Realizing a dream

By+Wang+Jun

Sitting in his traditionally styled three-story Tibetan home and drinking butter tea， Pema Dhundrup， 82， eyes the asphalt road in front of his house in Shuizhuang village， a Tibetan settlement in Shangri-La County of southwest Chinas yunnan Province. “It is this road that leads us out of the mountains to live a happy life，” he said.

The man responsible for building the road is Sonam Dhundrup， who is regarded as a hero by many local people. “He has changed Bala village where we used to live， and he has awoken the grand canyon of Balagezong，” said Pema Dhundrup.

A man of entrepreneurship

The canyon of Balagezong is surrounded by steep cliffs， isolating Bala from the outside world. The mountains—beautiful in the eyes of outsiders—symbolize transportation woes for the locals. Before 2008， a post road less than 1 meter wide was the only passage connecting the village with the outside world. villagers had to walk more than four days to reach the county seat of Shangri-La. If a senior villager were to fall ill， the only option was for younger villagers to carry him to a hospital. Most people here disliked having such an isolated lifestyle， and the villages fortunes continued to deteriorate， with the number of households dropping from 60 several decades ago to only 14 in 2004.

In 1964， Sonam Dhundrup was born into a family of six children in Bala. At that time， most of the villagers earned their livelihood by hunting or growing barley and corn， which was barely enough to sustain them. The village had no access to electricity or radio and Tv signals， and what people could do after dark was limited to dining and sleeping.

“Flashlights were the only ‘hi-tech products the villagers had. They wrapped flashlights with ox hide and regarded them as a treasure，” said Sonam Dhundrup， who never wore shoes before he turned 10， as was the case for most children in the village. In 1974， his father took him to the county seat for the first time. Observing the “wide” road and automobiles in the county seat， Sonam Dhundrup realized he longed to break free and explore life outside the mountains.

When he was 13， Sonam Dhundrup decided to seek his fortune away from home.

Carrying 35 yuan （$5.68） his father gave him， as well as a bag of rock crystals he picked from the mountains， Sonam Dhundrup set out on his grand adventure. First he did business in several large and medium-sized cities in and outside yunnan， where he sold rock crystal and caterpillar fungus—used in Chinese medicine—from his hometown. Later， he moved on to transporting video recorders， tapes， sports shoes and wears and bicycles to rural areas in yunnan， selling them at village fairs for good profits.endprint

After learning Mandarin Chinese， Sonam Dhundrup adapted well to life outside his hometown. Going from setting up a stand on the street to engaging in large-scale wholesaling， his business grew rapidly. He set up the first hardware shop and the first hotpot restaurant in Shangri-La in the early 1990s， and amassed a small fortune shortly thereafter.

Then Sonam Dhundrup made a resolution： to connect Bala to the outside world.

“Having money doesnt mean being rich. If I was satisfied with my own cozy life and had forgotten my hometown， I would dishonor myself，” Sonam Dhundrup explained himself.

A difficult endeavor

Building a road on steep cliffs may have seemed to some like an unrealistic fantasy.

“All of my family were against him building the road， because we thought it was unrealistic and hed waste his money，” said Lobsang Tashi， a businessman and one of the younger brothers of Sonam Dhundrup.

Tashi Tsering， 47， is Pema Dhundrups son and a childhood friend of Sonam Dhundrup. “We all thought Sonam Dhundrup was being childish when we heard he wanted to build the road. It seemed an impossible feat，” he said.

Many highway design teams refused to work on the project after carrying out surveys of the terrain， and a number of construction teams had to leave because their excavation machinery couldnt be placed on such uneven ground.

Despite the difficulties， Sonam Dhundrup said that he believed there was a lot he could get done by himself. Putting faith in the knowledge of the mountains he had acquired since childhood， he walked more than 40，000 km within two years， surveying the terrain， making a plan and trying to find techniques to build a road amidst steep cliffs， deep gullies and sharp turns.

To raise money， Sonam Dhundrup sold his restaurant， hardware shop and properties， and borrowed money from banks， credit compa- nies and almost all of his family members and friends. Finally， he incurred a debt of more than 100 million yuan （$16.2 million）， including 14 million yuan （$2.27 million） from Lobsang Tashi.

In September 2007， construction of the road linking National Highway 214 to Bala commenced.

Before reaching Bala， the 6.5-meter-wide and 35-km-long road passes through four villages inhabited by Tibetans， where some houses had to be relocated and trees and crops be moved away to make room for the road. Sonam Dhundrup offered the highest possible compensation to affected villagers to gain their support.endprint

In the same year， Sonam Dhundrup also raised 7 million yuan （$1.14 million） erecting a 34.8-km-long transmission line， bringing electricity to Bala and four neighboring villages.

On January 1， 2008， Balas villagers celebrated having access to a hard-surfaced road， electricity and telephone services for the very first time. They were so excited that some of them kept making phone calls with their relatives and friends， and others switched on and off the electric lights again and again to experience the sheer joy of lighting up the village. “Tears welled in my eyes，” Sonam Dhundrup said， describing his joy in his success.

In June 2009， Sonam Dhundrup spent an additional 1.28 million yuan （$207，620） on building a bridge above the Gangqu River. Now it only takes a mere one and a half hours to drive from Bala to the county seat of Shangri-La.

Prosperity for all

Xishan Mountain is a major tourist attraction in Kunming， the provincial capital of yunnan. After visiting there in 1999， Sonam Dhundrup was seized by a desire to establish a tourism in his hometown. Although isolated， the canyon of Balagezong resembled a mysterious earthly paradise， and he thought developing tourism might help villagers in Bala overcome poverty. In that year， he registered a company to develop tourist resources in the canyon of Balagezong.

After years of planning， environmental impact assessment and feasibility studies， the Balagezong National Park funded by Sonam Dhundrup was opened in 2006， taking its place as one of the five national parks in Deqen Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture， which administers Shangri-La County.

To improve the life of Balas villagers， Sonam Dhundrup provided financial subsidies ranging from 45，000 yuan （$7，299） to 180，000 yuan（$29，196） for each household in the village， supporting them as they relocated from the remote mountains to two new villages with easy transport facilities near Gangqu River—Shuizhuang and Nalang. His company rented the villagersland to develop ecological agriculture and restored their old houses in strict accordance with the traditional architectural style of the locality. The houses have all been transformed into hotels so that tourists living in them can experience Tibetan culture firsthand. Each household in Bala can receive a rent of about 15，000 yuan（$2，433） each year for their former domiciles.

Sonam Dhundrup also supports his fellow villagers in operating farms and actively purchases their products. Currently， each local household can earn an average of 50，000 yuan（$8，110） each year from these businesses. Local farmers can also be contracted for maintenance projects for the highway， with each family earning about 7，000 yuan （$1，136） each year.

Kelsang Tsering， 30， now works as a tour guide in the Balagezong National Park， he earns 4，000 yuan （$649） each month. “With this park， we young people dont need to leave our native land and I can make money while still staying with my parents，” he told Beijing Review.

“Few people in the world can realize their dream. Despite hardships， Ive finally managed to do it，” said Sonam Dhundrup.endprint