Raising of reindeer brings fortune to Ewenki

HOHHOT－Herder Gu Musen uses modern methods to promote the traditional culture of raising reindeer, attracting tourists from near and far.

Since 2018, the 33-year-old has been posting videos about raising reindeer on the Douyin video-sharing app, garnering around 212,000 followers and 4.15 million likes.

"Thousands of tourists visit my farm every year. I can earn more than 70,000 yuan ($10,700) annually," he said.

The first thing Gu does every morning is feed his 30 reindeer on the farm in Jinhe township, Genhe, in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

"I live in a well-equipped cabin on the farm. The conditions for keeping reindeer are much better than in the past," he said.

Gu is a member of the Aoluguya, one of the three tribes of the Ewenki people, who are known as "the last hunting tribes in China". They are the only ethnic minority group in China that raises reindeer.

Reindeer were their primary means of transportation in the past, and many Aoluguya Ewenki herders still maintain the tradition of raising reindeer.

In Genhe, there are 14 reindeer breeding areas, with the reindeer population growing to more than 1,200.

To increase the herders' incomes, the regional government has taken measures to promote tourism in recent years.

Every summer, Inner Mongolia holds an annual reindeer festival to attract tourists. The event includes art exhibitions and showcases local handicrafts and the dwellings of reindeer herders.

In addition to receiving tourists on their farms, the herders also take the animals to a scenic spot in Aoluguya township, where visitors can feed and take photos with them. Craftspeople there sell handicrafts and health products.

"Now, more and more people are making handicrafts with ethnic features," said Dekeli, an inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage of the Ewenki ethnic costume in Inner Mongolia. "We can earn over 50,000 yuan a year."

In Aoluguya township, nearly 30 households have benefited from the reindeer-raising industry, with the annual per capita income rising to around 20,000 yuan from 1,200 yuan in 2005.

Like Gu, the young generation of the ethnic group is using the internet to promote their unique culture.

The township government has also stepped up efforts to support its internet celebrity herders, providing them with loans to improve broadband reception at their reindeer farms.

"I'll never think of leaving the farm. I'm emotionally bonded with my reindeer," Gu said.

Xinhua