Beidou-backed app used to track cattle in pastures

"Before this system, we mainly judged locations for cattle by experience," he said.

One time he failed to find them after searching on his motorbike for about five hours. Later he found out he was only about 10 meters away from them at one point. "I didn't see them because sand dunes had obscured my view," he recalled.

"I don't think I could have continued working that way as I grew older."

He bought two collars for about 12,000 yuan ($1,730) each, and a water pump-control system for about 4,000 yuan in 2017.

"It's a bit expensive for herdsmen, but I think it's worth it," he said.

Now he has time for interests such as handicrafts. "I earned 40,000 to 50,000 yuan by selling handicraft items in recent years."

In August, Ejin Horoo Banner in Ordos launched a smart pasture project in Shavartai village, with plans to enable 53 families to use the system for free. All devices are to be installed and tested this month.

Bayanduuren, Party secretary of the village, said locals mainly make a living by selling beef cattle. For decades, incomes were low because of the high cost of raising cattle and low sale prices, and most people were dependent on jobs tending herds.

"It's important to modernize animal husbandry," he said, adding that if herdsmen can monitor their cattle remotely, they can make extra money by working at nearby tourist resorts or joining the bed-and-breakfast business.

Only about 10 families in Shavartai have used the system since the village introduced it in 2016 because of its comparatively high price. Bayanduuren said the government plans to promote the system in the whole village in the next two years.