I was born in the Tibetan lands, and have an instinctively deep affection for everything about it. Since my childhood I've been cultivated by the culture here, but the only pity is that I've never gone to a prairie, never been to a pasture, never gazed at the infinite scenery of a grassland. To me, the only impression forming in my mind of all these places is a line from a poem: "wind blows, all the grass bows down, then the cows and sheep emerge." That's all.

Finally here came my chance. Our teacher informed us that we could all travel to the Hsin-Du Bridge. We were extremely excited because there was a grassfield. The teacher told us that the main purpose of this tour was to visit the prison nearby and let the prisoners talk about themselves, telling us how they became criminals, and thus make us understand the importance and sanctity of the law. We classmates felt excited indeed that we would finaly have the opportunity to freely breathed the fresh air out of our school. Futhurmore, the teacher claimed a wonderful news--after the visit to the prison, we would go to the suburban airport as an excursion! Once more, the ecstastic atmosphere filled our classroom. How we wished the time would just fly away until that day came!As for me, my mind wandered to the imaginary picturesque scenery of the prairie for so long, that I simply lost in my own thought.

At last the day of the trip arrived. Sitting on the car heading toward Hsin-Du Bridge, I couldn't help whining about how slow the car was going.. Perhaps due to the irresistable excitement, we started to sing together: "Ching-Tzung Highland" first, then "Red Highland." One by one we kept singing our ballads, the melodies flowing in the air. At this moment, my mind had already wandered way out of the window. The scenery outside was so beautiful. The flowers were studded on the meadow, and decorated the mountains with their bright colors. How I wanted to hold onto this time and this sight! But I knew we must keep going.

There were many animals standing on the fields along the roads: dairy cows, which were known as the "boats of the highland" and also flocks of sheep. The sweet little lambs were so cute, following their mothers. Their fleece was pure white and spotless. I could even hear their soft "baas" and it inspired a sort of affection in me towards them. I wanted so much to bring one lamb home with me, but I knew that was impossible. These little lambs needed their mothers to take care of them, just as we couldn't live without our own mothers.

The car kept going, and the peaks were now measuring some 4298 km. What amazed us was that snow still covered these mountains. It was a truly gorgeous sight. I felt that the scenery here was somehow more fantastic than usual. Perhaps that was somehow a gift from mountains.

We heard that there were "caterpillar plants" high on the peaks. These were miraculous things, and the elders told us that this particular kind of caterpillar would turn into plants in the summer, and stay worms during the winter. That was how they got the names that had.

We continued going down the mountains. About ten minutes later, the temperature became warmer, and around the foot of the mountains we saw a completely different sight. Unknown flowers lined the roads--yellow or violet colored, they brightened the otherwise plain meadow with various colors. On the bus, my classmates kept singing, likea flock of happy little birds.

Two hours later we arrived at Hsin-Du Bridge. It was simply a small town with only one main street. There were quite a lot of shops along the street. Most of them sold Tibetan goods, including costumes, carpets, and other unusual things.

The car slowly entered the prison. For most of my classmates and also for me, this was the first time we had come to such a plus. A mix of fear and curiosity filled our minds. We left the car and were escorted to a room. The leader came and spoke with us briefly.

Then the confessions began. A man about 25 years of age came to the room, and began to narrate how he went from a criminal to become a manager. From his eyes and his words, we could see that he had truly regretted what he had done, and was happy to be free again. The law provided him another chance, let him think over what he had done.

I particularly remembered one conversation he recounted in his speech, between him and his five-year-old daughter. His little daughter asked in a naive voice, "Papa, why do you go there? Don't you love me anymore?" The young father wept. Those were tears of regret, of self-blaming . At that time, my nose turned red. Tears ran down my cheeks uncontrollably. Many of my classmates also cried.Because he was not aware of the law and the consequences of crime, this man had gone down the crooked road of criminals and caused extreme pain to himself and his family.

After that three other prisoners gave their confessions. They all condemned themselves and apologized, to either themselves or the people around them. In short, they had woken up. In the prison, this huge institution of rehabilitation, they realized many things, among them how wonderful it was to breathe freely without bondage.

Finally, our teacher expressed our appreciation to the prison leader for his help and presented him with a flag as a gift. The experience inspired me a lot and I think I will never forget that visit. I now know that one must never forget that word, "law."

After leaving the prison we came to a great grassland. They were planning to build an airport there soon. One by one my classmates sprang out of the car, shouting with happiness, like little birds set free from their cages. Some people even rolled to the ground and did flips. We separated into several teams and searched for the best place to sit down. After spending a long time deciding, we finally found a good place.

All over the meadow flowers were blooming, like a natural carpet. I put away my pack and couldn't help but lie down to rest on the grass. It felt like using all of the earth as my own bed. I gazed at the sky above. The clouds so resembled the cotton-sugar we ate as children. I felt that if I could snuggle up to them and fall asleep, urely my dreams, too, would be as sweet as that cotton-sugar I remembered.

The sun in the highland seemed to be much closer to us. The sunlight burned down on our faces, making our faces glow. Maybe that's why there was the ballad, "Highland Red."

The scenery was indeed captivating, but we still had to fill our stomachs. We had all been sitting in the car for a long time, and we were all very hungry. We took out our lunches and placed them on the meadow. Everyone ate as if dining here on the grass had made the food much more delicious than normal.

After the feast, it was time to have some fun! We went to the riverside and picked up little stones and threw them into the river. The ripples came out like blooms in the water. "It's so hot here! Let's go into the water!" one of my friends said. Mmm? That was a good proposal! So we folded up our pants, threw off our shoes, and thrust our feet into the river. How cool it was!

Suddenly, I saw a group of fish passing through my legs, but as I bent down to catch them, they swam swiftly away and I almost fell into the water! My friends burst out laughing. My trousers were all wet and were sticking to my legs, so I decided to go back to the grass and let them dry out.

After I put on my shoes, I saw someone riding horses in the field. How fantastic, I thought, if I could also ride on a horse and run through the field! Finally, with the help of one woman, I climbed onto the horse's back. The horse wasn't used to me and kept moving. I was so afraid that I would fall down. My classmates all told me not to be scared, and I, too, whispered to myself that I was a brave girl. This was my first time riding ona horse's back, so the woman was leading the horse for me. That put me a little at ease. My classmates and I were all busy taking pictures, and I wanted to stay there forever, gazing at the cows and the sheep, the blue sky and the snow-like clouds.

The whistle suddenly blew, and it was time to go. I couldn't bear to part with the beautiful place. When I got back onto the car I looked back once more, and the sight of the prairie was like a painting waving goodbye. The car began to move. As we drove off the beautiful scene lingered in my eyes--the grassland, the snowy mountains. "So long! I'll be back to see you!" I thought, and the day's trip had come to an end.

That was a most memorable trip for me. It not only let me understand the importance of the law. Moreover, it also let me realize how beautiful my motherland is, and how I couldn't possibly stand to leave her.

I love my hometown, and I am proud to have been born in the Tibetan lands. I warmly welcome all faraway visitors to come visit us here!

__________________

Originally written in Chinese by Wang Juan (Senior grade 1, class 3)

Translated into English by Catwei

See this page in Tibetan