Wildlife Spectacles: From African Plains to Tibetan Plateaus

This summer, China's international travel bookings surged by nearly 50% on year-on-year basis, with travel to Africa seeing an especially dramatic year-on-year rise of approximately 103%. Witnessing the great wildlife migration in East Africa has become a major draw for Chinese tourists.

Beginning each July, millions of wildebeest, zebras, and other animals embark on a perilous journey. Driven by the search for water and fresh grass, they move from Tanzania's Serengeti National Park northwards to Kenya's Masai Mara National Reserve.

These two reserves form the vast Mara-Serengeti ecosystem. From July to September, the dry season in the southern Serengeti pushes the herds towards the greener pastures of the Masai Mara in the north. Crossing the Mara River involves life-and-death river crossings, with threats from lurking crocodiles and the risk of drowning. Even upon reaching the other side, predators like lions and hyenas await the weary animals.

While the African migration unfolds, Tibetan antelopes on the remote Changtang of southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, Hoh Xil of northwest China's Qinghai Province, and the Altun Mountains area of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region are concluding their own critical migration for breeding.

Each year between May and July, thousands of pregnant female antelopes instinctively journey hundreds of kilometers across high-altitude grasslands and deserts to reach ancestral calving grounds.

Adapted to harsh conditions with incredibly warm wool, Tibetan antelopes faced near decimation. Poaching for their wool, used to make luxury "shahtoosh" shawls, reduced their population to between 50,000 and 75,000 by 1995.

China launched decisive anti-poaching campaigns and established the Changtang, Hoh Xil, and Altun Mountains National Nature Reserves across the antelope habitat. Today, within China's Xizang alone, the population has rebounded impressively to over 300,000. Travelers passing through these reserves might even witness the awe-inspiring sight of antelope herds migrating across the high plains.

Photographers: Jiang Fan, Tenzing Nima Qadhup, Liu Jinhai, Sun Ruibo, Fei Maohua, Dong Jianghui, Meng Chenguang, Zhang Chen, Chen Cheng, Lyu Shuai, Li Yahui, Tian Guangyu