Feature: Let there be light

by Xinhua writer Li Zhihui, Dronla

BEIJING, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Migmar Gokyi from Tibet Autonomous Region is not fluent in Mandarin Chinese, but he can pronounce almost all the terms related to "electricity."

"With electricity, we can use computers, irrigate farmland and run factories," said the 41-year-old maintenance engineer at a power supply company of Tibet's Xigaze City under the State Grid.

Now he is in Beijing as one of nearly 3,000 deputies to the National People's Congress (NPC) to attend the annual session of the country's highest organ of state power.

About 20 years ago, the government of Gokyi's hometown had to cut off the electricity to the county headquarters to ensure power supply for farmland irrigation, he said

"We did not like darkness, but food was more important."

Now villagers need not worry about power shortages. Two electricity transmission lines, one from Qinghai Province and the other from Sichuan Province, have been put into operation.

Tibet's installed power capacity reached 3.1 million kw last year and is expected to reach 6 million kw by 2020. With the power grid now covering about 80 percent of counties in Tibet, electricity consumption in rural areas has grown.

"Light on the world's roof is brighter than at the time of butter lamps," he said.

Gokyi's job is to do repair work so that the electricity reaches every household in Xigaze. Sometimes herders and farmers living 5,000 meters above the sea level dial a hotline when the power is off.

"We have to arrive there within 24 hours and repair as soon as possible. Otherwise we receive complaints," he said.

Light does not only mean electricity.

For Tsering Yondzong, a doctor at the Tibetan medicine hospital in Qamdo City, the light of life comes from the traditional medical practice with a history of more than 2,000 years.

Tibetan medicine, known as "Sowa Rigpa" in Tibetan, uses herbs, minerals and sometimes insects and animal parts. The herbs, mostly collected at more than 3,000 meters above sea level, are not contaminated. Their medical effect is not damaged, said Yondzong, also an NPC deputy.

The digestive system department where Yondzong works treated more than 1,500 patients last year. The medicine is also effective in cardiovascular and rheumatoid treatments.

"Once a patient with severe cerebral hemorrhage was rushed to the hospital. After we used the medicine for about two weeks, the patient woke up," she said. "That was the most exciting moment in my 22-year-career."

China has enhanced efforts to protect and research Tibetan medicine. It was put on the list of China's national intangible cultural heritage in 2006 and has won the support of the World Health Organization.

People's life expectancy in the region is expected to reach 70 years by 2020. "Tibetan medicine will play an important role in achieving the goal and bring hope of life to more people," said Yondzong. "Now more students from the world are studying Tibetan medicine."

For Kelsang Dekyi, a primary boarding school head in Medog County, which used to be China's most isolated county, hope for the future lies with children.

"Education is the sharpest weapon to cut the transmission of poverty between generations," she said.

She has been working in Tibet since graduating from Hebei Normal University in 2000. Some of her students have graduated from colleges and found jobs in large cities in the east, bringing their families out of poverty.

In the earlier years of her career, Dekyi always passed cliffs and roads with frequent landslides to travel to villagers' homes to persuade them to send their children to school.

The county ended its roadless history with the opening of the Medog Highway in October 2013, making it easier for Dekyi to visit the children's families. Parents get more information from the outside and better understand that sending their children to school can mean a change of the entire family's fate.

Now all school-aged children in Bangxin town, where Dekyi works, have been enrolled.

"Education conditions in the school have improved a lot thanks to the investment from the central government. A total of 171 students have bread, milk, eggs and fruits for breakfast, and soup and three courses for lunch," Dekyi said.

"Besides teaching the Tibetan language, English, mathematics and information knowledge, the school will hire more teachers in music, physical education and fine arts," she said.

China provides free education for school-aged children in Tibet. Since 1985, it has also allowed the children of farmers and herdsmen to enjoy free accommodation, meals and tuition at boarding schools.

Over the past five years, the enrollment rate of primary and junior schools in Tibet have reached 99.5 percent and 99.3 percent, respectively, according to the Tibet government work report.

Dekyi said she hoped that more teachers would come to remote areas in Tibet and help improve the education quality.

Along with Gokyi, Yondzong and Dekyi, another 16 NPC deputies from Tibet, including senior regional officials and village heads, are gathering in Beijing to raise their suggestions to the top legislature on the country's development.

"Tibet's progress in past decades was based on support from the central government," said Zhoigar, a villager in the township of Yumai in Lhunze county, which sits at the southern foot of the Himalayas.

There used to be only one family, consisting of Zhoigar, he sister Yangzom and their father. The town now has 32 residents in nine families. It's the country's least populous town.

Over the past five years, the region's GDP grew at an average annual rate of 10.8 percent to reach 13.1 billion yuan in 2017.

Survey by the State Statistics Bureau showed more than 97 percent of the region's population were satisfied with their current life. About 97.3 percent of the people are confident in completing the building of a well-off society by 2020.

"We wish the country becomes more prosperous and great to provide stronger backing for Tibet's development. That is our light of the future," Zhoigar said. Enditem