A Lai was born in the Tibetan area of ​​Sichuan province in 1959; his origin, and the fact that he writes in Chinese and not in Tibetan, make him consider himself a “distance hybridization”. He was a primary and secondary teacher until 1984 when he began his writing career. He now lives in Chengdu where he is the senior editor of the science fiction magazine, Science Fiction World, and the president of the Sichuan branch of the Writers Association. In 1989 he published the first volume of his stories, and in the 90s of poetry. His first novel, which in Spanish would be literally titled Todo seated (Chen'ai luoding), won the Mao Dun award in 2000. He has also published essay books, interviews, and produced soap opera scripts. A Lai's literary work is recreated in the mestizo landscape of his childhood, the Tibetan region of Kham, traditionally remote from the power centers of Lhasa and Beijing, where the author's own hodgepodge (of Hui and Tibetan descent) reverberates in a deeply lyrical prose. His works have been translated into various languages.