The Yellow River Mosaic

People at the Yellow River’s headwaters were born to protect it. In this episode, follow us to Yoigilangleb Qu, a headwater stream of the Yellow River on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, to explore the impacts of climate change and how the locals are coping with it.

Deep in the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, children from herders’ families lead a life far different from the tech-linked world. At an altitude of 4,500 meters above sea level, and with winter temperatures dropping to minus 40 degrees Celsius, the teachers and students there strive for their dreams with love, resilience and devotion.

Amne Machin, one of the four sacred mountains in Tibetan Buddhism in China, is a vital water source for the Yellow River. Yet its glaciers are retreating due to global warming. Local herders are trying their utmost to protect the revered mountain peak.

For centuries, the middle reaches of the Yellow River have served as a vital waterway linking central and northern China. But with the development of road transport, the Yellow River's role as a transportation artery faded into history. In this episode, we visit an ancient ferry port along the river and explore the lives of the boatmen’s descendants.

Laoniuwan, or “Old Ox Bay”, marks the start of Jin-Shaan Grand Canyon, where the Yellow River meets the Great Wall. It used to serve as a military fortress. Once the poorest village in the county, Laoniuwan has transformed into a thriving tourist resort.

Population aging poses growing challenges in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. Nestled in the mountains on the west bank of Jin-Shaan Grand Canyon, Chiniuwa has become a landmark thanks to the senior villagers’ country-life performance featuring the traditional lifestyle and culture typical of the middle reaches of the Yellow River.

The Mu Us Desert, one of the four major deserts along the Yellow River, was once a lifeless expanse. Now, it’s turning green, thanks to decades-long efforts by the locals to combat desertification. In this episode, we meet a centenarian who spent his life planting trees in Jingbian, the first county in Shaanxi Province to stop discharging silt into the Yellow River.

Most young adults from the countryside along the middle reaches of the Yellow River have relocated to urban areas for better opportunities. Yet one young man has quit his city job and returned to his hometown, saying he cannot live without the Yellow River in his eyes.

Historians believe the rise and fall of Kaifeng is closely related to the Yellow River. In this episode, we visit Kaifeng to uncover its love-hate relationship with the river.

Hongguang New Village is one of a dozen settlements located at the mouth of the Yellow River. In this episode, we get a glimpse of how lives have been changing in places where fishing is still very much alive against the backdrop of a world of digital transformation.

"The traditional way of living will gradually fade away,” says Cui Jianyu, the entrepreneur-turned-village-head. In this episode, we visit the Yellow River estuary and explore how the fading fishing community copes with the evolving, changing times.

Huang Chengde has conducted field trips along the Yellow River nearly every year since 1997. From the river source to its estuary, he’s explored almost every part of the river and encouraged many people to join him in the collective effort to protect the Yellow River.