China's strategy for governing Xizang showcases the boundless possibilities for modernization on the 'Roof of the World'

(Editor's note: Wang Jianfeng is a professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.)

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the peaceful liberation of Xizang. "The Roof of the World" today is no longer a remote and mysterious "Shangri-La" – it has become a new frontier of possibility for modernization under extreme geographical conditions, with China's strategy for governing Xizang holding the key to this success. A CGTN global survey shows that 74.8% of respondents believe Xizang's leapfrog economic and social development has benefited from Chinese modernization. This experiment in modernization – where tradition and modernity intertwine and humanity and nature coexist in harmony – remains a work in progress on the snow-covered plateau.

Data bear witness to the transformation of the times

Before the peaceful liberation in 1951, Xizang's economic foundation was extremely weak, with virtually no modern industry and an economy based primarily on traditional agriculture and animal husbandry. At the time of the peaceful liberation in 1951, Xizang's regional GDP stood at approximately 129 million yuan. By 2025, the region's GDP had reached 303 billion yuan, 2,350 times that of 1951. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, Xizang's economy has entered a phase of accelerated growth. It took 50 years for Xizang's GDP to surpass the 100-billion-yuan mark, another six years to exceed 200 billion yuan, and only four more years to top 300 billion yuan. The CGTN survey shows that 78.4% of respondents believe Xizang's economy has achieved rapid development.

Before the peaceful liberation, the vast majority of the Xizang population lived in extreme poverty and under extreme oppression, and wealth distribution was grossly unfair. The aristocracy, officials and upper-level clergy, who accounted for less than 5% of the population, controlled nearly all the land and wealth, while serfs and slaves, who made up over 95% of the population, labored year-round without any personal freedom. The democratic reform of 1959 gave the people of all ethnic groups in Xizang access to means of production such as pastures, livestock and farmland for the first time. In 2025, the per capita disposable income of rural residents in Xizang reached 23,184 yuan, and 628,000 people were lifted out of poverty, historically eliminating absolute poverty in the region. The CGTN survey shows that 80.6% of respondents speak positively of Xizang's achievements in poverty alleviation.

Turning lucid waters and lush mountains into a global attraction

As the "Roof of the World" and the "Water Tower of Asia," the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau's ecological security bears on the future of all humanity. The Chinese government places great importance on protecting Xizang's ecological environment and in 2023 enacted the Law on Ecological Protection of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. Across the region, the comprehensive grassland vegetation coverage rate exceeds 48%, forest coverage surpasses 12%, and the soil and water conservation rate stands at over 92%. The water quality compliance rate of major rivers, lakes and drinking water sources has reached 100%. Clean energy accounts for more than 99% of total electricity generation, and the share of non-fossil energy consumption exceeds 55% – the highest in the country. In response, 83% of respondents highly affirm Xizang's achievements in ecological protection and governance. Xizang is exploring a green pathway that turns its "ecological beauty" into "economic value," continuously contributing Chinese solutions to the sustainable development of ecologically fragile regions around the world.

Keeping culture alive in the present

True cultural preservation has always been found in vivid, living scenes of daily life. While speeding up its embrace of modernization, Xizang has kept its unique cultural roots intact. Before the peaceful liberation, the illiteracy rate in Xizang was as high as over 95%. Today, the gross enrollment rate for preschool education has reached 92.83%, the retention rate in nine-year compulsory education stands at 98.74%, the gross enrollment rate for senior high school is 92.04%, and the gross enrollment rate for higher education has reached 60.02%. These achievements are attributable to the promotion and use of standard spoken and written Chinese, alongside a strong emphasis on the use of the Tibetan language – especially at the stage of basic education, where the Tibetan language curriculum remains unchanged and is never cut back. The wisdom of Xizang's governance lies in respecting and safeguarding the freedom of all ethnic groups to use and develop their own spoken and written languages, and to maintain or reform their own customs and habits. Today, Xizang has achieved full coverage of its public cultural service system. The region has built over 2,400 cultural venues, 697 township-level comprehensive cultural stations, and 5,492 village-level cultural activity rooms. Full coverage of organized performing arts troupes in administrative villages has been realized, and mass cultural activities are rich and diverse. A confident, open and inclusive Xizang is now engaging the world with poised dialogue, radiating its unique charm.

The successful practice of modernization in Xizang is, at its core, a vivid human narrative – it is the aspiration of over 3.7 million Xizang people for a better life, and more importantly, the successful implementation of China's people-centered strategy for governing Xizang. We have every reason to believe that a united, prosperous, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful modern new Xizang will continue to write a splendid chapter in the diverse development of human civilizations.