An autumn of vows

Kumusi Yesdawulti grew up with the whisper of the wind across Qiongkushitai, a pastoral village hidden in the depths of the Tianshan Mountains in Tekes county, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

The vast expanse of the prairie was her playground, a boundless companion throughout childhood. After graduating from the Turpan Vocational Technical College, she returned to her hometown of Tekes. It was there, in 2024, that she met Bukehan Yelszi, a young man whose life was intertwined with the rhythm of hoofbeats through his work with a horse trekking service for tourists.