A new nightlife in Tibet

Stargazing at an astronomy lover camp near Yamdrok Lake. [Photo/Xinhua]

Fascination with the stars is universal.

At the end of 2016, Xiao Bei accompanied a British documentary crew to shoot the night sky at Yamdrok Lake. The freezing cold made the British crew stamp their feet. But when a meteor flew overhead, they all jumped and gasped with joy.

Hong Kong resident Stanley Chow and his wife, carrying a lot of photographic and astronomical equipment, come to Tibet to photograph the Milky Way.

"In Hong Kong, we cannot see so many stars," Chow says.

Deng Junjie, a college student from South China's Guangdong province, suffered from altitude sickness on arriving in Tibet. But when he saw the countless stars in Ngari, he says, he felt his soul was cleansed.

Xiao Bei says stargazing, and recognizing the size of the universe, has calmed his irritable personality and made him want to learn more.

In poverty-stricken Ngari Prefecture, a dark sky park has been set up to protect the night sky for stargazers.