Tibet complex

Despite their homesickness, Xie and her colleagues from Beijing said they had come to love Tibet. "It's very different from what I imagined, with beautiful landscapes and nice people," said Li Jia, a surgeon from Xuanwu Hospital in downtown Beijing.

"Many people have preconceived ideas that Tibet is 'underdeveloped' in every way. They should really come here and have a look."

Li joined the one-year "aid Tibet" program shortly after his son's first birthday. He's now a surgeon at Doilungdeqen county hospital, in the suburbs of Lhasa.

Li spoke eloquently about the higher incidence of gall bladder and kidney stones among Tibetans, probably a result of excess yak butter in their diet and poor water quality.

He didn't say, however, how Tibet much has changed thanks to money, technology and human resources from the rest of the country.

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China decided in 1994 to send staff from the other provinces to assist in Tibet's development. Since then, more than 3,700 professionals and officials have worked in Tibet on one-year or three-year terms.

All came voluntarily, leaving spouses, young children and elderly parents.

One of them, Kong Fansen, died devoting his life to helping develop Tibet in the late 1980s. Kong was a local official from Shandong Province who died from overwork while on assignment in Tibet. He has been a national icon ever since.

"At three, my son knows where every Chinese province is located on the map," said Xie. "He started by looking for Tibet. Now he points to Lhasa and tells everyone 'This is where mommy is working'."

Most of these volunteers are aged between 30 and 45 and passed strict health exams before they were allowed into Tibet. Still, some endure chronic diseases in the plateau region where lack of oxygen and tough climate challenge the heart and lungs.

Beijing official Sun Derui has served half of his three years as Party chief of Doilungdeqen County. At 38, he has stopped smoking and drinking and become a vegetarian for health reasons, but he still needs medication to keep his blood pressure normal.

Whenever he has trouble sleeping, Sun walks along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway to salute the security guards patrolling the world's highest railroad. "These people are cold and lonely at night. They need my care and support."

(Xinhua News Agency March 11, 2009)