To the hometown of cashmere (1) To meet the cashmere people of Inner Mongolia

This is a record of my trip to Alashan, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, to see cashmere, after crossing a semi-desert and mountains.

From Ningxia to Inner Mongolia

North from Yinchuan, the capital of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
Destination: Inner Mongolia.
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Just in case,
I loaded up a large number of plastic bottles and set off!

I drove tirelessly through the dry semi-desert.

The Helan Mountains on the provincial border are mostly bare red-brown mountains.
They look like Monkey King's Flaming Mountains.
It makes me shudder to think of the car breaking down in a place like this.

There's a crumbling Great Wall along the way.

Beyond the Helan Mountains

Beyond the Helan Mountains on the provincial border,
lies Alashan, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Alashan!

Alashan, the land of my dreams!
This is where the world's finest cashmere is produced.
It's a longed-for destination for anyone involved with cashmere.

Alashan is
a high-altitude region in southern Inner Mongolia, 1500 meters above sea level.
It's a harsh environment with winter temperatures of minus 30 degrees Celsius and summer temperatures easily exceeding 40 degrees Celsius.

Perhaps it is because of this severe climate and environment
that God bestowed upon cashmere the soft downy undercoat
to protect its body.

The air is clear and the sun is dazzling.

Sudden Encounter with Cashmere

A long-awaited and sudden encounter with cashmere.

After crossing the mountains on the border between Ningxia and Inner Mongolia,
we suddenly encountered cashmere.

A herd of cashmere goats crossing the road in the middle of their nomadic migration.

"It's cashmere!"
Exclamations of surprise rose in the car.
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From Tokyo,
staying in Beijing,
staying in Yinchuan,
to Alashan.

After a long and tiring journey to Alashan,
we encountered cashmere so easily!

Everyone immediately got out of the car for a photo shoot.

The herder brother seemed a bit bewildered.

Cashmere Grazing

The scene of "sheep scattered across green pastures" is common in
England, Australia, New Zealand.
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But this is not such a rich natural environment.

Cashmere goats grow up eating sparse plants in the semi-desert.

My first impression was, "This is tough!"
It's a truly harsh environment.

Cashmere goats eat the sparse plants down to the core,
so frequent movement and vast land are necessary.

They climb up the mountains without hesitation to graze.

They listen well to the herders and move smoothly.
When I try to take pictures, they quietly run away.
Before I know it, all my photos are of cashmere goats from behind.