Yang Xin: adventuring is my way of living
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China Tibet Online, November 23, 2011
In 1986, the first time drifting on Yangtze River achieve success at a cost of ten lives (eleven with Rao Maoshu, the first one to drift on Yangtze River). After his rubber dinghy coming through dangers in the river, yang took pictures for his teammates in the following dinghy. However, the picture becomes the last one for most of them.
After the drifting, Yang began to ask for leave with various reasons, and took pictures in the source area of Yangtze River.
"At that time, I just wanted to present the magnificence of the source of Yangtze River", he confessed, "and boasted of my achievement".
In 1994, when Yang was thirty-year-old and taking adventure had become his way of living. Nevertheless, after five times of going to the source area, Yang noticed serious environment problems, such as retreating glaciers, grassland desertification, and reduction of wild animals. What shocked him most and leaded to his introspection was the death of Sonam Dargye.
On January 18, 1994, to protect Tibetan antelopes, Sonam Dargye was shot to death by poachers. He was frozen into an ice sculpture with gun held firmly in his hands.
"There were problems of ecology there, and people died for it. I felt it was an obligation and responsibility to do something for it", Yang said with the initial awareness of environmental protection.
It is Sonam Dargye's death that change this explorer to a environmentalist and founder of China's first private run natural protection station.
Yang Xin finally quit his job, but also lost the source of income. When even living couldn't be guaranteed, he was planning to do something for this place.
In 1995, the non-governmental environmental protection organization "Green River" was established. As early Chinese NGO, Yang encountered unexpected difficulties in finance.
With a friend's advice, he began to write books about his walking experiences in the source of Yangtze River and sold them for funds.
In 1997, "Green River" established the first Chinese private natural protection station in "no man's land" of Hoh Xil with an altitude of 4,500 meters. it was also the first building standing in the Hoh Xil. Funds were collected through selling books, and workers were volunteers recruited in two years. As for the name of the protection station, "Sonam Dargye" was chosen without controversy.
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