Exhibition Paints Previous Hardship of Life in Tibet

"They are not just pictures for me, they are real changes in my life that I can vividly recall," said 68-year-old Ciring Samdarm on Monday after visiting the Exhibition Marking the 60th Anniversary of the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet.

"The exhibition reminds me of what Tibet was like 60 years ago and there is no doubt that now it is the best time of the region, more importantly, for its people just like me," said Ciring, a farmer from Lhasa,

Vice-President Xi Jinping cut the ribbon to launch the exhibition in Lhasa on Monday. The exhibition was previously shown in Beijing from June 15 to July 9 and received more than 170,000 visits. It presents more than 360 pictures and other historical documents, diagrams and multimedia projects in three exhibition halls, covering various aspects of the development of the Tibet Autonomous Region, including the construction of infrastructure, education, environmental protection and people's daily lives.

Showing the improvement of Tibetans' livelihood in the past 60 years was an important section of the exhibition and it's also the section that 41-year-old Ceten spent most time on.

"The government has made improving our lives a top priority," the community worker said. "We can actually feel it."

The gross domestic product of Tibet in the first quarter this year, at 11.6 billion yuan (US$1.8 billion), marked an annual increase of 19.8 percent year-on-year, the highest in the country. The GDP of Tibet in 1951 was around 129 million yuan.

Meanwhile, rural Tibetans' disposable income increased 17.1 percent, and that of their urban peers rose 10.3 percent, according to statistics released by the government.

Cibe, 23, was more impressed by the black-and-white pictures of Tibet before the peaceful liberation.

"I used to hear my grandfather tell me about how they suffered during that time. Now I can see what it was really like," the university student said. "The dark days are gone for good and I believe Tibet's future will be even better."

Tibet used to be a society of feudal serfdom under theocratic rule, a society even darker than medieval society in Europe, according to Fifty Years of Democratic Reform in Tibet published by the State Council Information Office.

The white paper said feudal Tibet was based on a regime that combined politics with religious power, and the people were divided into three major strata, with about 90 percent of the population slaves or serfs.

Following the signing of the 17-point agreement, whose full title is the Agreement of the Central People's government and the Local government of Tibet on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet, in 1951, the People's Liberation Army marched into Tibet from four directions and entered Lhasa in October.

On the same day, Xi also visited the Tibet University to meet students and teachers. Founded in 1985, the Tibet University is the only comprehensive university in the autonomous region. It offers 46 majors to more than 9,300 students of different ethnic groups at its campus in Lhasa.