Southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region has prospered thanks to a decade of robust economic growth, with its gross domestic product (GDP) surging from 82.8 billion yuan (about $11.9 billion) in 2013 to 213.3 billion yuan (about $30.6 billion) in 2022.
The central government has introduced many favorable policies in support of the region's economic development, covering tax and finance, infrastructure and industrial development since the peaceful liberation of Xizang on May 23, 1951.
Xizang's per capita disposable income was 26,675 yuan in 2022, 2.74 times that of 2013. By the end of 2019, all impoverished counties in the region had been removed from the list of poverty-stricken areas.
Retail sales of consumer goods stood at 72.7 billion yuan in 2022, nearly double that of 2013. Last year, retail sales of Xizang medicine increased by 22.6 percent and sales of furniture soared by 82.3 percent.
Over the past decade, the autonomous region saw rapid development in industries involving clean energy, digital technology, culture and tourism, as well as Xizang medicine.
Tourist arrivals in Xizang have more than doubled to reach 30 million over the 10 years to 2022. During this year's May Day holiday, the region received over 1.16 million tourist arrivals, 2.37 times the number in 2019 before the outbreak of the COVID-19.
The region raked in 40.7 billion yuan in tourism revenue in 2022. During the five-day holiday that ended in early May, the region registered tourist revenue of 848 million yuan, a surge of 42.3 percent on the same holiday in 2019.
Xizang medicine, also known as "Sowa Rigpa" in the region, dates back 2,500 years. The total output value of local specialty medicine production enterprises reached 2.5 billion yuan in 2022, about twice that of 2012. There are over 360 varieties of Xizang medicine under production.
Over the past decade, Xizang medicine producers have moved from manual workshops to standardized factories and companies, and 17 of them meet the national medicine production standards.
Data editor: Yao Nian
Graphics designer: Mukesh Mohanan