Tibetan antelope breeding season gets 5G coverage

XINING — Tsesogyal has been notably excited during his recent patrols in Hoh Xil, Qinghai province, as he can now send frequent updates to his daughter. With the help of a 5G base station, he can call his daughter and send her photos of the Tibetan antelopes roaming in the hinterland of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Situated at an average altitude of more than 4,600 meters in the Sanjiangyuan National Park, the Hoh Xil Nature Reserve had long suffered from a lack of communication signals, except for the route along the Qinghai-Tibet Highway.

"Entering the nature reserve meant being isolated from the outside world, especially in the Drolkar Lake area. Patrollers could only contact their families through satellite phones," says Tsesogyal, a 27-year-old patroller of Hoh Xil.

Under first-class State protection in China, Tibetan antelopes, a once-endangered species, are mostly found in the Tibet autonomous region, Qinghai province and the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

Currently, the breeding season for Tibetan antelopes is underway. Every year, tens of thousands of pregnant Tibetan antelopes start their migration to Hoh Xil from May to give birth.

The Drolkar Lake area in Hoh Xil is a crucial birthplace of the species.

On May 31, a 5G base station started operation in the preservation station of the Drolkar Lake. This means that a 5G network now covers the heartland of the UNESCO natural heritage site.

"It is a significant step of the Sanjiangyuan National Park's pursuit of intelligent ecological protection," says Sun Lijun, deputy director of the park administration.

Sun notes that, based on the geographical factors and ecological monitoring requirements, the park chose to set up the 5G base station in the Drolkar Lake area, which can better monitor the migration and delivery of Tibetan antelopes.

Guo Xuehu, deputy head of the preservation station of Drolkar Lake, also hails the establishment of the 5G base station.

"The preservation station rescues a number of calves every year. We can now have video calls with professional veterinarians through cellphones to receive timely treatment guidance for sick calves," says Guo, adding that the 5G network also helps enrich patrollers' lives.

To minimize the ecological impact of the construction of the 5G base station, the Qinghai branch of telecom giant China Mobile introduced large-bandwidth and long-distance microwave transmission for the first time in the high-altitude and uninhabited areas.

The maximum transmission rate within the 5G coverage area of Drolkar Lake reached 860 megabytes per second, according to Hu Bo, from the company.

In the future, more 5G base stations are expected to be built in the nature reserve. More advanced technologies, such as 5G remote patrolling and helicopters, will be introduced to enhance anti-poaching and monitoring capabilities of the reserve.

Xinhua