have breakfast," he said. Seeing the lively lambs, Nurlanbek felt relieved.

After breakfast, Nurlanbek released the cattle and sheep from the pen and drove them to where the grass was more lush. Looking at the distant flock of sheep, he said, "When I first started herding in 2008, I had only 30 sheep and two cows. Now, I have 500 sheep and 30 cows."

Qinghe County, nestled at the foot of the Altai Mountains, boasts 18.8442 million mu (1,256,280 hectares) of premium natural pastures, making it a prime livestock belt.

In March 2023, following the county's guidance, Nurlanbek established a family ranch and embarked on large-scale breeding. The family ranch has enabled more refined disease prevention and breeding management for cattle and sheep, significantly boosting production efficiency. As a result, the number of livestock in Nurlanbek's family has been steadily increasing, and the pen area has expanded from an initial 50 square meters to 1,000 square meters today.

At the beginning of this year, Nurlanbek also hired a 90s-born herder, Aldak Yertes, to assist with herding. "My income is higher now than before, and I plan to continue this work," Aldak said.

The success of Nurlanbek's family ranch has inspired more and more herders in Qinghe County to shift their production and breeding methods and actively build modern family ranches. According to Huan Habashi, the director of the Animal Husbandry Station of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau of Qinghe County, the county has now successfully cultivated over 100 family ranches.

Embracing science in livestock breeding

In the afternoon, as the flock of sheep moved across the pasture, Nurlanbek kept a close eye on any stragglers. , "This is an economic hybrid sheep. The white ones over there are Qinggeli cashmere goats," he picked up a brown sheep and said.

"This breed produces a high yield of cashmere and has delicious meat." This year, the Qinggeli cashmere goat, bred in Qinghe County, has been reviewed and identified by a national committee for the conservation and utilization of livestock and poultry genetic resources, successfully joining the ranks of new national livestock and poultry genetic resources.

Photo taken on September 4, 2025 shows Nurlanbek Hezer holds a Qinggeli cashmere goat.

"The economic hybrid sheep I raise can sell for 200 to 300 yuan more per head than local sheep when they go to market," said Nurlanbek Hezer. What makes him even more confident is the technical support from professional staff during the breeding process.

The economic hybrid sheep is a crossbreed of Safuke sheep and Altay sheep, combining the cold resistance and excellent meat quality of Altay sheep with the high meat yield, abundant milk production, and short tail of Safuke sheep. A 12-member expert team organized by Qinghe County also goes deep into the ranch to guide key technologies such as total mixed ration formulation and stage-specific nutritional regulation.

Nurlanbek looked at the flock on the ranch, each sheep plump and with a shiny coat. He smiled happily and guided the flock to drink water. In 2024, under the guidance of professional technicians, Nurlanbek carried out economic hybridization on a part of the Altay sheep. "Not only do we have professional technicians to guide us, but there are also policy subsidies," he said.

The subsidies Nurlanbek referred to are part of a policy implemented in Xinjiang starting July 1, 2024. This policy includes subsidies for high-quality dairy cow breeding, interest subsidies for breeding and processing loans, subsidies for breeding cows of beef cattle and breeding ewes, feed subsidies, and subsidies for processed products like spray-dried milk powder and cheese. It also covers measures to increase the scale of meat reserves and optimize policy-based livestock insurance, among other aspects.

Thanks to government policy subsidies and professional technical guidance, in June 2025, Nurlanbek completed the economic hybridization of his 300 Altay sheep, achieving three births in two years.

"More and more herders are joining the ranks of breed improvement under our publicity," said Huan. The economic hybrid sheep only need 100 days from birth to market, and their tender meat is highly popular in the market. Moreover, they have low breeding costs and high production efficiency.

Settling into comfortable pastures

As the sun dipped below the horizon, the vast pasture stretched out under the howling autumn wind, with cattle and sheep dotting the landscape like a beautiful ecological painting.

At 8 p.m., Nurlanbek began to clean the pen, preparing for the move to the distant winter pasture next month.

In the past, during the migration, the family drove the cattle and sheep on the road. When they encountered snowstorms, they could only hide in a small felt yurt, and it was hard to even drink a cup of hot water. Now, things have improved. The stations along the way provide accommodation and rest, with hot water and essential medicines available, and even the cattle and sheep have warm pens. "In the past, we could only stay in the distant winter pasture for 60 days, but now we can stay for 150 days," Nurlanbek said.

What makes it even more convenient for herders is that the migration is now mechanized, greatly reducing the burden of moving.

After cleaning up, Nurlanbek drove the cattle and sheep from the ranch back to the pen and added water and feed for them. After settling the cattle and sheep in the pen, Nurlanbek returned home with the setting sun, ending another day of herding.

In recent years, Qinghe County has built 15 convenience service stations in the county, undertaken restoration projects at several stations and has also built 44 new herder houses, 27 livestock pens, and 98 deep wells in the distant winter pastures.

The continuous improvement of the stations and the construction of service facilities in the distant winter pastures have extended the use of the winter pastures, reduced the grazing pressure on the relatively degraded spring and autumn pastures, and enhanced the utilization rate of natural grasslands.

As the traditional way of life fades into the past, herders in Xinjiang are embracing new changes. Family ranches are replacing nomadic herding. Scientific breeding is taking over from the old ways of relying on the weather. These changes are transforming the lives of herders. Nurlanbek Hezer's day, from dawn to dusk, is a perfect example. It's a simple, yet fulfilling day. And it shows just how much the life of a herder has changed.