Feature: ordinary Tibetan family

　　BEIJING, Oct. 10 (Xinhuanet) -- On the morning of Oct. 1, an old Tibetan man named Cijiu placed a national flag upon his roofs to celebrate the 60th birthday of the People‘s Republic of China.

　　Cijiu, a veteran who served in the army for more than 20 years, cherishes a special feeling for the five-star red flag, China‘s national flag. On the occasion of the National Day or the Army‘s Day, he will set the national flag upon the roofs of his house. "Every time I see the flag fluttering in the wind, I will feel very glad and excited," he said.

　　File photo of Xinhua shows a Tibetan man living in the suburb of Lhasa, Tibet seting a national flag upon his roof as the National Day approaches. (Xinhua Photo)

　　At 10:00 on the morning of Oct. 1, Cijiu‘s family of six sat in front of a TV set, ready to watch the live show of the National Day celebration held in Beijing. The moment the grand military parade started, Cijiu began to look excited: his eyes were fixed on the screen and he clapped his hands in exclamation now and then.

　　Cijiu said that as a veteran, watching the army of the people gallantly marching across the Tian‘anmen Sqaure full of mettle, he was both excited and nervous, because he felt as if he himself were in the formation.

　　In the evening, a special guest was invited to join Cijiu and his family in watching the National Day evening gala. For this occasion, the whole family had been busy preparing: Cijiu‘s daughter-in-law cooked special local food, his wife made butter teas, and his daughter cleaned up the living room.

　　At about six in the afternoon, the guest, Yang Yanguang, a builder of the Nagqu Logistics Center of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, arrived together with his Tibetan friend Gesang, carrying mooncakes and milk with them.

　　Citizens of Lhasa having "lingka" (camping out in parks or in the suburbs) in Norbulingka Park in Lhasa, capital of Tibet Autonomous Region, Oct. 7, 2009. (Photo: chinatibetnews.com)

　　"For the 60th birthday of New China, for our friendship, bottoms up!" Yang‘s cup, filled with liquor made of highland barley by Cijiu‘s son, was soon emptied.

　　During the eight-day National Day holiday, many Tibetan families chose to go "lingka" (camping out in parks or in the suburbs). On Oct. 5, Cijiu and his elder brother went to the Nyangri Folk Custom Garden to have "lingka".

　　Tents of various colors could be seen on the pastures in the garden. People in the tents were enjoying themselves as much as they could: some were playing traditional Tibetan games, others were tasting highland barley liquors, still others weresinging, and some were just lying on the lawns and bathing in the sunlight.

　　Cijiu and his brother played "xiu" (a traditional Tibetan recreation of dicing), while his daughter was playing cards in a tent. The daughter, too busy working to have a leisure time, finally had a chance to relax herself.

　　Cijiu‘s daughter-in-law sang a song to entertain her family, whose members were drinking liquors.