Porters were considered an indispensable form of logistics, as well as a major means to make a living for local residents in Medog County. southeastern Tibet's Nyingchi Prefecture, photo from Xinhua.

When trucks replaced manual labor to become the main force of logistic transport in southeastern Tibet's Medog County, porters there had to face the reality that locals had depended on manual power for carrying materials would be a thing of the past.

Located south of the eastern section of the Himalayas, Medog County features precipitous wooded mountains and deep valleys. In the county with a population of nearly 10,000, porters were considered an indispensable form of logistics, as well as a major means to make a living for local residents.

"In the past, we local people were too poor to raise large domestic animals, so we had to carry cargoes on our backs. In the past years, almost all villagers born impoverished but agile in movement once worked as porters," said Wangdu, a young man of the Moinba ethnic group in Medog.

Leaving his home to seek a job outside Medog in 1983, the guy is now leading a life in contentment. Yet, he still often recalls that experience to be a porter: carrying packs of heavy goods on his back and picking his way on steep hills.

Porters in southeastern Tibet's Medog County carrying goods on their backs trudge in blizzard, photo from China's Tibet.

"Even our children had to make a living this way at that time. Parents carried 40-kg goods and children 10-15 kg ones," Wangdu added. Later, as the children were required by law to study in school, they had to help their parents carry goods on holidays, in order to eke out the families' meager income.

Usually, a porter could earn eight yuan (1.17 U.S. dollars) per half kilogram for a trip which always took three or four days. If lucky enough to serve a kind boss, he/she could be paid two yuan higher than the market price.

Of the winding paths to Medog, there was one with the whole trip of 135 km that most porters chose to pass. All along the way, they had to cross the Doxong La Mountain towering 4,221 m above sea level and then walked along the Yarlung Zangbo River via the county's biggest township of Baibung at the height of 800 m above sea level.

The mountain, regarded as a nightmare for most porters, is described as "a place where humans and animals are advised not to stay long."

"Weather there chops and changes. After 13:00 every day, dense fog or sleet would hit the mountain pass. Experienced porters often scaled the mountain before this time, otherwise no one knew what would happen to them," Wangdu said.

Gyido, a 50-year-old man from Medog Village, Medgo County, southeastern Tibet's Nyingchi Prefecture, became a porter at the age of 11. He joined the county's caravan at 19 and began to do his own business at 26 by offering transport services with his two horses. He is the first to own a tractor in his village at 40. Photo shows Dyido cleaning his van and other motor vehicles, photo from chinatibetnews.

"Avalanches, strong winds and landslides -- all these natural disasters occurred from time to time on the way. Once, a 41-member porter group carried cargoes via this mountain, where six of them got killed."

The wide use of trucks in Medog's transportation has resulted in a drop in commodities prices in the county. Goods transported by trucks is charged at 700 to 800 yuan per ton, less inexpensive than human transport.

Today, only a few porters can be found on the way to Medog. Occasionally, one or two porters may be seen carrying baggage for visitors on hiking.

However, "a new job has been created." Wangdu noted that with the increasing number of tourists to Medog, former porters have now become the guides for those preferring hiking, taking their luggage by the way and getting 100 yuan for a trip.

"Porters in old days were dog-tired. Now, they are really in the good mood to enjoy the picturesque view along the way," the man added.