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In the Grasslands of Hulunbuir, I Envy the Cows and Horses
How the Freedom of the Prairie Makes Us Question the Cost of Our Own
On the vast grasslands of Hulunbuir, I find myself most captivated by the cows and horses. The car hums along the road cutting through the middle of the grassland. Ahead of us, a strong horse walks at its own pace, unconcerned by the speeding vehicles passing by. The horse seems to be strolling leisurely, but this isn’t a courtyard with four walls like you might expect — it’s the boundless, limitless grassland. It moves freely through the open expanse, where the horizon feels like it stretches endlessly.
The car eventually stops near a watering hole where the cattle and horses drink. We step out and venture deeper into the prairie. What an immense world this is! The sky above, the grass beneath, and far in the distance, the rolling mountains. The vastness before me is unlike anything I’ve ever seen — there are no skyscrapers, no traffic lights, no bustling crowds. In fact, there are hardly any other tourists around. For a moment, the entire sky and the entire land seem to belong to me alone. I imagine the cows and horses must feel the same way.
The cows, mostly dairy cows, come in various shades — white, black, brown, and mottled. Their large, lumbering bodies seem almost comical…
