This is the most important season for the farmers, because it’s the harvest time for them. The hardy qingke barley, also known as highland barley, has long been the main crop on the plateau, and has become a staple of the Tibetan diet, used in almost every meal as tsampa, and even used to make barley wine and a number of other dishes. A unique, drought-resistant crop, barley is grown in many places across the plateau, and is the only grain crop that can grow comfortably in the higher reaches of the plateau, including the extreme north.