A herdswoman melts ice before she boils water in Garco Township of Shuanghu County, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Jan. 31, 2019. Shuanghu County, located 5,000 meters above sea level in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, suffers from strong winds 200 days a year. With a year-round temperature averaging minus five degrees Celsius, Shuanghu is home to the world's third largest glacier, the Purog Kangri. Occasionally, the temperature here drops to minus 40 degrees Celsius. The county, about 120,000 square kilometers in area, lies in the middle of the Qiangtang National Nature Reserve. There are 135 conservation staff members working in Shuanghu's 15 wildlife management and conservation stations to improve protection of wild animals. In 2018, the county government suspended construction of tourism-related support facilities around the Purog Kangri glacier to better protect the environment. Shuanghu now has about 20,000 wild yaks and 200,000 Tibetan antelopes, plus more than 20 rare species such as the snow leopard and brown bear. (Xinhua/Purbu Zhaxi)
