Trip to Yatung County

　　By Liu Wei Co-trans: Fang Yinong, Yang Lina

　　Author Liu Wei is a Tibetologist and a senior reporter of Xinhua. This piece, written in 1989, is selected from Liu's book "Tell You a Real Tibet," which was published in 2008 by Xinhua Publishing House.

　　Past and present Xiasima Town

　　BEIJING, July 8 (Xinhuanet) -- On the southern side of Mt. Himalayas, Yatung County faces Bhutan to the east and Sikkim to the west, with its government seat in Xiasima Town.

　　Even today, several Western-style buildings can be seen here，historical evidence left from Britain's invasion into Tibet. In 1904, British troops invaded Tibet, forced the local Tibet Government to sign the unequal Lhasa Treaty and developed Yatung County as a commercial port.

　　Compared with other towns, Xiasima was distinguishing not only for its unique wooden buildings, but also for its booming commercial trade.

　　Last year, Tibet's average per capita income of farmers and herders was 380 yuan RMB, while the figure for Xiasima Town was 1,200.

　　More than half of the residents of the town's 292 households were engaged in trade, transportation, processing and catering industries, said Cidan, head of Xiasima Town. Business people from Sichuan, Gansu and Qinghai provinces ran 20 shops.

　　Residents living in the border area of Bhutan often came to Xiasima to conduct free business transactions with local villagers. Stall-keeper Luobu, an immigrant from Ladakh, said that he came to Yatung County from Kashmir via India in 1957. His four sons have obtained the Chinese nationality and the net income of his business was 500 yuan RMB per month.

　　One family in the border town

　　Across the Hemu Bridge, some newly built houses can be seen along the road. One red-and-green building was especially eye-catching, with "happiness tea house" written on a wooden board.

　　This was the house of Zhaxi, a retired official of the town. Except for two sons working elsewhere, seven other members of Zhaxi‘s family of three generations lived in four spacious rooms.

　　In the living room were a sofa, Tibetan-style rugs, a TV set and tape recorder on a cabinet. Hung on the walls of the bedroom were portraits of the Buddha, beside which was a photo showing late Chinese leaders Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi and Zhou Enlai meeting with the Panchen Lama.

　　The 59-year old man was a Tibetan from Ngawa, northwestern Sichuan Province. He made a pilgrimage to Lhasa at the age of 17, became penniless soon after and had to wander to Yatung County as a beggar. Zhaxi said that he once served as a goods-bearer for British and Indian businessmen, since at that time there was no road to speak of and goods had to be carried by laborers on their backs.

　　After finding a job in 1959, he married a daughter of a local craftsman and settled down there.

　　His wife Tsering Zhuoma poured buttered tea for us from time to time. She said, "With many children we used to lead a very hard life as we had to rely on Zhaxi's low salary and farming. We owe all the changes in our life to the policies of the Communist Party of China. I cook and make buttered tea everyday and assign tasks to my family members. The car was bought several years ago by my son Basang on a 7,000-yuan bank loan. Our house was built last year for 20,000 yuan."

　　Pointing at the certificates of commendation written in the Tibetan language on the wall, Zhaxi said that his family was cited as a Wanyuanhu (a family whose annual net income exceeds 10,000 yuan) in 1986, Five-Virtues Family①in 1987 and Civilized and Well-off Family in two consecutive years.

　　The magistrate's wish

　　The greatest wish of Bianba Tesring, magistrate of Yatung County, was to build a medium-sized hydropower station in the near future.

　　He said, "Energy is the basis for economic development. It is vital to build a medium-sized hydropower station in Yatung County to develop the economy, maintain ecological balance and protect forest resources."

　　The swiftly-running Yatung River, dropping from the plateau, rushes down into the Indian Ocean via Xiasima Town.

　　From the interview, we know that the current power station with a capacity of 250 kw could by no means meet the demand. During our three-day stay in Yatung County, the electric lights were as faint as candlelight. Because of energy shortages, forests were damaged seriously, with 20,000 sq m of timber consumed in the county.

　　Tibet has been pursuing more flexible economic policies in recent years, with rehabilitation as the focus, leading to a higher living standard for many people, according to Bianba Tesring. The per capita income was 154 yuan in 1977, while the figure for 1998 reached 759 yuan.

　　People were better off, whereas forests were shrinking. Tesring said that if they continued to focus on immediate interests, several years later, Yatung‘s hills would become barren in a few years.

　　Yatung, with the forest climate, was suitable for planting trees of economic value. Only 45 km away from the nearest railway to India, Yatung enjoyed good conditions for opening-up, and the biggest problem lay in energy.

　　With the signs of fatigue on his face, Tesring said, "As early as in March 1986, the Yatung County Government drew up the plan to build a hydropower station with a capacity of 3,000 kw. The project is expected to be completed at a cost of 16.5 million yuan, and yet the funding has not been put in place.

　　In August 1987, the government worked out another plan to build a power station with a capacity of 1,260 kw and reported this to departments concerned of the Tibet Regional Government. The urgently-needed power plant still exists as a blueprint except for the prophase preparations costing some 50,000 yuan. "

　　Note: ① The standards of being a Five-Virtues Family: 1.Set a good example in being patriotic, observing laws and being devoted to public interests; 2. Set a good example in loving study, trying to progress every day, and being dedicated to one's work; 3. Set a good example in ensuring equality between men and women and respecting the old and loving the children; 4. Set a good example in transforming outmoded habits and customs and practicing family planning; 5. Set a good example in practicing frugal family management and protecting the environment.