"No tap water, no power supply, no sewerage
system, no highway transportation, no decent towns...."
Until the early 1950s, the Chinese and foreign media so
described Tibet. Certain foreign scholars even compared life
in old Tibet to that of the European Middle Ages. At that
time, apart from Qomolangma (Everest) and other mountains
that connoted a remote and mythical image, Tibet was
synonymous with backwardness and isolation. It is little
wonder that members of a foreign tour group, on arriving at
Lhasa's Gonggar Airport, eagerly expecting a Middle Ages
scenario, were completely unprepared for the star-rated
hotels, large supermarkets, bars, Internet cafes, Sichuan
restaurants, and the stock exchange that they found. Lhasa
is now no different from any other city in the interior
area.
To this, Radi, chairman of the Standing
Committee of the People's Congress of Tibet Autonomous
Region, says, "I have experienced both the old and the
new societies of Tibet, and witnessed the tremendous changes
that have taken place here. Since its peaceful liberation
Tibet has advanced from backwardness to progress, from
poverty to prosperity, and from isolation to openness."
Narrowing the Gap
It is possible that, in the whole
world, it is only Tibetans that live at an average altitude
of 4,000 meters above sea level. Due to its high altitude,
cold and harsh climate and lack of oxygen, Tibet's local
economic foundation was, prior to liberation, extremely
weak, and feudal serfdom stifled human creativity, causing
the local economy to stagnate. Serfs led a miserable life,
some poverty-stricken to the extent that their entire
possessions consisted of a Tibetan robe and a wooden bowl.
The Kashag government at one time longed for industrial
civilization similar to that of the outside. In the late
1940s Great Britain gave the 14th Dalai a car, which had to
be dismantled in order to be shipped to Lhasa, and could
only run on the two-km dirt road between the Potala Palace
and Norbu Lingka. It was finally abandoned due to a lack of
highways.
The Democratic Reform of 1959
in Tibet ended feudal serfdom, and opened the door to the
"roof of the world." In order to narrow the gap
between Tibet and the interior areas, and to help the one
million emancipated serfs there live a prosperous life, the
central government gives financial subsidies and allocations
to Tibet.
The central government is
also constantly searching for more effective ways of
promoting Tibet's economic development. After 1959, the
central government built a number of factories in Tibet, but
its geographical conditions, poor infrastructure, lack of
energy resources, high transportation costs, and lack of
skilled workers hindered its economic development.
In February 1984, the CPC Central
Committee Second Forum on the Work of Tibet decided that
nine provinces and municipalities (including Beijing,
Shanghai, Tianjin and Guangdong) and relevant ministries and
commissions of the State Council should jointly aid Tibet in
building 43 medium-sized and small projects. Later, in 1994,
the Central Committee also initiated 62 aid-Tibet projects
as a means of intensifying Tibet's modernization drive.
The Lhasa-Xigaze optical-fiber cable,
one of the 62 projects, is the first of its kind in Tibet.
Before the mid-1980s, the telephone service between Xigaze
and Lhasa was reliant on outdoor telegraph wires. Many
entrepreneurs who had planned to invest in Tibet hesitated
due to its backward telecommunications facilities.
To rectify this situation, the Ministry
of Posts and Telecommunications invested 30 million yuan in
building the 340 kilometer-long optical-fiber cable. In the
initial period, nearly 2,000 long-distance telephone lines
were added, which reduced the shortage of lines between
Lhasa and Xigaze.
"The 62
aid-Tibet projects have been helpful in changing Tibet's
backward infrastructure, increasing the production capacity
of its industry, agriculture and animal husbandry,
developing advantageous industries, and improving living
standards," says Gyaincain Norbu, former chairman of
Tibet Autonomous Region. Since their implementation in 1994,
these projects have brought great benefits to areas related
to the local people's life and work, such as energy
resources, transportation, posts and telecommunications,
agriculture, culture and public health.
In 2000, on completion of Tibet's
largest water conservancy project -- the Manla Water
Conservancy Project, all 62 aid-Tibet projects were
accomplished. The 62 aid-Tibet projects, involving culture,
city transformation and industry, were concentrated in
Lhasa. According to Zhaxi, chief architect of city planning,
"Completion of these projects will further consolidate
Lhasa's status as the political, economic and cultural
center of Tibet, enabling this ancient city to march toward
modernization."
New Life,
New Concepts
Charles Bell, the British
Governor of Sikkim, wrote in his book "Selected
Materials on the History of Tibet" that for the eleven
months from November of 1920 to October of 1921, when he was
a distinguished guest of the 13th Dalai Lama, he had no
vegetables to eat. The situation of ordinary Tibetans can
only be imagined. For many years the low yield of crops and
scarce fruit and vegetables was attributed to the harsh
conditions on the plateau. Today, however, at the annual
Horse Race Festival held on the Qangtang Grasslands in Nagqu
Prefecture, all kinds of vegetables and fruits may be seen
on a typical participant's dinner table, as well as various
kinds of seafood. At markets, whether in Lhasa or in remote
northern Tibet, there are mountains of rice and wheat flour,
and the dinner tables of the common people bear sumptuous
dishes. Local people know that this is the result of one
aid-Tibet project -- the Vegetable Basket Project.
This improvement in living standards
has caused a change in the local people's ideology and
concepts of consumption. They long to go out of the plateau
and see the outside world.
Bangdar
Village, located at the confluence of the Yarlung Zangbo and
Nyang Qu rivers, used to be called the "beggar's
village." Now Como, a 17-year-old Tibetan girl, has a
dream of being enrolled in a medical school and becoming a
doctor. She says, "A doctor can cure people's diseases.
I hope to make them healthy and happy."
Baizhoin is a doctor in Lhasa City. In
her spare time she likes to travel, and since the 1980s she
has traveled extensively in China. In 1999 she toured
Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. When a local tour guide
heard that she came from Tibet, he asked her many strange
questions, stemming from his numerous misconceptions.
Baizhoin says that outsiders know very little about Tibet.
It is obvious that there are insufficient exchanges between
Tibetans and outsiders.
According to
statistics from the Statistical Bureau of Tibet Autonomous
Region, in 2000 the per capita disposable income of urban
residents in Tibet amounted to 6,448 yuan. In earlier years,
local people wanted to buy furniture and domestic electric
appliances with the money they had earned. Now, however,
many families have already purchased refrigerators, color TV
sets, air-conditioners, and even private cars, and want to
travel. Jigmei, chief of the marketing department of the
Tibet Tourism Administration, told this reporter that
565,000 tourists toured Tibet in 2000. Although the number
of Tibetans traveling to the interior area and abroad is not
large, there has been a marked increase.
In Lhasa, expenditure on education is
increasing. Some families save money for their children's
future education, and many parents invite teachers to their
homes to teach their children when school has finished, or
send their children to after-class training courses.
Attention is being paid to improving the overall quality of
students. The Lhasa City Children's Palace has opened music
classes on holidays, with an enrollment of nearly 200
children.
Characteristic Economy
The central authorities are
intensifying their efforts towards aid for Tibet. In early
July of 2001, at the Fourth Forum on the Work of Tibet, the
central authorities decided to establish 117 state-invested
projects with a total investment of 31.2 billion yuan in
Tibet. These projects mainly involve agriculture, animal
husbandry, science and technology, education, facilities for
grassroots governments, and ecological and environmental
protection. In addition, the meeting confirmed 70
coordinated aid-Tibet projects, with a total investment of
1.06 billion yuan.
Tibetans will not
wait for the central government and fraternal provinces to
"donate modernization" to Tibet. They realize that
the "blood-transfusion" mode of aid cannot
ultimately solve Tibet's problems. Instead, they should
increase their self-development capabilities by
strengthening "blood-forming" functions.
Therefore, the government of Tibet Autonomous Region has
decided to develop six pillar industries (tourism,
agriculture and animal husbandry, Tibetan medicine, ethnic
handicrafts, green products, and mining), to nurture new
economic growth points.
"Tibet has
unique advantages in its resources," says one leader of
the autonomous region. "It has the plateau, snowy
mountains, grasslands, lamaseries, folklore, spectacular
sights and numerous mineral reserves. Meanwhile, Tibet,
called the 'third pole' of the earth, contains countless
geological riddles and rare species of flora and fauna,
making it an ideal place for scientific exploration and
adventure tours." When considering the historic
opportunities provided by western development, he remarks
excitedly, "Tibet is like an athlete on the same
starting line as other provinces and autonomous regions, or
a basketball player in the same field."
Last year Tibet's GDP broke the 10
billion yuan barrier. It has built its own industries, and
created its own famous brand names, such as Qizheng Tibetan
medicines, Shengdi mineral water, and Qomolangma motorcycle.
Tibetan medicine is very popular among consumers, and 25
kinds of Tibetan medicine have been included in medical
insurance programs. One of them, the Nuodikang painkilling
plaster, has won an international gold award and is exported
to more than 20 countries, including the United States,
Japan and the Republic of Korea.
Breaking through isolation to make
contact with the outside world has become a common desire
among the Tibetans, and developing an export-oriented
economy is an attractive choice for Tibet as regards
selecting a characteristic economy. In October 2000 Tibet
Autonomous Region held an investment and trade fair in Hong
Kong, announcing 138 projects open to overseas investment at
a total investment of US $1.5 billion. On the same day,
Tibet and Hong Kong signed two tourism cooperation
agreements. The people of Hong Kong appreciated the Tibetan
"opening awareness," and praised highly the
Tibetan speakers who were fluent in English and Chinese.
Moreover, Tibet has realized the advantages of its long
border, and has actively developed trade with Nepal and
Thailand.
In 2001, the State Council
approved construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the
longest and the highest railway in the world. Some experts
have pointed out that this railway has epoch-making
significance in promoting Tibet's economy, and will turn its
development mode from "blood transfusion" to
"blood forming."
Tourism
circles hail the event, saying that Tibet is one of the
destinations that most fascinate tourists from all over the
world. Construction of the railway will put an end to the
belief that "entering Tibet is more difficult than
going abroad." Tourists can take the train to Tibet,
and by making a gradual ascent of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,
altitude sickness may be avoided. The railway will bring
more tourists and therefore a larger income to Tibet's
tourism industry.
Like the tourism
industry, Tibet's mining, special plateau products, green
drinks, farm and livestock products, and ethnic handicrafts
will also benefit from the railway. Large quantities of
plateau products and brand names will flow to the interior
area through the railway, bringing Tibet's potential into
full play.
Losang Gyaincain, mayor of
Lhasa, says, "In the past, it was the Qinghai-Tibet
Highway that broke the isolation of Tibet; today,
construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway will bring Tibet
into modern civilization, to realize greater
development."
Aiding Tibet:
Blending with Modern Civilization
Aid
to Tibet from all over the country reflects the centripetal
force of the Chinese nation, and also the respect of
inhabitants of the interior area for Tibetan culture.
Some say that the Tibetan ethnic group
absorbs and blends well with outside advanced cultures. More
than 1,000 years ago, Tibetan King Songtsan Gambo opened
Tibet to the Tang Empire, the strongest empire in the world.
He married Princess Wencheng of the Tang Dynasty, achieving
a momentous chapter in Tibetan-Han exchange.
This cultural interchange has continued
to this day. At one exhibition booth of the 2000 Tibet
Investment and Trade Fair held in Hong Kong, an elderly
Tibetan woman said to a Hong Kong visitor, "Please buy
a Tibetan Opera mask. It is an excellent souvenir, and
represents a little of the long history of Tibet and its
legends." This shows how the Tibetan people long for
understanding from the outside world. Such openness can be
traced through Tibet's historical development. From a
typical Lhasa scenario, where Tibetan robes and Western
suits mingle in the crowd, and motor vehicles drive past
prostrating pilgrims, the meeting and blending of
traditional and modern civilizations is startlingly obvious.
The Tibetans are preserving their own culture, while opening
to the outside world with a brand new outlook.
At the National Exhibition of
Achievements Made in Aiding Tibet, held in 2001 in Beijing,
visitors' concern for Tibet's present situation and their
keen interest in Tibetan handicrafts were plain to see.
While drinking mineral water from the Himalayas and
inquiring about the effect of the Nuodikang painkilling
plaster, the visitors expressed their feelings of
fraternity, and the sincerity of their longing for mutual
understanding. Tibet needs the interior area, and vice
versa. Tibet advances toward the future amid these needs.
(Beijing Today 09/19/2001)