Generational progress

By+Wang+Hairong

One week before the Tibetan New Year， which fell on March 2 this year， an atmosphere of festivity filled Banjiulunbu Village in the southwest of Gyangze County in Xigaze Prefecture， Tibet Autonomous Region.

A national flag， surrounded by several other wore flags， was flying over the little square at the entrance of the village. Villagers in colorful holiday attire headed toward a big open space at one end of the village. Men and older women mostly wore black blouses with sleeves laced with blue. Women wore striped hand-woven wool aprons.

Young girls， dressed in purple or red blouses， each wore multiple necklaces of various lengths. The necklaces are strung together with precious jewels such as red coral， turquoise， agate and beeswax. It is said that the jewels on one girl can be worth more than 100，000 yuan（$16，500）. Both men and women wore traditional fur hats.

In the open space， children merrily chased each other. Middle-aged and elderly women， with hair braided around their heads， were sitting in circles， sipping the barley wine that they had brewed themselves.

The whole village was rejoicing in celebration， except for the herds of sheep， which were quietly grazing in nearly fields stretching all the way to distant mountains. The bells tied to their necks occasionally chimed in the breeze.

A horse race was about to start. The horses were also decorated， with colorful ribbons tied to their reins or wrapped around their tails. After riders galloped along a dusty road to the finish line， they were greeted with an expectant crowd and a toast of barley wine.

Penlog， the 51-year-old village head， shuttled through the crowd to keep things organized. He said that the things they do to welcome the New Year， including the horse race， a tug-ofwar and dancing， were scheduled to last from February 23 to 26.

Village life

Among the villagers ushering in the Tibetan New Year is 46-year-old Purchi. She has prepared plenty of yak meat for the holiday and tidied up her house. The two-story building was built with her familys own savings plus 12，000 yuan （$1，951） in the form of subsidy from the government.

Purchi was at home alone. Her husband makes a living knitting Tibetan clothes at home and selling them at his garment shop in Xigaze. He was very busy before the Tibetan New Year as people buy new clothes every year for the celebrations. He has to hire extra help during the busy season. Every year， the business can make 120，000 yuan for the family.endprint

Purchis three grown children have all left home. Her eldest son is a doctor in the Gyangze County seat， and her younger son works at the Manla Hydropower Station many kilometers away from the village. Her daughter， the youngest of the three， attends a medical university in Shijiazhuang City， north Chinas Hebei Province， and plans to return to Tibet to work as a doctor in the future， Purchi said， adding that she is content with her current life.

In a house several meters down the road， 51-year-old Lhaba Toinzhub was also ready for the New Year. Sunlight flooded down from the tilted glass roof of his spacious and tidy living room. Several pots full of flowers were blooming.

Lhaba Toinzhubs house has a floor space of 500 square meters， and the living room has sofas that can seat a dozen or so guests.

The family also has three children. The eldest is a police officer in Lhasa， capital of Tibet. The second child， a daughter， lives with Lhaba Toinzhub and his wife， and the youngest child studies at a university in Xian City， northwest Chinas Shaanxi Province.

Lhaba Toinzhubs wife Yangzin said that their life has greatly improved. The family raises four yaks and dozens of sheep. They also operate a shop. But their main income comes from tourism. Every year， the family receives domestic and foreign tourists， who stay at their home to experience the Tibetan lifestyle. According to Lhaba Toinzhub， they serve guests with butter tea and Tibetan style food， and they can make 70，000-80，000 yuan （$11，382-13，008） annually.

Most tourists Lhaba Toinzhub receives came to the village to visit the Pala Manor， a manor once owned by the Pala， a powerful aristocrat family in old Tibet.

past and present

Banjiulunbu is home to 508 people living 96 households， 90 percent of whom are descendants of serfs， according to Penlog.

Before the peaceful liberation of Tibet in 1951， serfs in the village， including the parents of Purchi and Yangzin， lived in the dingy serf courtyard of the Pala Manor. Their rooms were low-roofed， dark and unfurnished.

The Pala family was one of the most powerful and affluent families following the Dalai Lama. According to Purbo Cering， the keeper and tour guide at the Pala Manor， the family owned 37 manors， 12 farms， more than 2，000 hectares of land， and more than 14，900 heads of livestock. It also had more than 3，000 serfs， who farmed their land， raised their animals or worked as craftsman.endprint

Today， the serfs quarters and their masters grand mansion still stand intact， facing each other across a narrow alley in the village.

The Pala Manor was made a key cultural relic site under the protection of the Tibet Regional Government in 1996 and later put under national protection in 2013.

The manor is open to the public. Every year， it draws about 300，000 tourists to the village， Purbo Cering said.

Purbo Cerings parents were also serfs living in the manor. Now he receives 4，000 yuan（$650） a month from the government for taking care of the building.

The three-story main building where members of the Pala family once resided has been well preserved， and visitors can catch a glimpse of the extravagant lifestyle that the Palas once lived.

Among the exhibits are precious leopard， tiger and money furs， as well as ornaments made of turquoise， agate and other precious stones. One can also find whiskey and other luxury items imported from the United Kingdom， as well as sports equipment for table tennis， badminton， football and ice skating.

The scripture hall in the main building is particularly impressive， with its exquisitely carved and painted walls and pillars featuring elements of Han Chinese and European culture.

As gorgeous as the Pala Manor once was， today it is outshined by the modern houses mushrooming around it. The stylish new houses are owned by the serfs descendants such as Purchi and Yangzin.

According to Penlog， the 96 households in the village farm 117.8 hectares of land， on which villagers grow barley， corn， wheat， rapeseed and greenhouse vegetables. They also feed a total of 1，682 farm animals—1，043 sheep， 552 yaks and 87 horses. In 2013， local villagers annual per-capita net income reached 5，302 yuan （$862）.

The village has a clinic and villagers are covered by the state-run New Rural Cooperative Medical System. With the clinic， they can have common illnesses such as cold treated in the village.

The clinic was established thanks to the local governments policy to increase peoples access to medical services. The prefecture is vast and sparsely populated， and villagers used to have to travel long distances to buy medicine， so the Xigaze Prefectural Government decided to set up a clinic in every village.

Now the target has been met， said Dainzin Namgyi， Deputy Director of the Peoples Congress of Tibet Autonomous Region and Secretary of the Xigaze Prefectural Committee of the Communist Party of China.

In addition to the clinic， the village has a library， which was also built with government support. According to data released by the local government， the 1，668 villages and 341 monasteries in Xigaze all have reading rooms.endprint