XINING, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- Once again, Sa Karma came down from the mountains alone, scorched by the sun and definitely in need of a shave and haircut.

If it wasn't for his enormous backpack, the wild-looking man would be hardly recognizable to his fellow villagers.

Sa Karma has no fixed abode. The 29-year-old Tibetan herdsman is a wanderer, a native of Nangqian County in the source area of the Lancang River, northwest China's Qinghai Province.

For nine years, he has been trekking up the streams that flow into the Lancang River, finding 273 uncharted sources of water in the snow-capped mountains and glaciers.

He has also hiked and climbed up 862 mountains near his hometown, most of which had never previously been conquered by man.

"Pushing the limits of the human body makes me hover aloft like an eagle, affording me a wonderful view of the magnificent mountains and rivers," Sa Karma said.

A certain romantic and adventurous spirit seems to exude from his name, meaning "earth and stars," given to him by his father. His years spent in the mountains have about them a certain air of destiny.

Studying traditional thangka painting has provided Sa Karma with a unique aesthetic perspective. Unlike others who focused on modifying portraits and Buddha images, he was fascinated by the flowers, trees and wildlife in the background.

Yet the scenes captured on canvas paled in comparison to what Sa Karma saw during an expedition in 2010.

Over the five years leading up to his journey, more than 2.8 billion yuan (about 398 million U.S. dollars) had been pumped by the Chinese government into ecological restoration of the once-degraded Sanjiangyuan, home to the headwaters of Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers, bringing China's "water tower" back to life.

Sa Karma hit the road the next summer without telling his friends and family. Three days later, he free-climbed the highest mountain near the village, a peak no one had previously scaled.

Standing on the sandstone peak at an elevation of over 5,800 meters, he saw three naturally formed lakes as clean and clear as turquoise, as well as a panoramic view of the source area of the Lancang River.

His eyes welled with tears, though he couldn't tell whether it was because of the biting wind, or the stunning beauty that lay before him.

Since then, Sa Karma has lived his life as a wanderer. He has turned his back on society and human relationships, accompanied only by his photo gear and 50-kg backpack, spending more than 300 days a year in the mountains.

He soon found his romantic notions of life in the wild failed to capture the hard reality. He was often surrounded by animals, especially at night, which often kept him awake.

Over time, Sa Karma was able to recognize and imitate the different roars and howls of panthers, snow leopards and prairie wolves. He was even able to elicit a response from the predators at times.

"I'm not afraid of them now, because they know that I'm not an intruder," he said.

One winter, at an altitude of some 6,000 meters above sea level, Sa Karma warmed himself with Tibetan dancing, a dozen batteries stored in his rucksack out of fear his camera would be frozen solid.

He cherished every beautiful thing he saw. Over the past nine years, he has recorded 507 kinds of wild plants, 18 kinds of wild animals including lynx and snow leopards, as well as 16 kinds of birds in his hometown.

At one with the great outdoors, he also memorized the names and properties of numerous wild plants based on what he learned from traditional Tibetan codices, treating himself with wild herbs when he fell ill.

In 2017, Sa Karma decided to share what he saw, felt and learned by spending over 10,000 yuan on printing out a voluminous illustrated handbook on ecological protection, which contains pictures of the landscape, plants, birds and wild animals he took in the mountains.

He also made a 4-square-meter sand sculpture that models his village and the surrounding landscape, with all the places he had been.

His hefty backpack remained full at all times, stuffed with food supplies when he left, and trash he picked up in the mountains when he returned.

In the starry night in his home village, Sa Karma felt the heartbeat of the earth with closed eyes and open arms.

Unashamed of his wild appearance, he chanted episodes of the legendary epic of King Gesar, lauding Mother Nature and praying for her blessings.

"I'm the son of Sanjiangyuan, and the way I look is just a reconnection with nature," Sa Karma said.