Maria Chaprytina of Russian News and Information Agency published an article Thursday, expressing her appreciation on Tibet's prosperity after a four-day visit. Part of the article reads:

"How beautiful it is! Four days were too short for me to get an eyeful of the Tibet Autonomous Region.

This was my first time to visit there. Before my departure, I've read plenty of documents and was enwrapped by the fascinating scenery on the pictures. Unexpectedly, its magnificence is far greater than I imagined.

Maria Chaprytina of Russian News and Information Agency [Photo: People's Daily]

In the beginning, I was worried about suffering altitude sickness; luckily, I felt good after getting off the plane. As soon as I arrived in Lhasa, I was first impressed by such blue sky that I had never seen before.

I covered many aspects of people's life, including the local markets. People there are very friendly, willing to chat with me. In their eyes I was able to read happiness in their life. From this point, I know what great efforts the Chinese government has made!

A man, a former serf, told me that his life has changed significantly since the Democratic Reforms in 1959: he wouldn't be starved any longer, he has plenty milk tea to drink like others and most of all, he has had personal liberty.

Moreover, there is an interesting phenomenon that although the living standard in Lhasa is rising higher and higher, the local people still have the habit of saving money, never waste a penny at all. A man dressed evidently casually in the street may be actually from a rich family. Thus, how to guide the people to be wise consumers has been listed on the local government's agenda.

I also visited the region's train station and airport. The newly-built station is extremely grand. Lhasa is a modern city boasting abundant goods of high quality and reasonable prices.

In the streets, I saw many people dressed in traditional gown and some women wearing coiled hair in braids, proving that Tibetan traditional culture has been preserved well.

Of course, some youths dress in a fashionable way like the young people in Beijing."

(People's Daily February 27, 2009)