Working in the Clouds

By Li Nan

Liang Nanyu， Deputy Mayor of Shuanghu， a county in southwest Chinas Tibet Autonomous Region， which is also the highest county in the world， has the distinction of initiating several “firsts” in the past three years.

He made it possible for the county， with an average altitude of 5，000 meters above sea level， to have its first C-section operation that created a medical record. He broke the monopoly in the local economys pillar industry and upgraded it， ensuring greater income for the impoverished residents. Also， he was the fi rst to get the countys students enroll in free seats in schools in big cities.

The 39-year-old arrived in Shuanghu in July 2016 as part of a Central Government program to assist in the regions development. In 1994， the Central Government set a new policy to rally greater support for Tibet. Certain provinces were given responsibilities to help specific cities or counties in the autonomous region. The program is known as partnership assistance. And eight years later， 17 leading state-owned enterprises （SOEs） joined the program. The China National Petroleum Corp. （CNPC） was one of them and Liang， one of its offi cials， was subsequently assigned to Shuanghu.

Shuanghu is located at the heart of the Changtang National Nature Reserve on the Tibetan Plateau， 700 km northwest of Lhasa， capital city of the autonomous region. It is Chinas youngest county， established in 2013. Though vast， it is scarcely populated.

The CNPC has donated 390 million yuan （$56.42 million） for 113 projects in Shuanghu， most of them to improve infrastructure. But after Liang took office in Shuanghu， he advised the local government and the CNPC to make some changes to the partnership assistance projects in Shuanghu， focusing more on healthcare services， education and income-generating industries.

Based on his suggestions， assistance funds were more used in projects related to improving peoples lives and creating jobs.

Worlds highest C-section

Pasang Norbu， 21 months old， has two names. His Tibetan name， Pasang Norbu， means sweetheart of the Pasang family. The Han-style name Huo Dangsheng denotes the baby born by Shuanghus first C-section operation conducted by a doctor surnamed Huo.

“The birth of this child set a record for C-section done at the highest altitude in medical history—4，962 meters，” Liang said.

With its inhospitable terrain and rarifi ed air， Shuanghu is also known as the “dead zone.” The average life expectancy of its residents is 58 years， 10 years less than the regional average. “Locals suffer from widespread high-altitude illnesses and newborn deaths，” Liang said.