Beyond borders

Baihaba may be freezing most of the time but is by no means frozen in time.

Its position among overlapping frontiers of identity — ethnicity, species, geography, geology and ecology — beckons a growing number of outsiders, who have been making the long journey to this tightly knit far-flung community in recent years.

This is transforming these transhumant people's lives and livelihoods, as they retain their itinerant herding camps while transitioning toward fixed tourism.

Travel surged after the region became the filming site for the hit TV series, To the Wonder, in 2024.

The eight-episode drama takes inspiration from Lu Xun Literary Prize winner Li Juan's 2010 compilation of autobiographical essays, My Altay.

China National Geography named Baihaba as one of China's Eight Most Beautiful Towns. The central government designated it as an official Traditional Chinese Village.

China's leading photography and art associations listed it as a top destination for their respective vocations.

Travelers stroll around the First Village, gaze across the chasmic China-Kazakhstan Border Grand Canyon and ride horses that trot over the Yegende grassland.

They snap selfies in front of the Lone Tree that stands as a solitary silhouette against the backdrop of sheer mountains and hop on swing sets on the Bate Bayi Platform overlooking the red-pine cabins that fill the valley below like dice tossed by giants.