The remaining "primitive village" in China

Hemu Village is home to about 2,000 Tuvan tribesmen, preserving their primitive lifestyle with beautiful natural scenery.

Deep in the Altai Mountains of Northern Xinjiang, Hemu is the northernmost village in Western China - one of only three Tuvan villages remaining in the country of a billion people.

Here, from the top of the hill, looking down into the valley, there are wooden houses, each door opening to the East. Surrounding the village is a vast expanse of birch forest, green in summer; turning into a golden carpet in autumn and looking like snow mushrooms in winter.

The houses are built of wood and stone, with birch bark covering the roofs to make them waterproof. Because temperatures can drop below -30°C in this region, the Tuvans have built half of their homes underground to keep warm.

Hemu Village is "embraced" by cool streams and colorful flower gardens.

Hemu Village is located in a peaceful valley in the Kanas Nature Reserve (Xinjiang), dotted with wooden huts and cattle pens. Here, a winding stream flows, milky white mist forms a white ribbon winding over the treetops, floating between the village and the mountains.

Legend has it that Lake Kanas hides a mysterious "monster" that challenges curious and adventurous people. In addition, the Tuvan people are the second most mysterious inhabitants of this land.

There are about 200,000 Tuvans worldwide , of which 30,000 live in Mongolia and the rest mainly in the Tuva Republic - a part of Russia. The Kanas region is home to the only Tuvan people in China, numbering 2,000. For nearly 400 years, they have settled on the shores of Lake Kanas and maintained a primitive way of life.

The Tuvans speak a Turkic language, similar to Kazakh, and live by hunting and herding cattle. As a result, there is a lot of beef and milk in the tribe's diet.

From any corner of the village, visitors can observe the colorful flower gardens covering everywhere.

In the village there are two stone tombs with Lung Ta flags of Tibetan Buddhism and a Tengri symbol in a grocery store - a monotheistic religion, originating from Animism, believing in a single entity: the Sky.

Belief in Lama Buddhism here still carries a strain of Shamanism, an ancient form of religion through intermediaries to communicate with gods such as priests, shamans, witches or magicians...

Not to mention there are quite a few Han Chinese and Muslims living together in harmony in this village.

Hemu village is beautiful with many fragrant flowers and strange grasses.

Hemu Village is a favorite place for many photographers to hunt for great photos, regardless of the weather, regardless of the season. You can see beautiful scenery everywhere when walking around the village.

The Tuvans learned to sing when they learned to speak. There is one of the oldest forms of singing in the world that still exists today, in which the singer creates the sounds of mountains, water, or animals using throat techniques: the art of Tuvan singing, which originated among the Mongol tribes.

The small village welcomes quite a lot of tourists. You can rent local costumes to take pictures among the flower gardens.

The Tuvans of Xinjiang believe that they descended from wounded or elderly soldiers left behind by Genghis Khan during his expeditions to the west, so some villagers can sing this tune.

Best time to visit Hemu village: