"She could have various food options at school, but she still might miss the taste of home," Baht says. "We have done this every year, eating meat and gathering together. These moments define what family means for us."

In recent years, the central and local governments have launched projects to build permanent settlements for herders.

As a result, more and more elderly herders have retired from grazing and settled down to a modern way of life with their grandchildren.

With better prospects for higher education, many herders' children, like Kursunak, now embrace a wider choice of future careers.