HONGYA, China — The first snow of the season lies light on the hills and the air smells of wood smoke; the police who guard this village on the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau must be inside by the stove.
Beyond a solitary checkpoint, a paved road rises up and around and passes a high-walled courtyard with a richly painted gate. Nearby, a sheep picks through a pile of hay, unobserved except by security cameras.[Source]