Grassland airstrip, yurt and biplane, Inner Mongolia, China
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Panoramic view across rural airfield, windsock and yurt terminal in the vast open spaces north of Hohhot, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. Image © fotoVoyager 2009.
After the choking chimneys, coal mines and endless streams of trucks clogging the Yellow River valley, it’s a remarkable breath of fresh air when you cross the mountains into the sweeping grasslands of northern Inner Mongolia. You get a sense that the China you’d become familiar with is ending and there’s an endless prairie of sandy grass stretching over the horizon all the way to Siberia.
The yurt with its single, surly occupant, serves as simple terminal for this remote landing strip, marked by flags that flutter endlessly in the never ending wind. I presume the ancient Russian biplane brings Chinese tourists from Beijing to experience the Mongolian grasslands and stay in the rough and ready ger (as they’re called locally) holiday camp. A sort of Mongolian Butlins where the usp is you get to see the stars at night. I bet there’s still a KTV though.
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1/200 second, f9, ISO200 24mm
10000 x 3665 pixels. Please don’t steal this image, it’s how I make my living.