by Xinhua writer Liu Zhoupeng

LHASA, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- Under the blazing sun, golden fields of highland barley swayed like waves in the wind as 39-year-old farmer Lhapa Tenzin drove his harvester through, gathering the ripe grain into piles.

The scenes unfolded in Xigaze, a city in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region known as the "Granary of Xizang." In Bainang County, a major grain production base, farmers have begun their autumn harvest.

I stepped into a pile of highland barley, the stalks prickling beneath my feet. Despite the altitude of over 4,000 meters, the crops were plump and full.

Highland barley has been one of the region's most important grain crops for millennia, serving as the key ingredient in traditional Tibetan foods like tsampa, as well as in wine and tea.

Lhapa Tenzin told me that over 20 years ago, local farmers endured the midday heat by taking shelter in temporary field tents. Some would spend the night in the tents, too, if their homes were too far away.

"Back then, it took our family of seven an entire month to harvest the highland barley with sickles," he recalled. Now, he and his wife can harvest over 30 mu (2 hectares) in less than a week.

The sight of all family members toiling in the fields is a thing of the past. Mechanized harvesting has brought ease and efficiency, transforming the once labor-intensive tradition into a smoother, faster process.

"Our children can focus on their studies nowadays," Lhapa Tenzin said with a smile. In the past, the children had to stop their study at school to help with the harvest.

As we spoke, the autumn wind swept by, carrying the fragrance of sun-dried highland barley and the hum of agricultural machinery.

In 2014, Paltsal Township here established a cooperative with a comprehensive array of agricultural machinery, including 36 pieces of equipment such as large tractors, seeders and combine harvesters, according to Wang Yaoqing, the director of the county's agricultural and rural bureau.

The cooperative has benefited 846 households in the township. This year, the cooperative sold 1,581 tonnes of high-quality highland barley seeds, generating 11.4 million yuan (about 1.6 million U.S. dollars) in revenue, a 40 percent increase from the previous year.

Farmers receive thousands of yuan in dividends each year, with the subsidy for purchasing agricultural machinery in the county totalling 2.5 million yuan this year.

As our conversation continued, Wang handed me a stalk of highland barley, its plump grains gently tickling my palm. He noted that having worked here for over 20 years, he has seen how the highland barley varieties have gradually evolved.

The one in my hand is called "Zangqing 2000." Other new varieties have also been planted in the fields, with assistance from the regional academy of agricultural and animal husbandry sciences.

These high-quality highland barley varieties are not only popular in the region but also sold to other provinces such as Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan and Yunnan.

While highland barley has ventured beyond the plateau, college students are returning home after completing their studies. Dorje Tseten, a recent graduate from Xizang University in Lhasa, has been especially busy this year. Back in Xigaze, he guides farmers in using drones to spray pesticides on highland barley fields.

I was told that five villagers in the township had successfully obtained licenses to operate the drones.

"I remember that when I was a child, it took over 30 farmers, organized by the township, to line up and manually spray pesticides," Dorje Tseten said. Today, just two advanced drones can easily handle pest control across thousands of mu of highland barley fields.

The modern autumn harvest in the county reflects the broader transformation of agricultural modernization taking root across the plateau.

In 2023, Xizang's highland barley production reached 843,600 tonnes. The comprehensive mechanization rate for sowing, cultivating and harvesting of major grain crops has exceeded 71 percent, according to the regional agricultural and rural department.

Dorje Tseten said their lives, much like the highland barley of the plateau, are becoming increasingly fulfilling, adorned with prosperity.

Following his lead, I chewed on a grain of barley. It was firm, but its rich, lingering aftertaste spoke of the land's enduring strength.