This is a county town far away in the sky, towering above the clouds. The towering snow capped mountains and vast land here are based on the Yellow River as their bloodline and the snow capped mountains as their backbone. The average altitude of over 4500 meters makes many people fearful of it. But in the piercing cold wind, lies the initial clarity of the mother river.

This is Mado County, which means the source area of the Yellow River in Tibetan. In this small plateau town located at the source of the Mother River, there is a millennium long watch over snow capped mountains and lakes, as well as a thriving vitality of ecological recovery. It also carries the mission of guarding the source of the Yellow River and continues to write the novel legend of "County of Thousand Lakes".

This is a drone photo taken on March 10, 2026 in Mado County, Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, at a corner of Cuozaling Lake. (Xinhua | Zhang Long)

This is a county town far away in the sky, towering above the clouds. The towering snow capped mountains and vast land here are based on the Yellow River as their bloodline and the snow capped mountains as their backbone. The average altitude of over 4500 meters makes many people fearful of it. But in the piercing cold wind, lies the initial clarity of the mother river.

This is Mado County, which means the source area of the Yellow River in Tibetan. In this small plateau town located at the source of the Mother River, there is a millennium long watch over snow capped mountains and lakes, as well as a thriving vitality of ecological recovery. It also carries the mission of guarding the source of the Yellow River and continues to write the novel legend of "County of Thousand Lakes".

This is the scenery of the Yellow River Source Park in Sanjiangyuan National Park, taken on October 20, 2021 in Mado County, Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province. (Xinhua | Zhang Long)

This is a county town far away in the sky, towering above the clouds. The towering snow capped mountains and vast land here are based on the Yellow River as their bloodline and the snow capped mountains as their backbone. The average altitude of over 4500 meters makes many people fearful of it. But in the piercing cold wind, lies the initial clarity of the mother river.

This is Mado County, which means the source area of the Yellow River in Tibetan. In this small plateau town located at the source of the Mother River, there is a millennium long watch over snow capped mountains and lakes, as well as a thriving vitality of ecological recovery. It also carries the mission of guarding the source of the Yellow River and continues to write the novel legend of "County of Thousand Lakes".

On October 20, 2021, this is a scene of herdsmen grazing on the Mado grassland in Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province. (Xinhua | Zhang Long)

This is a county town far away in the sky, towering above the clouds. The towering snow capped mountains and vast land here are based on the Yellow River as their bloodline and the snow capped mountains as their backbone. The average altitude of over 4500 meters makes many people fearful of it. But in the piercing cold wind, lies the initial clarity of the mother river.

This is Mado County, which means the source area of the Yellow River in Tibetan. In this small plateau town located at the source of the Mother River, there is a millennium long watch over snow capped mountains and lakes, as well as a thriving vitality of ecological recovery. It also carries the mission of guarding the source of the Yellow River and continues to write the novel legend of "County of Thousand Lakes".

On October 20, 2021, this is a scene of ecological managers patrolling the natural environment in the Yellow River Source Park of Sanjiangyuan National Park in Mado County, Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province. (Drone photo).(Xinhua | Zhang Long)

This is a county town far away in the sky, towering above the clouds. The towering snow capped mountains and vast land here are based on the Yellow River as their bloodline and the snow capped mountains as their backbone. The average altitude of over 4500 meters makes many people fearful of it. But in the piercing cold wind, lies the initial clarity of the mother river.

This is Mado County, which means the source area of the Yellow River in Tibetan. In this small plateau town located at the source of the Mother River, there is a millennium long watch over snow capped mountains and lakes, as well as a thriving vitality of ecological recovery. It also carries the mission of guarding the source of the Yellow River and continues to write the novel legend of "County of Thousand Lakes".

This is a wetland captured on October 30, 2020 in Mado County, Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province. (Drone photo)(Xinhua | Zhang Long)

This is a county town far away in the sky, towering above the clouds. The towering snow capped mountains and vast land here are based on the Yellow River as their bloodline and the snow capped mountains as their backbone. The average altitude of over 4500 meters makes many people fearful of it. But in the piercing cold wind, lies the initial clarity of the mother river.

This is Mado County, which means the source area of the Yellow River in Tibetan. In this small plateau town located at the source of the Mother River, there is a millennium long watch over snow capped mountains and lakes, as well as a thriving vitality of ecological recovery. It also carries the mission of guarding the source of the Yellow River and continues to write the novel legend of "County of Thousand Lakes".

On March 10, 2026, this is a scene of a Tibetan wild donkey foraging in the Yellow River source area of Mado County, Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province.(Xinhua | Zhang Long)

This is a county town far away in the sky, towering above the clouds. The towering snow capped mountains and vast land here are based on the Yellow River as their bloodline and the snow capped mountains as their backbone. The average altitude of over 4500 meters makes many people fearful of it. But in the piercing cold wind, lies the initial clarity of the mother river.

This is Mado County, which means the source area of the Yellow River in Tibetan. In this small plateau town located at the source of the Mother River, there is a millennium long watch over snow capped mountains and lakes, as well as a thriving vitality of ecological recovery. It also carries the mission of guarding the source of the Yellow River and continues to write the novel legend of "County of Thousand Lakes".

On October 20, 2021, this is a scene of ecological managers patrolling the natural environment in the Yellow River Source Park of Sanjiangyuan National Park in Mado County, Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province.。(Xinhua | Zhang Long)

This is a county town far away in the sky, towering above the clouds. The towering snow capped mountains and vast land here are based on the Yellow River as their bloodline and the snow capped mountains as their backbone. The average altitude of over 4500 meters makes many people fearful of it. But in the piercing cold wind, lies the initial clarity of the mother river.

This is Mado County, which means the source area of the Yellow River in Tibetan. In this small plateau town located at the source of the Mother River, there is a millennium long watch over snow capped mountains and lakes, as well as a thriving vitality of ecological recovery. It also carries the mission of guarding the source of the Yellow River and continues to write the novel legend of "County of Thousand Lakes".

On October 21, 2021, several black necked cranes were seen inhabiting and foraging in the Yellow River Source Park of Sanjiangyuan National Park in Maduo, Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province.(Xinhua | Zhang Long)

This is a county town far away in the sky, towering above the clouds. The towering snow capped mountains and vast land here are based on the Yellow River as their bloodline and the snow capped mountains as their backbone. The average altitude of over 4500 meters makes many people fearful of it. But in the piercing cold wind, lies the initial clarity of the mother river.

This is Mado County, which means the source area of the Yellow River in Tibetan. In this small plateau town located at the source of the Mother River, there is a millennium long watch over snow capped mountains and lakes, as well as a thriving vitality of ecological recovery. It also carries the mission of guarding the source of the Yellow River and continues to write the novel legend of "County of Thousand Lakes".

On October 20, 2021, this is a scene of ecological managers patrolling the natural environment in the Yellow River Source Park of Sanjiangyuan National Park in Mado County, Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province. (Drone photo).(Xinhua | Zhang Long)

This is a county town far away in the sky, towering above the clouds. The towering snow capped mountains and vast land here are based on the Yellow River as their bloodline and the snow capped mountains as their backbone. The average altitude of over 4500 meters makes many people fearful of it. But in the piercing cold wind, lies the initial clarity of the mother river.

This is Mado County, which means the source area of the Yellow River in Tibetan. In this small plateau town located at the source of the Mother River, there is a millennium long watch over snow capped mountains and lakes, as well as a thriving vitality of ecological recovery. It also carries the mission of guarding the source of the Yellow River and continues to write the novel legend of "County of Thousand Lakes".