Coffee, culture, and the call of the grasslands on the Tibetan plateau

In late 2024, Gonbu opened the restaurant, hoping to offer visitors a fresh perspective on Tibetan cuisine and nomadic life.

Inside, sheepskins are draped over the chairs, and ingredients are sourced from the plateau whenever possible. Traditional Tibetan dishes share the menu with coffee blended with barley, yak milk, butter and yak yogurt.

By day, customers eat, drink coffee and read. In the evening, traditional ethnic music alternates with modern folk songs.

Gonbu wants the restaurant to offer more than just food and entertainment. He teaches his employees to make coffee and has filled the restaurant with books.

Of his 18 employees, 12 come from Maoergai. Their average age is just 22 to 23.

One is 18-year-old Tsering Drolkar. Had she not come to the ancient town, she said, she would probably be herding yaks at home. Collecting medicinal herbs can also sometimes bring in good money.

"I just want to go out and see more of the world," she said. Since arriving, she has learned to make coffee, played the guitar for the first time and encountered unfamiliar foods.

At 11, she traveled beyond the grasslands for the first time, visiting her father's hometown of Mianyang in Sichuan. Before the trip, she had heard stories of watermelons, bananas and other fruits rarely seen back home.

Today, leaving the remote highlands is easier. Nine decades ago, crossing them was a struggle for survival.

In 1935, the Communist Party of China-led Red Army entered northwest Sichuan during the Long March from 1934 to 1936, in which the Central Red Army covered roughly 12,500 kilometers. The soldiers crossed the marshy grasslands of what are now Songpan, Hongyuan, Ruoergai and surrounding areas.

In his book The Long March: The Untold Story, American journalist and author Harrison Salisbury described the area as "untouched for 3,000 years". With its swamps, extreme cold and low oxygen levels, the treacherous terrain claimed the lives of many soldiers.

This year marks the 90th anniversary of the Long March's victory. Gonbu's grandparents lived through that era and passed down stories of the Red Army.

"With transportation being so convenient today, it's really hard to imagine what they went through back then," he said.

On Aug 30, 2024, a new section of the Sichuan-Qinghai railway opened, bringing bullet train services to Songpan. From Huanglong-Jiuzhaigou station, a short drive from the ancient town, the fastest trains reach Chengdu in about one hour and 40 minutes.

Near the station stands a memorial park commemorating the Long March. A statue depicts a Red Army soldier raising a rifle and flowers. Nearby, modern trains speed past.

The grasslands are now drawing more visitors. Songpan county received 10.64 million tourist visits in 2025, up 15.53 percent year-on-year, with total tourism spending reaching 31.81 billion yuan ($4.73 billion).

Visitors now come for more than scenery. They ride horses, hike, watch the stars or stop for coffee in the ancient town. The shift toward experiencing local life reflects the growing popularity of immersive tourism in China.

The outline of China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), released in March, calls for closer integration of culture and tourism and a wider range of high-quality tourism offerings.

For Gonbu, a cup of yak milk coffee is only a starting point. If customers wonder where the milk comes from, he hopes to take them to Maoergai to see the yaks, pastures and people who produce it.

He plans to build a ranch there with a reading lounge, bringing together food, tourism and herding life.

"Tradition and modernity, the countryside and the city — they can all come together in a place like this," he said.

XINHUA