By late September 42 herders had been trained to place 50 camera traps in 1,250 sq km of wilderness and retrieve them every three months. At the end of this year more than 50 camera traps will have been deployed in another 1,250 sq km to capture animal images for research purposes or publicity.

"The cameras will activate when they sense the temperature of an approaching animal," said Li Yuhan, 23, an undergraduate of Peking University, who was in charge of the orange station of an NGO, Shanshui Conservation Center.

"Our station consists of a makeshift building made of containers that can be dismantled and moved away any time."

She showed us around the building not far from the Zhaqu River, which could house up to 12 people. There was solar power for basic electricity needs, but it was out of signal range for phones.

"We regularly train the locals how to install a camera so it can't be moved by wind or animals," she said, adding that "they know the places those animals frequent".

Since the station opened in July it has housed 10 PhD candidates researching topics such as snow leopards, stray dogs and the holy mountains.