Bikes and buildings see former herdsmen leading better lives

Roz Saddik is a Uygur herdsman in the mountainous area of Wushi county, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, which shares a 137-kilometer border with Kyrgyzstan on its northwestern side.

The first thing the 50-year-old does every day after breakfast is check his motorbike. If there is a problem with his "mechanical horse", he may not be able to continue the mission he inherited from his father.

To better guard the border, the local government hired herdsmen to patrol the area and report emergencies. Familiar with the complex mountainous area, Roz's father took the job voluntarily in the early 1990s.