Xinjiang grassland hibernates under arctic blanket

An aerial shot shows Bayanbulak Grassland, the second largest in China, at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on Dec. 11, 2021. Ice and snow have coated this vast prairie in China's far northwest, evoking arctic images as this remote landscape of lakes, desert, streams, fields and mountains is transformed by the icy grip of winter. [Photo: CNSPHOTO]

An aerial shot shows Bayanbulak Grassland, the second largest in China, at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on Dec. 11, 2021. Ice and snow have coated this vast prairie in China's far northwest, evoking arctic images as this remote landscape of lakes, desert, streams, fields and mountains is transformed by the icy grip of winter. [Photo: CNSPHOTO]

An aerial shot shows Bayanbulak Grassland, the second largest in China, at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on Dec. 11, 2021. Ice and snow have coated this vast prairie in China's far northwest, evoking arctic images as this remote landscape of lakes, desert, streams, fields and mountains is transformed by the icy grip of winter. [Photo: CNSPHOTO]

An aerial shot shows Bayanbulak Grassland, the second largest in China, at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on Dec. 11, 2021. Ice and snow have coated this vast prairie in China's far northwest, evoking arctic images as this remote landscape of lakes, desert, streams, fields and mountains is transformed by the icy grip of winter. [Photo: CNSPHOTO]