Closer to Tibet: Global visitors arrive in Tibet for a field trip
Updated 17:31, 09-Jul-2019
More than 150 researchers, officials and media professionals from over 30 countries and regions have arrived in Tibet for a four-day field trip across the cities of Nyingchi and Lhasa. They got an opportunity to walk through local villages, schools, and exhibition centers to take a closer look at the daily life and traditions of Tibetans. Meng Qingsheng reports.
In this remote village of Trashigang in Nyingchi City, visitors receive a traditional Tibetan greeting. Most of the locals are engaged in the tourism industry and manage family hotels. The business earns them disposable incomes averaging nearly 3-thousand dollars a year, higher than the national average of 21-hundred dollars for rural residents.
PROFESSOR ARVIND ALOKINDIAN BUDDHIST MONUMENTS DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL "You need a good house, good dress and good income also. So when they open up for the guest houses and the hotels, it's a good start, because they can generate income, can generate employment, and the young generation can be benefited or get profits."
In the nearby town of Lulang, visitors walk into a maker space, which serves as an incubator for local startups. It's outfitted with modern technology and the internet of things, along with traditional Tibetan handicraft.
AGITA BALTGALVE, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR UNIVERSITY OF LATVIA "To maintain ancient handicraft is very useful. I most like Thangka painting. There are also some Thangka schools where all traditions are kept on."
And in this Baji Village, they heard from locals about how upgrades in transportation can improve living standards. In this case, the launching of a national highway that crosses the village.
PATRICK KELLY, DIRECTOR MEDIA & COMMUNICATION, URBANATOMY "It works all around the world. Whenever an economy needs a boost, if the government can have the money to invest. Always seems to be quite a good policy and it always works out well."
Driving along the national highway to Lhasa, visitors are amazed at the natural beauty of eastern Tibet, its thick vegetation set amid a backdrop of snow-capped mountains. In Lhasa, capital of Tibet, they join the elders at a nursing home. This government-funded facility offers free services to those who have inadequate family support. Among them, disabled seniors and those with no living relatives.
SONIA BRESSLER FRENCH WRITER OF THE SILK ROADS "In 2012, I came to Tibet. I saw the first establishment like that, but far away from Lhasa. Now, I'm glad to see such an establishment in Lhasa. And I know it's very important because old people do not have enough support from their family. It's a beautiful establishment."
These visitors are also invited to a local Tibetan hospital founded in 1916. Practitioners here use Traditional Tibetan medicine techniques, like acupuncture and medicated baths, to cure diseases. The trip also brings visitors to some of the historic sites and monasteries, like the Jokhang Temple and the Potala Palace, for a better understanding of Tibetan culture.
MENG QINGSHENG LHASA, TIBET "For decades, Tibet has been promoting a strategy of 'inviting in and going out', to boost external exchanges and cooperation. Some of the most popular fields include tourism, culture, and animal husbandry. With active communication, the region is seeking new ideas for development in the new era. Meng Qingsheng, CGTN, Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region."