Police set off on patrol. [Photo by Wang Zhuangfei/China Daily]

The administration, which has more than 80 staff members, now has five protection stations and a research station in different parts of Hoh Xil.

But Buzhou says the size of the area and the harsh climate present huge challenges for the administration, which is short of hands.

"It is very hard for anyone to carry out the wide range of tasks we have to do in such a harsh environment, let alone our staff, whose average age is 45 and more than a third of whom are not suitable for work at high altitudes due to health problems," he explains.

His organization is in desperate need of younger professional and technical personnel, he says.

Volunteers have been providing more manpower. More than 500 volunteers from various professions and different parts of the country have participated in protection and research over the years, Buzhou says.

Many nomads living along the edges of the reserve also participate in protection. In Zhiduo county, hundreds of local herdsmen have been recruited as grassland rangers to protect the part of Hoh Xil that is located in the county. More than 200 residents in Masai village, which has a population of 1,600, have become grassland rangers after a careful selection process.

"Our job is to stop poaching, and observe and record the wildlife that we see," says 52-year-old herdsman Songbao, who has been a ranger for five years.

The rangers are organized into groups, and they set out regularly on horses, yaks, motorbikes or cars, depending on geographic conditions.