This is the moment a motorist steps on the gas as a large yak chases after him and his pal, getting frighteningly close at one point.

The scary scene was filmed in the Gobi Desert in the Chinese province of Qinghai by the passenger in Mr Tan’s car on 4th February.

Mr Tan said he was driving to the mountains with his friend, name not reported, when they came across several yaks.

They decided to move closer for a better view, and when they were about 100 metres from the small herd, one suddenly charged at them.

Mr Tan said he “panicked” and “stepped on the gas”, adding: “The force of a yak is very strong and if it charges, it can knock down a wall.”

The driver said he had never gone from zero to 100kph so quickly and just about managed to avoid being hit by the stocky animal.

His friend filmed the moment the charging animal kicked a trail of dust in the air as it chased them across the Gobi Desert.

According to the news site Baidu, Qinghai is known as the “yak capital of the world” and accounts for 38 percent of the global yak population.

Some five million yaks live on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and it is not uncommon to encounter the large animals in the region.