"Iron oxen" go everywhere in Tibet

August is the harvest season for Tibet. There are the roar of tractors, reapers and threshers everywhere in the major grain producing areas, including Lhasa, Shigatse and Lhoka, reports the overseas edition of People's Daily on August 29.

When coming to Nukang village, Gyangtse county of Tibet Autonomous Region on August 8, the reporter was told by Douji Ciren, village Party secretary, that myriad yuan households, or five-figure-income ones, are considered as start-up ones. There are 57 vehicles among the 77 households in the village. Machine plowing and sowing are very popular. When in harvest season, yak and pian niu (offspring of a bull and a female yak) were used as main work animals in the past. Now they are no longer in use. Walking through all the agricultural and pastoral areas in Tibet, there are seldom scenes of wheat carried by man and animal.

The secretary still remembers that in 1960s, it was a piece of emotional news for using iron plough instead of wooden one. In 1970s, Tibetan farmers held grand ceremonies to greet "iron oxen" just like brides, upon the arrival of tractors at the communes. Nowadays, not only autos and tractors, but also combine harvesters and automatic sprayers start to become good sellers in Tibetan villages. A farmer in Shigatse named as Doula set up an agricultural machine company three years ago. Last year, the farmer had a sales volume exceeding 10 million yuan.

Let's make comparison between the past and the present. Bianba Ciren, a past serf in Pala Manor, the biggest aristocrat one existing in Tibet nowadays, sighed with emotion: before the peaceful liberation of Tibet, three groups of lords including officials, aristocrats and upper lamaseries, which accounted for less than 5 per cent of the then Tibetan population, owned all the arable lands and grasslands as well as a great part of livestock while there were nothing left for serfs and slaves, which were only serf owners' "talking animals". Each of them was worth the price of "a straw rope".

But now, according to the latest statistics, there are nine autos, six tractors, three threshers and 12 horse-drawing carts for every 100 farmers and herdsmen households in Tibet. The average fixed assets of production for each household reach more than 8,000 yuan.

These changes are, perhaps, beyond the expectations of old Tibetan rulers. In 1928, the British colonists sent 13th Dalai Lama two motorcars, which became collection toys, as there were no highways. Now, the Norbulingka road, connecting the Winter Palace and Summer Palace of Dalai Lama in the past, has become a famous "auto street" in Tibet. Shops of auto sales, repair and rental can be found everywhere. Almost all brand names of autos sold in inland areas can be bought there.

By the end of last year, there was one private car for each 23 Lhasa residents. And the per capita disposable income of residents in urban area and townships in Tibet Autonomous Region reached up to 8,200 yuan.

By People's Daily Online