Tourism holds key to development

Lian Xiangmin, director of the Institute of Contemporary Tibetan Studies, says it has been a challenge for Tibetan people to keep up with the pace of development. Feng Yongbin / China Daily

"The family has been of particular research interest to us and when I returned in 2014 their living conditions were much improved. The son-in-law had built a new house with several rooms and they had a ground floor for raising livestock."

Lian, who is of the Tujia minority from Hunan province, studied history at Fudan University in Shanghai.

He first encountered Tibet when he did his master's at Peking University in the late 1980s.

"It was then I first really got to know Tibet. I majored in ancient Chinese history, where I paid particular attention to the Sui (AD 581-618) and Tang (AD 618-907) dynasties," he recalls.

"Tibet was then named Tubo and it was a kingdom that coexisted with the Tang Dynasty, with which it had very friendly relations."

After his master's he became editor of the China Tibetology Publishing House, which is part of the China Tibetology Research Center, in 1985.

He has since held a number of positions, being appointed to his current role in 2012.

While at the center he has also done a doctorate in the Department of Ethnology at the Chinese Academy for Social Science in Beijing.

Lian says he has witnessed great changes since he first visited Tibet in 1992.

"When I walked on the streets for the first time, there was an incredible number of dogs everywhere. They have all gradually disappeared. You also have had a major improvement in the state of the temples. There are signs of development everywhere."

The academic insists that such speed of development has obviously raised a number of issues and that local society has often found it difficult to keep pace.

"Obviously people are quite satisfied with a more highly abundant material lifestyle. On the other hand, society has become more commercial. People have become more sophisticated in making money for the sake of it," he says.

"When we went to a villager's home, there was always a show of great hospitality and enthusiasm. We were treated to food and drink without being asked for money. Now, even little kids who offer to take pictures for you charge you."

Lian is the first to acknowledge the Chinese government is committed to preserving the traditional culture of Tibet while at the same time advancing reform.

"Tibetan culture is unique and it is very precious and not only cherished by the Tibetan people but the whole nation. If there is any divergence in the debate about Tibet, it is how to achieve this."

He says that Tibetan people themselves often seem conflicted about development issues and specific projects, citing the redevelopment of Barkhor Street, an ancient circular thoroughfare around Jokhang Temple in the center of Lhasa, in 2013.

"Before the project started there were a number of protests from local people in Lhasa who did not agree with it. After it was completed, they all spoke highly of it.

"There was also an issue during the construction of a sewer system in the city. People strongly disagreed with that also, although there was no existing system. When it was completed, people thought it was good."

Lian says it is the scale of the funding the autonomous region has received that has been transformational.

"There are several major government policies that have directly benefited Tibet and have involved the transfer of large amounts of money from the exchequer, particularly to improve infrastructure," he says.

He believes tourism is one industry that could hold the key to development. He welcomes the establishment of modern vocational schools in Lhasa training young people in hotel and catering skills.

"Tibet is a world famous tourism spot and it needs a lot of people with the right skills to take advantage of this. More importantly, it moves people from the poorer rural areas to the urban centers where they can have higher wages."