The snow before the Spring
Festival brought cold to the grassland of Inner Mongolia, but at the
herdsmen's home on the Olbert Grassland, the landing site of the Shenzhou-6
manned spacecraft, it is rather warm with bonfire burning and firecrackers
cracking.
"We used to go horse-racing in the very morning of the Lunar New Year's day.
But now we will enjoy ourselves by taking motorcycles and cars. Sometimes I
still miss the fun of horses riding," said Tuya, a herdsman living in the heart
of the landing site.
Tuya has a big grassland and raises over 1,000 sheep. The recent snowfall
made him exulted. "With enough snow, the grass will surely grow well next year."
The young herdsman Xu Guanfeng on Dolbert Grassland is anticipating the
landing of Shenzhou-7.
His father Xu Jixiang, pointing at a green trank, said proudly,"This is an
award to my son for his aids to the People's Liberation Army."
In the evening of Nov. 20, 1999, when Shenzhou-1 was sent up and returned the
next day, a troop of the PLA lost their way in the landing site of the
spacecraft, without food and fuel.
They knocked at Xu Guanfeng's door. Xu welcomed the troop into his home. In
the following day, he helped the troops fulfill their task.
This special experience forged the friendship between Xu's family and the
troops. In gratitude, the troops rewarded Xu Guanfeng with a truck.
"I'm looking forward to the landing of Shenzhou-7", said the young man.
Editor:Ivana
