The Wind of Banlanger

In 2016, the wind of new policies reached the autumn and winter pastures of Balangge in Cele County, Xinjiang. Officials went into the countryside to be paired one-on-one with local families, hoping to break down the barriers between different ethnic groups and customs, and to take root in the community and promote ethnic integration.

Abuti, a Uyghur herdsman on the grasslands who had spent a few years at a Han Chinese school and occasionally used a phone, knew that people unfamiliar with his ethnic group held certain stereotypes and prejudices. He had once hoped to go out and help others understand them.

But reality meant small flocks, thin sheep, poor grazing, debts from buying sheep, and an Ata and Apa whose legs and health were both in poor condition.

Lin Chu, a Han Chinese official, barged onto his family's pasture with an assignment, acting recklessly and abruptly, then made one cultural faux pas after another. But he admitted his mistakes, was eager to learn, and worked hard to fit in. Little by little, his passion and sincerity touched Abuti's heart.

Just as Abuti was about to accept Lin Chu's proposal and leave the pasture to try his luck setting up a stall in the county town to support his family, a catastrophic blizzard engulfed the snowy grasslands...