Traditional Mongolian saddle sets at the Duolun saddlery museum. Photo by Alexis Hooi / For China Daily

Photographer explores roots through a lens

All ends well for the man who finds the wells

Ma's wife and adult son help him maintain the museum and take care of the stable and horses. To spread word of the area's attractions further, Ma organizes international endurance riding competitions on top of regular tours for urbanites.

These include "history rides" to scenic sites, such as those near the Battle of Ulan Butung more than 50 kilometers to the northeast, where the Kangxi emperor's Qing cavalry clashed with Ga'erdan's Dzungar forces in the late 17th century. On these trips, Ma's firm grasp of Chinese history also delights visitors who take short trips to the open grasslands to escape the pressure of the city.

And no one is more familiar with the therapeutic fix of the great outdoors than Ma.

Once he saddles up his favorite Mongolian mount, Ma is off and away.

On any given weekend, even when alone, he rides past wind-swept sand knolls, rolling prairies and crystal-clear lakes. He greets herdsmen and shepherds tending their cattle, horses and sheep. He stops by the farms and huts of friends, chatting with them over bowls of local salty milk tea mixed with chunks of fresh cheese curd.

"Some people buy expensive items, luxury goods just to show off and keep up with others. They get caught up in modern life and its material trappings," Ma says.

"My passion is horses, horse riding and the grasslands here. It's a beautiful place and it's where I belong."