Born into a family of serfs in Xigaze of southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region in 1941, Phung Tsering has witnessed the changes in Xizang after its peaceful liberation in 1951, democratic reform in 1959 and leapfrog development in the last decades.
Unlike his parents, Phung Tsering attended primary school and studied Tibetan, Chinese and math. He even went on to study at Peking University, one of the country's top universities.
Phung Tsering is one of the many residents in Xizang who have access to education and enjoy a better life. The results of the seventh national census showed that the number of college or university graduates per 100,000 inhabitants in Xizang had risen from 5,507 in 2010 to 11,019 in 2020.
Xizang is the first provincial-level region in China to provide 15 years of publicly funded education from kindergarten to senior high school, with courses in both Tibetan and Mandarin being taught in primary and secondary schools.
In addition to educational development, the region has achieved remarkable progress in economic growth, people's livelihoods, environmental protection and the development of Tibetan culture since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2012.
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Graphics: Xizang's rapid development since its peaceful liberation 73 years ago
Speaking at the sixth National Meeting on Xizang, which was held on August 24-25, 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping outlined the CPC's guidelines for governing Xizang, highlighting the principle of governing Xizang in accordance with the law, bringing prosperity to Xizang and its residents, uniting the residents in one mind and laying a solid foundation for the region's long-term growth.
With a strategic vision to rejuvenate the Chinese nation and to ensure that the Xizang Autonomous Region will realize moderate prosperity and modernization together with the rest of the country, the Chinese president has attached great importance to the development of Xizang and the people in the region.
President Xi, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visited Xizang in July 2021 for the 70th anniversary of Xizang's peaceful liberation, the first time in the history of the Party and the country.
Noting that all 56 ethnic groups should be together "like seeds of a pomegranate," Xi told local officials and ordinary people of various ethnic groups that "we are all members of the community of the Chinese nation."
Xizang's population stood at 3,137,901 in 2020, reflecting an increase of 421,512 individuals compared to 2010. Tibetans account for 86 percent of the region's total population, which underscores the resilience and vitality of the Tibetan community.
In the region, absolute poverty is something of the past. By the end of 2019, 628,000 people in 74 county-level areas were lifted out of penury. Thus, Xizang took the lead in the growth rates of major economic indicators across the country in 2023. It achieved a regional gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 9.5 percent in 2023, compared to the national growth rate of 5.2 percent.
As transportation is critical to economic development, since 2012, more than 337 billion yuan (about $50.4 billion) has been spent as a fixed-asset investment in Xizang's transport sector, including the construction of the Sichuan-Xizang Railway.
President Xi is quite concerned about the project's construction. Ahead of the beginning of the construction of the project's Ya'an-Nyingchi section in November 2020, Xi urged efforts to carry out the construction in a scientific, safe and eco-friendly way.
While visiting Xizang, Xi went to Nyingchi Railway Station, where he learned about the overall design of the Sichuan-Xizang Railway and how the Lhasa-Nyingchi section has been operated since June 25, 2021.
The region has also seen improvements in healthcare services. Over the past decade, hospital healthcare services have covered all six cities and one prefecture across the region, with the number of out-patients doubling and the recovery rate of critical patients close to 90 percent. The average life expectancy has increased from 35.5 years in 1951 to 72.19 years today.
Answering a letter from 17 students interning at Peking University Shougang Hospital in Beijing, Xi encouraged medical students of Xizang University to develop strong skills and serve the people at the primary level.
The Chinese president has also highlighted the importance of historical and cultural heritage protection and environmental conservation in this plateau region on many occasions.
Located on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, Xizang is an important border area with ethnic minority populations, an important ecological security barrier, an important area for protecting the distinctive culture of the Chinese nation and an important world tourist destination, Xi said in a congratulatory letter to the 2019 Forum on the Development of Xizang.
So far, Xizang has built 47 nature reserves spanning 412,200 square kilometers, accounting for over one-third of the region's total.
As of 2023, a total of 173 intangible cultural heritage workshops had been built, offering jobs for thousands of local people who have been lifted out of poverty. The added value of cultural and related industries in Xizang reached 8.99 billion yuan.
In 2023, Xizang's tourism industry set a new record, with tourist arrivals exceeding 55 million and tourism revenue surpassing 65 billion yuan. The tourism industry's contribution to the region's GDP exceeded 27 percent.