500,000 new housing units built in Tibet in 5 years: delegation

A Chinese cultural delegation from the country's Autonomous Region of Tibet attended a seminar here Friday to promote exchanges with Slovakia.

"The Chinese delegation came to Slovakia to help people better understand the situation in Tibet," announced Wang Yanzhong, director general of the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, who heads the delegation.

Delivering a speech on the development and cultural protection of modern Tibet, Wang explained to the audience the peaceful liberation and rapid development of Tibet, as well as the policy for the continuation, development and protection of the Tibetan culture.

According to Wang, the aspect that kept Tibetan culture different from culture of its neighbors, including Nepal, India and the countries where Islam is dominant, is the fact Tibet is located on a plateau among high mountains -- an average altitude of 5,000 meters above the sea level.

He said Tibetan school children learn Tibetan language as their first language from primary school, and Chinese later at secondary school.

Li Xiaojun, director of Tibet Affairs in the People's Republic of China's State Council Information Office, announced big changes in Tibet in the latest five years in the development of agriculture.

Li added that 500,000 new housing units had been built for Tibetan households in that time and people got central heating installed.

"By 2020, there are many measures to be taken for the development of Tibet, including in health care, road and railway infrastructure and the increase of the standard of living, with measures like financial benefits," said Li. Endit