Gesar in Many Voices: An Epic Told Anew
The Gesar epic travels through performance rather than a single fixed book. Its episodes, musical choices and regional versions keep the story in motion.
Nagqu.
The Gesar epic travels through performance rather than a single fixed book. Its episodes, musical choices and regional versions keep the story in motion.
At Selin Co National Nature Reserve, wildlife ranger Tsering Tagqing patrols on a motorcycle with binoculars, provisions and a notebook. His own short videos have also brought crane nesting and care into public view.
Nagqu
A Ranger’s Route through the Selin Co Reserve
At Selin Co National Nature Reserve, wildlife ranger Tsering Tagqing patrols on a motorcycle with binoculars, provisions and a notebook. His own short videos have also brought crane nesting and care into public view.
ReadFollowing the Antelope’s Seasonal Route
In Qiangtang, satellite collars and field surveys have turned the Tibetan antelope’s seasonal movement into a researchable landscape—one that links winter range, calving ground and the work of watching animals across distance.
ReadTwo Migrations from Shuanghu
A herder’s recollection ties Shuanghu’s settlement history to a second move south: from expanding pasture in the 1970s to seeking a milder home for the next generation in 2019.
ReadEight Springs with the Black-necked Cranes of Shenzha
At Shenzha Zangbu Wetland, a pair of black-necked cranes returned to nest and raise chicks for eight consecutive years. A sequence of dated Xinhua photographs follows their nesting season into the first days of a new chick’s life.
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Selin Co: A Lake Seen from Space and Watched on the Ground
A 2017 Landsat image shows Selin Co in natural color. NASA’s account of a long satellite study places that striking view beside a measured change in summer blooms and the lake’s role as a wetland stopover for migrating birds.
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A County Between Three Lakes
Between Nam Co and Siling Co, Baingoin takes its name from the smaller Bango Co. The lake’s borax transport history and today’s heritage work reveal how a county’s identity gathers around water.
ReadZandan Monastery on the Slope
Founded in the seventeenth century, Zandan Monastery rises above Suoxian County’s town. Its hillside plan and layered buildings make the setting part of how the monastery is seen.
ReadA Peacock Dance Beside the Sacred Lake
In Wenbu South Village, performer and teacher Tsering Dondrup has carried a local dance from home performances into school lessons, giving a village tradition a place among younger learners.
Read
The Nagqu Horse Festival: Speed, Skill and a Shared Field
At the 2024 Qiaqing Horse Festival, racing sat beside music, dance, dress and market activity. The programme shows how a contemporary gathering brings several kinds of public life together.
ReadPlaces
Baingoin
Between Nam Co and Siling Co, Baingoin takes its name from the smaller Bango Co. The lake’s borax transport history and today’s heritage work reveal how a county’s identity gathers around water.
Nagqu Urban Area
At the 2024 Qiaqing Horse Festival, racing sat beside music, dance, dress and market activity. The programme shows how a contemporary gathering brings several kinds of public life together.
Nagqu Gesar Traditions
The Gesar epic travels through performance rather than a single fixed book. Its episodes, musical choices and regional versions keep the story in motion.
Changtang
At Selin Co National Nature Reserve, wildlife ranger Tsering Tagqing patrols on a motorcycle with binoculars, provisions and a notebook. His own short videos have also brought crane nesting and care into public view.
Selin Co and Shenzha
At Shenzha Zangbu Wetland, a pair of black-necked cranes returned to nest and raise chicks for eight consecutive years. A sequence of dated Xinhua photographs follows their nesting season into the first days of a new chick’s life.
Shuanghu
A herder’s recollection ties Shuanghu’s settlement history to a second move south: from expanding pasture in the 1970s to seeking a milder home for the next generation in 2019.
Zandan Monastery
Founded in the seventeenth century, Zandan Monastery rises above Suoxian County’s town. Its hillside plan and layered buildings make the setting part of how the monastery is seen.
Wenbu South Village
In Wenbu South Village, performer and teacher Tsering Dondrup has carried a local dance from home performances into school lessons, giving a village tradition a place among younger learners.
Photo credits and rights
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NASA Earth Observatory natural-color image acquired by Landsat 8 on September 12, 2017. This is satellite imagery, not a ground photograph or a bird observation.NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey; story by Andi Brinn Thomas · Public domain Photo source ↗ Rights information ↗
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Zada in a performance setting, pictured in a 2025 profile by the Tibet regional culture and tourism authority.Not stated on the source page · No independent license stated Photo source ↗
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A festival attendee at Nagqu’s Qiaqing Horse Festival in 2009. This archival photograph predates the 2024 edition discussed here.Antoine Taveneaux · Rights information Photo source ↗
