Across China: "Barren land" transformed into model Tibetan village

Tangde used to live up to its name, which means "empty, barren land" in Tibetan.

Nowadays, however, Tangde, nestled in mountains in Nyingchi Prefecture, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, is one of the region's most charming spots, commonly recommended in tourist handbooks.

Located near a stunning plateau lake in the Tsomo Gyiri Scenic Area, the village with a population of 243 is among the most developed in Tibet. After campaigns to develop tourism and local food sales, Tangde boasts a per-capita income of 14,380 yuan (2,151 U.S. dollars), on a par with some villages in China's wealthier east.

It has become a model for the Communist Party of China's (CPC) work to bring prosperity and stability to poor, troubled Tibet in the decades since the emancipation of its people from serfdom in 1951. As the State Council Information Office and the Tibetan regional government host the Forum on the Development of Tibet in Lhasa this week, Tangde is in the spotlight even more than usual.

In the village, well-paved paths lead up to neat traditional Tibetan courtyard houses. Most of them offer guest rooms for tourists.

Visitors may find it hard to imagine what Tangde used to be like. With little agriculture possible in the "empty, barren land" and aristocratic families enslaving common people in old Tibet, this was a miserable place.

Zongba, 84, is one of only a few locals who can recall its transformation.

As a representative of Tibetan serfs, Zongba was received twice by Mao Zedong in Beijing, after Tibet's peaceful liberation in 1951.

"Chairman Mao told me that it was our [former serfs] duty now to rebuild Tibet," she said.

Zongba spends a lot of time speaking at official events, including at the village museum, where photos contrast the past and the present.

"We often take young generations to the museum to remind them how local life has become more modern," said Dawa Phuntsog, secretary of the village CPC committee.

The village leader, a graduate of the Tibetan College of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, said Tangde's development has been led by the CPC committee, which has 27 members, all Tibetans.

She recalled how the members took the lead to clean streets, treat garbage, and patrol the local woodland to guard against fire.

Led by the committee, a cooperative was established in 2006 to organize farmers to set up a food processing plant, chicken farms and a tourist center. In 2012, Tangde became the first Tibetan village to give locals access to the Internet.

On July 1, Dawa represented the village committee to accept an award at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, where the CPC held a gathering to celebrate the 95th anniversary of the Party's founding.

The recognition gave her new resolve to organize for the cooperative to start online sales of its wares, including highland barley, Tibetan woven blankets and butter tea.

"We can not forget our past, as we walk on a new threshold to seek sustainable development," Dawa said. Endi