Aid-Xizang program improves locals' well-being in past 30 years

Villagers in Xiangzi Town, Zanda County of Ngari Prefecture in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region have benefited from a project called Xiangzi Tourism Town, which is one of the projects aided by north China's Hebei Province under the Aid-Xizang program.

Nine tour bus drivers in Xiayigou scenic area in the tourism town are all Tibetan villagers. During the peak season, they transport tourists on over 20 trips a day at a monthly salary of 4,500 yuan (around $620).

They said that they not only have a stable job at home, but also have enjoyed a fruitful and happy life here.

The tourism town, with a total investment of around 110 million yuan from Hebei Province, is one example of the multitude projects and efforts under the aid-Xizang program, which was launched in 1994 at the Third Forum on Work of Xizang.

Since then, the nation has ramped up its support for Xizang, with state organs, provinces and cities, along with state-owned enterprises playing crucial roles in providing assistance.

Between 1994 and 2022, a total of 11,900 officials and professionals were dispatched in ten groups to assist Xizang, according to a white paper titled "CPC Policies on the Governance of Xizang in the New Era: Approach and Achievements" issued in 2023.

There are also financial support and investment projects. The white paper showed that from 2012 to 2022, a total of 1.73 trillion yuan in financial subsidies from the central government went to Xizang, and during the 13th Five-year Plan period (2016-2020), 17 provinces and municipalities launched 1,260 projects to assist Xizang, representing a total investment of 20 billion yuan.

For residents in Nagqu City, the projects aided by east China's Zhejiang Province – such as the hydropower stations, cement roads and residential projects – have all improved their lives a lot.

The assistance by medical professionals from various provinces and cities in groups to Xizang has also made remarkable progress.

The medical professionals helped the region build six more Grade-A tertiary hospitals, train 1,165 medical teams with a total of 3,192 local medical workers, and plug 2,219 gaps in medical technology, said the white paper.

"Nowadays, minor illnesses are not a problem in Xizang and local hospitals can perform some surgeries," Yungchen Lahmo, a Tibetan woman living in Beijing, told CGTN.

She added that in the past, a minor illness could turn into a serious one and even led to death in the past, citing the case of a director of a local public security bureau who died of acute appendicitis on his way to hospital.

The Xizang Autonomous Region has changed a lot over the 30 years with the help of the aid-Xizang program, said Yungchen Lahmo.

As for Yungchen Lahmo, one of the changes is the improvement on transport infrastructure. Now, Xizang has at least 121,400 kilometers of roads, which is unimaginable for her parents, who used to spend half a month or even a month to cover a distance of 1,000 kilometers.

Noting this year marks the 30th anniversary of the aid-Xizang program, Yungchen Lahmo said she believes that with the joint efforts of the personnel who aid Xizang and the people of all ethnic groups in Xizang and with the selfless support of the other provinces across the country, Xizang's future will be even brighter.

(Cover: The 2024 Beijing-Xizang tourist train being launched at Beijing West Railway Station, May 19, 2024. /CFP)