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E-mail China.org.cn, July 4, 2024
Yan Jinhai:
Third, we adhere to a people-centered development philosophy, demonstrating our commitment to high-quality development. We continue to implement 10 key livelihood projects, effectively carrying out initiatives such as school heating supply projects, oxygen supply in border counties and towns, heating supply in public hospitals in counties and districts, and addressing seasonal water shortages in high-altitude agricultural and pastoral areas. We vigorously improve infrastructure such as water, electricity, roads, communication, and housing, leading to a profound transformation in the lives of people of all ethnic groups, manifested by the transition from water buckets to tap water, from oil lamps to electric lights, from dirt roads to paved roads, and from felt tents to tile-roofed houses. Now, all primary and secondary schools in Xizang have heating supply.
We have solved the water shortage problem. In the past, many high-altitude areas in Xizang faced seasonal water shortages, especially in places with cold winter climates where tap water was unavailable. The reason was that construction engineering in high-altitude areas is carried out in summer when the ground-water level is high. During well drilling in summer, construction workers often assumed they had reached the bottom when they saw water gush out. However, the water table would drop in winter, causing tap water to stop flowing. To tackle this problem, we have stepped up infrastructure efforts, mainly through burying pipelines deep and installing electric water pipe heating wires. With a simple activation, tap water can now be heated and made available within 15 minutes.
We have tackled electricity shortages. Ten years ago, the main power grid in Xizang only covered 40 counties, supplying electricity to less than half of the population. By the end of 2020, the last prefecture-level administrative area in the region, Ngari Prefecture, was connected to the main power grid, achieving full coverage in all 74 counties and districts.
We have solved transportation problems. Currently, the region's highway mileage exceeds 120,000 kilometers, with all counties, townships and administrative villages having access to asphalt or paved roads. Its expressway mileage reaches 1,105 kilometers. All the seven prefecture-level cities, except Qamdo city and Ngari prefecture at the eastern and western ends, have now access to expressways. The Fuxing high-speed trains have also reached the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. Previously, it took about a week to travel by car from Lhasa city to Nyingchi city, less than 500 kilometers apart. After the opening of the expressway in 2019 and the railway in 2021, it now takes only three and a half hours to travel between them. People can go to Nyingchi on some errand in the morning and return to Lhasa in the afternoon.
We have resolved difficulties in communication. In 2012, only 4% of our administrative villages had access to optical fiber broadband, and smartphones were then a rare luxury for many people. Nowadays, optical fiber broadband and 4G signals have achieved full coverage in all administrative villages of the region. In rural and pastoral areas, as well as in the countryside, mobile phones have become tools that bring wealth. For example, Ajiawangmu, a self-media anchor from Nyingchi city, promotes and sells chili peppers from Nangxian county via livestreams. Last year, the chili peppers generated an output of 15.5 million yuan, benefiting 1,856 households and 5,565 individuals, with an average increase in income of over 5,800 yuan per household.
We have eased housing difficulties. Currently, the per capita floor space of rural residents in the region reaches 41.32 square meters, an increase of 11.74 square meters compared to 2012. For example, in Caiqutang village, Yangbajing town, Damxung county, situated at an altitude of 4,300 meters, villagers used to live in earthen or stone houses. However, now they have all been replaced with two-story brick houses, and each household has access to hot spring water in their courtyard, since Yangbajing has abundant geothermal resources. The Tibetan Medicine Hospital of Xizang Autonomous Region has also established a research base for the prevention and treatment of rheumatic diseases in the village, where villagers can enjoy free hot spring baths and acupuncture treatments.
We have worked out ways to help people get rich. In 2023, the per capita disposable income of rural residents in the region reached nearly 20,000 yuan, an increase of over 5,300 yuan compared to the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), representing a growth of 36.5%. For example, there is Tuiwa village, located in Nagarze county, Shannan city, at the northern foot of the Himalayas. This village, situated at an altitude of 5,070 meters, is known as the closest village to the sky. During the poverty alleviation campaign, all its 152 villagers from 40 households moved into houses built by the government. The first college student of the village, Dowang, returned home after graduation and opened a guesthouse called "5070." Through specialized farming and rural tourism, villagers here achieved a per capita income of over 20,000 yuan last year. This newfound life is beyond the wildest dreams of the villagers who previously relied on traditional herding.
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