Just started 冬牧场 (lit, winter pasture) by Li Juan. In 2010, she was commissioned to live with a Kazakh family as they herded their camels, sheep and horses deep into the desert of southern Altay where they traditionally graze during the bitterly cold winter. Her job: To document the little known, semi-nomadic lifestyle of Xinjiang’s Kazakh that features seasonal migrations.
Li Juan (李娟) is a young female Han writer born in Xinjiang. She spent most of her childhood in Sichuan before returning, and by her own admission, speaks only a smattering of Kazakh. See here for an introduction to her writing — all of which revolves around Xinjiang — including links to translations of some of her shorter pieces. To date, within China her best known titles are probably two collections of essays entitled 我的阿勒泰 (lit, my Altay) and 阿勒泰的角落 (lit, corners of Altay).
Promotional copy on douban reads as follows:
2010年冬天，李娟跟随一家哈萨克牧民深入阿勒泰南部的冬季牧场、沙漠，度过了一段鲜为人知的荒野生活。作为第一位描写哈萨克民族冬牧生活的汉族作家，她以饱含深情、灵气飞扬又不失节制的文字，呈现出阿尔泰最后一批 “荒野主人” 冬季转场时的独特生存景观，令人叹为观止。
Bruce Humes 