Young Tibetan Entrepreneurs

by Quan Jingyi

Tibet today is vigorous， open， and inclusive. Many Tibetan youngsters consider the region not only their spiritual home， but also a fertile land for entrepreneurship. We interviewed five Tibet-based young people， both native born and transplants. They have all been achieving their life goals through inheriting Tibetan culture.

Kelsang Yarlha： Curator of Tibetan Culture

Kelsang Yarlha， born in Xigaze， southwestern Chinas Tibet Autonomous Region， in 1993， recently launched a business in Lhasa. She has two companies， one involved in culture， and the other for overseas education and training. While studying in the department of public administration at Peking University， Kelsang collected and sorted out Tibetan cultural information for a cultural institution. She gradually discovered the breadth and depth of the culture of her hometown and began to take courses in the art department. After graduation， Kelsang applied to study art management at Columbia University.

Young Kelsang brought fresh ideas for operating a Tibetan cultural institution. Her goal has always been clear： She seeks to leverage the art management knowledge she acquired in Beijing and New York to promote the development of Tibetan culture in the art market by “curating”in Tibet. She is also committed to promoting local Tibetan art through advanced technologies so it can be received by a larger audience. In 2020， Kelsang was elected as a member of the Municipal Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference（CPPCC） of Xigaze City. She said that she now “shoulders greater responsibility.”

Norbu Zhamdul： Im Just an English Teacher

Norbu Zhamdul was born in Lhasa and majored in English at Shaanxi Normal University. After graduation， he began teaching at a high school in Lhasa before resigning to become a freelancer. He has successively worked as a translator， English drama actor， English news anchor， and other professions. In 2013， Norbu founded Zhuomeng Education and Training Center in Lhasa. The center first offered English training to teenagers and later to adults. Today， nearly 2，500 students are served by its 120 teachers.

Norbus English class， deeply loved by students， is usually humorous in tone， and the laughs are frequent. Norbu believes class should be about learning rather than only knowledge. The most meaningful endeavor is to inspire students to chase their dreams. The center now covers many fields such as culture， tourism and media， resulting in its management becoming a more complicated task. But Norbu has always identified himself as an English teacher. “When I regulate myself with the qualities of a teacher， my goals are very clear，” he said. “I become more self-disciplined and my sense of responsibility increases.”

Pema Jinzhu： Promoting Tibet on TikTok

Born in Yunnan Province， Pema Jinzhu graduated with a bachelors degree in the art of announcing and anchoring from the Communication University of China and went to Tibet to become a grass-root official. However， he soon quit his job to join the wave of entrepreneurship. Based on VR panoramic technology and “cloud business cards，” Pema and his team launched a Tibet-themed smart tourism project on the internet. Users can experience Tibet and conduct exchange with locals without leaving home. The project also created a sizable exhibition and sales platform for traditional Tibetan handicrafts and local specialties.

Pema also shares Tibetan history and culture through TikTok and other short video platforms， acquiring many followers from around the world in the process. Every month for 11 years， he spends one day serving as a volunteer guide interpreter at Norbulingka， the largest Tibetanstyle garden in Tibet. “If Tibetan culture as a whole is a snowy mountain， Im like a grain of sand at its foot，” he said. “Its the mountain that gives off infinite charm. I am just an ordinary person sharing Tibet with the world.”

Tenzin Yeshe： Act Two for Tibetan Opera

Tenzin Yeshe was born into a musical family. While studying for a masters degree in Tibetan studies at Minzu University of China in Beijing， he studied under Penpa Tsering and Penpa Sinoh， both fifth-generation masters of the famous Tibet Shol Opera Troupe， and began to systematically study the performing arts of the Juemulong school， the largest genre of Tibetan Opera. In 2020， Tenzin received his masters degree and returned to Lhasa to research and promote Tibetan Opera.

Later， Tenzin and several like-minded young people established the Akeding Imprint Art Troupe in Lhasa to expand the Tibetan Opera performance market and spread the Tibetan Opera culture on the internet. Meanwhile， Tenzin continues conducting research on traditional Tibetan Opera and compiling relevant bibliographies. He has cooperated with numerous artists from Tibet and beyond to innovate Tibetan Opera performance forms such as creating contemporary stage designs to form a performance style that follows modern aesthetics. They seek to make Tibetan Opera， an intangible cultural heritage passed on for thousands of years， shine with new vitality.

Tsewang： Leading Children into the World

Tsewang has worked as a high school teacher for seven years. After graduating with a degree in ideological and political education from Shaanxi Normal University， he returned to Tibet to teach political science at Ngari High School in Lhasa. He has been honored as an excellent ideological and political educator and educational expert of the Tibet Autonomous Region several times.

Ngari High School is not actually located in its namesake region. Due to the poor natural conditions and inconvenient transportation in Ngari Prefecture， the school moved from Ngari to Lhasa in 2014. Its a full-time boarding school， so Tsewang cares for the children in many ways outside the classroom. To help the children， who are separated from their parents and return home only once a year， adapt to the campus life， Tsewang and other teachers paired older and younger students together as interactive partners. Tsewang hopes such efforts help more children in remote areas seize learning opportunities and reach the larger world.